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Speaker 1: So as we know Howard Springs Quarantine facility is being

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Speaker 1: repurposed as accommodation for Defense Force personnel. Now the COLP

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Speaker 1: so that with defense personnel set to occupy that facility immediately,

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Speaker 1: the total cost of wear and tear must be known

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Speaker 1: to the files Labor government. Murray Claire Boothby, the Shadow

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Speaker 1: Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Small Business, joins me on

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Speaker 1: the line right now. Good morning to you, Murray.

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Speaker 2: Claire, Good morning Katie, and to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Murray Claire, I understand that the COLP did ask

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Speaker 1: a number of questions around this during estimates.

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Speaker 2: What did you find, Yes, Katie, we certainly did. One

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Speaker 2: thing was for sure that the Treasurer Evil Lawlas said

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Speaker 2: I think at least four times during estimates that that

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Speaker 2: damage was where and tear. So they're still continuing to

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Speaker 2: not accept the fact, not share the information with territorians.

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Speaker 2: What we do know is that there has been a

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Speaker 2: significant amount that will be spent on that facility, if

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Speaker 2: it hasn't started being spent already, including repairs and maintenance,

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Speaker 2: fire extinguisher replacements, plumbing, you know, more than six hundred windows,

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Speaker 2: and of course security as well which is all at

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Speaker 2: a cost to our taxpayer.

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Speaker 1: So talk us through those costs, because as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: you've obviously got a number of different figures that the

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Speaker 1: government did reveal throughout estimates.

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Speaker 2: So what I do know is that we have found

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Speaker 2: out that the repairs and maintenance bill is one hundred

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Speaker 2: and ninety seven thousand dollars. That is our estimated cost.

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Speaker 2: The other estimated costs that the CLP have pulled together

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Speaker 2: fire extinguishers which cost eleven thousand dollars. The plumbing costs

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Speaker 2: will be thirty five thousand dollars. There is like a

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Speaker 2: first set of windows that one hundred windows is forty

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Speaker 2: five thousand dollars, and the estimate for a different set

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Speaker 2: of windows where there was five hundred and seventy three

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Speaker 2: smashed is two hundred and fifty seven eight hundred and fifty.

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Speaker 2: I know, that's a lot of figures that I'm going through,

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Speaker 2: so it's a bit hard to understand it or if

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Speaker 2: you don't see it in writing. But in addition, we

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Speaker 2: also estimate that the security costs that the taxpayers are

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Speaker 2: being expected to fork out for is over one million dollars. Now,

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Speaker 2: of course that doesn't include any estimations that we have

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Speaker 2: for things like catering or food or activities or transportation

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Speaker 2: you know, to the shops and the schools. The talk

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Speaker 2: of those numbers are definitely if you start really adding

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Speaker 2: all those in is upwards of seven million dollars. And

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Speaker 2: you know what, Katie, this week, Natasha Files has put

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Speaker 2: her cards on the table, like she does know the

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Speaker 2: cost of the damage at Howard Springs, and she still

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Speaker 2: continues to hide it from Territorius. I mean, she never

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Speaker 2: wanted territories to know what was going on at that facility.

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Speaker 2: It's just an obsession with being secrets than refusing to

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Speaker 2: let any kind of light in.

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Speaker 1: Now, I actually answer about these shasterday and she said,

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Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that she said about two hundred and

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Speaker 1: eighty thousand dollars, and that's obviously taking into account those

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Speaker 1: windows and things like that. But she said that there

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Speaker 1: is another tender that's due to go out. I don't

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Speaker 1: know exactly when that tender is due to go out.

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Speaker 1: Have you guys seen anything yet?

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Speaker 2: No, Katie, we haven't. And you know, like if the

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Speaker 2: defense force are set to be moving in, and my

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Speaker 2: understanding is, well yesterday it immediately but it's yeah, it's

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Speaker 2: within the next four weeks. Natasha Files must have she

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Speaker 2: must know an estimation of what it's going to cost.

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Speaker 2: And for her, she's just kicking the can down the road,

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Speaker 2: just not coming clean about the total cost to pay

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Speaker 2: for this whole saga.

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Speaker 1: So, Mary Claire, you said around one point five six

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Speaker 1: six million dollars and you went through those different numbers.

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Speaker 1: So are they numbers that were revealed during estimates or

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Speaker 1: are they estimates that the CLP of made.

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Speaker 2: They are our estimated cost based on some of that

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Speaker 2: information that we're able to garnish from ministers across the board.

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Speaker 2: So we had to continue to ask minister after minister

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Speaker 2: who was you know, you know, not wanting to answer

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Speaker 2: those questions. They were quite happy to explain that it's

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Speaker 2: a purview of another minister. You know, you need to

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Speaker 2: go and ask them. So we had to go through

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Speaker 2: all of the answers that were given to be able

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Speaker 2: to come together with some kind of estimate. I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, we don't have access to all this information

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Speaker 2: and territorians certainly don't either, which is why we're having

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Speaker 2: this conversation. Yeah, because all we need is Natasha Files

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Speaker 2: to actually say too, Territorians, this is what happened, this

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Speaker 2: is the cost, and just come clean. I mean, that's

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Speaker 2: all Territorians are asking for.

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Speaker 1: And I don't think they're going to. I mean, the

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Speaker 1: reality of it is. I doubt that they're going to

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Speaker 1: come out and give that headline figure because that's exactly

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Speaker 1: what it's going to be. A headline and people are

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Speaker 1: going to be pretty annoyed when they know exactly how

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Speaker 1: much it's cost. But we'll be keeping an eye out,

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Speaker 1: obviously those for those additional tenders and exactly what value

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Speaker 1: they are going to add up to. And I think

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Speaker 1: that Territorians do deserve to know exactly how much money

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Speaker 1: has been spent. And I think that it's pretty clear,

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Speaker 1: like we can separate between the damage and security and

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Speaker 1: that kind of thing, and then also the costs that

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Speaker 1: you would anticipate you're going to have to obviously house

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Speaker 1: people out there. But I do think that all of

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Speaker 1: those numbers need to be known. Territorians actually deserve to

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Speaker 1: know it's Territorian's money that's being spent.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and there's a lot of public interest around this.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, everyone was quite empathetic to be

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Speaker 2: able to help these evacuees, and they just want to

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Speaker 2: know what happened, like, how did it get to this,

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Speaker 2: Why did Natasha Files immediately come out and defend herself

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Speaker 2: and say it was where and tear and continue to

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Speaker 2: do it over and over and all the ministers are

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Speaker 2: saying the same thing and then not be able to

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Speaker 2: give us a really clear picture of what it's going

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Speaker 2: to cost. And like you said, this is tax pays money,

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Speaker 2: and when we're in a state here in the territory

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Speaker 2: where we're broke and we're broken, we absolutely need to

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Speaker 2: know where the money is being spent.

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Speaker 1: Mary Claire is the CLP supportive of the deal that's

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Speaker 1: been done with Defense.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, we absolutely welcome the repurpose of this facility. Is

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Speaker 2: no point in sitting there going to waste. And I

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Speaker 2: think the defense and the territory in the Darwin especially

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Speaker 2: has always been a defense town and I think that

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Speaker 2: that will be a welcomed part of our community. So absolutely.

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Speaker 2: The thing that I know territorians still are not happy

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Speaker 2: with is the fact that they're just being led down

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Speaker 2: the garden path, not given any answers or clarification as

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Speaker 2: to what happened during that whole saga.

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Speaker 1: Mary Claire, I do want to move on. You and

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Speaker 1: I have spoken about the situation with works on the

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Speaker 1: runway at the airport on a number of occasions over

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Speaker 1: the last week. The Chief Minister yesterday called for the

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Speaker 1: Airport Development Group and also Defense Department to give a

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Speaker 1: clearer idea around timing of those works. What do you

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Speaker 1: think needs to happen here?

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Speaker 2: I just can't believe that Natasha Files is using a

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Speaker 2: radio platform to call on two groups of people. I mean,

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Speaker 2: she is the Chief Minister of our territory. She is

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Speaker 2: our leader. The leadership would show that she should be

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Speaker 2: sitting down with those two groups and actually going through

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Speaker 2: exactly what's going to happen. What is the plan? I mean,

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Speaker 2: Natasha Files and Nicole Madison have tried their absolute best

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Speaker 2: to confuse Territorians about this. One thing is clear though,

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Speaker 2: Katie Labour's Deputy Chief Minister, Nicole Madison didn't know that

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Speaker 2: the Territory's international airport is being upgraded and every Territorian

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Speaker 2: should absolutely be us.

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Speaker 1: When we spoke to her, she knew that the airport

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Speaker 1: was being upgraded. She knew that run work was runway

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Speaker 1: work was happening. She certainly said that, but she had

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Speaker 1: not been.

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Speaker 2: Notified that the information of it.

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Speaker 1: I know, no, she didn't. I will certainly I will

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Speaker 1: clarify that because I think you've got to be honest here.

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Speaker 1: There was a situation where she had already pointed out

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Speaker 1: the fact that that work was happening, but was not

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Speaker 1: aware of why that flight was not happening for a month.

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Speaker 2: So in this case, there is the major runway works

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Speaker 2: that are happening at our international airport. You know, why

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Speaker 2: was there not a plan in place? You know, I

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Speaker 2: feel like labor cannot use this runway issue as an excuse.

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Speaker 2: What territorians want to know is what have they done

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Speaker 2: to ensure the impact is minimized? And we have tourists

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Speaker 2: that are impacted, and we have locals that are impacted.

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Speaker 1: Do you worried that there is going to be further

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Speaker 1: impacts on tourism? I mean, do you think we're going

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Speaker 1: to see a situation here where other flights could potentially

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Speaker 1: be canceled and other routes could be canceled.

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Speaker 2: It's a really big concern for territorians. I mean, they

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Speaker 2: already saw that JETSTA have you put a hold on

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Speaker 2: those flights to Bali and you know, the airlines will

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Speaker 2: be looking at this and planning their routes. They forward

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Speaker 2: planned everything. So and I hear Nicole Madison saying that

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Speaker 2: she's having conversations with the airlines, but she doesn't give

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Speaker 2: anybody any detail about that. So I don't know what's

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Speaker 2: happening in those conversations, and territorians certainly don't know either.

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Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, our tourism providers

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Speaker 2: here in the territory just cannot suffer any more setback.

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Speaker 1: What do you make then, as well of the discussions

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Speaker 1: obviously that the Tourism Minister is having with other airlines,

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Speaker 1: Like she says that she's having those discussions with other airlines,

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Speaker 1: we don't know exactly which airlines they are. But how

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Speaker 1: do you reckon we're actually going to entice other airlines

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Speaker 1: to come to the Northern Territory at this point when

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Speaker 1: you know, for at least the foreseeable future, over the

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Speaker 1: next year, these runway works are going to be underway.

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Speaker 2: Well exactly, Katie, And this is why Natasha Files and

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Speaker 2: Nicole Madison should be sitting down with those two groups

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Speaker 2: and with the airlines and creating a plan, a plan

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Speaker 2: of an upgrade, give people and those corporations some certainty

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Speaker 2: around how this is going to work, because right now,

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Speaker 2: the chaos that this is causing is actually ultimately putting

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Speaker 2: a close sign for business on the territory and we

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Speaker 2: just cannot for to do that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we certainly can't. We want to try and get

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Speaker 1: as many people to the Northern Territory as possible, but

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Speaker 1: we also want to see some fairer prices. I think

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Speaker 1: when it comes to those flights, and if those flights

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Speaker 1: are minimized in any way, shape or form, unfortunately, I

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Speaker 1: think what we can expect is to see prices go up.

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Speaker 2: That's right, and without certainty, like we will never get

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Speaker 2: our economy moving forward. And we absolutely need those flights

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Speaker 2: to be at the right prices so that people can

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Speaker 2: travel in and out of the territory and want to

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Speaker 2: come and live here because they can do a quick trip,

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Speaker 2: you know, over the weekend to see family back at home,

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Speaker 2: and that when you do live here, you can go

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Speaker 2: and do a quick trip overseas, because that is why

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Speaker 2: one of the reasons that makes the territory so special. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, Natasha Philes and Nicole Madison absolutely need to

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Speaker 2: be sitting down with those stakeholders in this conversation and

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Speaker 2: making sure that territorians along the way are being informed

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Speaker 2: about what is happening in that space. And it certainly

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Speaker 2: does not feel like that now.

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Speaker 1: Well, Marie Claire Boothby, the Shadow Minister for Tourism, Hospitality

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Speaker 1: and Small Business. Always appreciate your time. Thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for joining us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you Katie, thank you