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Speaker 1: Are you. Usually on a Tuesday we do catch up

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Speaker 1: with the Lord Mayor of dah and Combat Scarlis, but

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Speaker 1: CON's not available today. Joining us on the show though,

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Speaker 1: is the City of Darwin CEO Simone Saunders.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, morning, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show now, Simone. First off,

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Speaker 1: a couple of questions from some of the businesses on

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Speaker 1: Smith Straight, where that work is obviously underway at the moment.

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Speaker 1: A couple of them have been in contact with us

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Speaker 1: really concerned about the impact that that works having on them.

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Speaker 1: They're questioning how Stage one is going to be done

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Speaker 1: in three weeks. Conn had said on the show mid

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Speaker 1: June for that first stage, I mean, is it looking

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Speaker 1: as though that's going to be done.

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Speaker 2: Look, I'm really pleased to say that the Stage one

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Speaker 2: and two works, which are together and that's the big

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Speaker 2: block where we do see the fencing up at the moment,

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Speaker 2: is on target from the original LU projections. The team

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Speaker 2: will managed to bring it to bring it forward by

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Speaker 2: about ten days, so it will finish mid June round

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Speaker 2: about the twentieth is the plan date? Really happy with

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Speaker 2: how it's progressing, but we do appreciate it is an

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Speaker 2: inconvenience for the business and traders along that street, and

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Speaker 2: we're doing anything we can to minimize disruptions for them.

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Speaker 1: Council had said on social media that you're going to

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Speaker 1: be closing additional car and motorbike parks. Is that still

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Speaker 1: happening this week?

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Speaker 2: Correct? Yes, So there's some car parks between Woolworths and

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Speaker 2: Knuckie Street and there's actually five motorcycle bays and seven

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Speaker 2: car parks which are temporary closed. So that's just up

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Speaker 2: until this Friday, the thirtieth of May, and then they'll

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Speaker 2: be reopened next week.

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Speaker 1: And so how like, how does that mean You've got

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Speaker 1: quite a large number of parks that have been taken out,

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Speaker 1: car parks taken out.

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Speaker 2: In relation to the overall works that are being done

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Speaker 2: to achieve the cooling and greening and the micromability on

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Speaker 2: the street. There is a lot of car parks in

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Speaker 2: the area and that's what when we did the engagement

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Speaker 2: over about eighty percent of the people that did come

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Speaker 2: back on that engagement said they want to see more cooling,

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Speaker 2: greening and shading in that area as well as more

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Speaker 2: more micro mobility lanes. So it really is to I

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Speaker 2: guess do that people first philosophy under our movement strategy.

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Speaker 1: So just in terms of what's going to be finished

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Speaker 1: by mid June, so the twentieth, what is it going

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Speaker 1: to look like by the twentieth I mean, how much

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Speaker 1: is going to be done.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So the side of the street that's currently got

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Speaker 2: the fencing around it, that will be completed and be

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Speaker 2: able to be reopened, and then the team will shift

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Speaker 2: to the other side of the street, and in order

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Speaker 2: to minimize disruptions on the other side of the street,

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Speaker 2: they'll do shorter sections of work and they'll be around

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Speaker 2: about a week those sections, and they'll move from Knuckie

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Speaker 2: Street and slowly work back down towards Walworth. The challenge

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Speaker 2: with the Stage one and two works the big section

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Speaker 2: is that there was a lot of stuff that needed

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Speaker 2: to be done on the actual footpath and around that

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Speaker 2: area to get the irrigation in and more trees and greening,

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Speaker 2: so there was some digging up of concrete and things

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Speaker 2: like that, so it was a much sign bigger piece,

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Speaker 2: whereas the other side of the street we've just got

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Speaker 2: some biplanes going in and some extra greening, so it's

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Speaker 2: not as much disruption. Once we get to the twentieth.

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Speaker 1: So I know some of those business owners still wondering

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Speaker 1: why contractors aren't working nights or weekends to expedite that job.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you're saying it's going to be finished by

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Speaker 1: mid June twenty could it have happened faster.

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Speaker 2: That that'd be for the Stage one, two and two work.

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Speaker 2: So the other side will then continue fairly the challenge

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Speaker 2: that we do have. We received funding from the from

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory government to do this project and city

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Speaker 2: will and will deliver it. We have to work within

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Speaker 2: our budget, so additional costs for weekend work actually add

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Speaker 2: cost to the project that we can't afford, and if

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Speaker 2: that happens, then we have to descope the project. So

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Speaker 2: we need to we need to work with the contractor

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Speaker 2: and we are working with them to minimize disruptions where possible.

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Speaker 1: All right, So it is sort of a cost factor

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Speaker 1: that you're not wanting to go over to budget, So

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Speaker 1: having to stick to the to the during hours, I mean,

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Speaker 1: is that like, is that a little bit frustrating or

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Speaker 1: can you imagine why that's a little bit frustrating for

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Speaker 1: those business owners that are still working on the weekends

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Speaker 1: and working after hours, you know, trying to make sure

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Speaker 1: that they can still run their business when you've then

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Speaker 1: got the contractors.

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Speaker 2: Not So the team starts at seven am and they

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Speaker 2: finished at four thirty, which is a normal workday for Darwin.

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Speaker 2: So if you've got a team working, we can't necessarily

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Speaker 2: extend those hours. But on the weekend it does come

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Speaker 2: with additional cost and impact. And if we've got local

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Speaker 2: businesses doing this and they've allocated a team to it,

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Speaker 2: I mean they've only got so many staff and contractors

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Speaker 2: that that can do the work as well without having

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Speaker 2: to bring in additional teams from elsewhere or subcontracting themselves.

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Speaker 2: So we really need to work with the local team

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Speaker 2: Deck Installations that's delivering this project for us and also

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Speaker 2: stay within the within the budget that we've got.

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Speaker 1: All right now, in some good news, we know the

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Speaker 1: City of Darwin's announced a new outdoor projection exhibition. It's

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Speaker 1: set to take place well as part of the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five down Street Art Festival on Saturday, the fourteenth

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Speaker 1: of June. What is the exhibition?

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Speaker 2: So the exhibition is Double Exposure and we're a sponsor

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Speaker 2: of that. It's actually Darwin Street Art Festival, which is

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Speaker 2: delivered by Proper Creative and is funded by the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory government, but it's also with some support from City

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Speaker 2: of Darwin. So that will be a projection exhibition in

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Speaker 2: Austin Lane. It's the old RSL site where it'll be

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Speaker 2: for one one night only and it's one of the

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Speaker 2: large large scale installations to transform I guess the city

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Speaker 2: into into a vibrant nighttime gallery for one night only.

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Speaker 2: So so it's a really really great event I think,

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Speaker 2: and something that we haven't seen necessarily in Darwin before

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Speaker 2: in the CBD.

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Speaker 1: Could it be something that happens more often rather than

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Speaker 1: just one night only? Look I long term, you know.

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Speaker 2: The person that actually Proper Creative in doing this with

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Speaker 2: if there's there's other opportunities that come up of the

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Speaker 2: street up but also under the City of Darwin Creative strategy,

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Speaker 2: people are looking to do different things in the city,

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Speaker 2: so opportunities arise. We've got local people that can help

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Speaker 2: to deliver this as well.

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Speaker 1: And I just reckon it's awesome like to see the

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Speaker 1: city sort of activated in different ways and things like that,

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Speaker 1: you know, drawing people into the city as well, helping

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Speaker 1: all those local businesses. But sort of it does move

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Speaker 1: along some of that anti social behavior that we see

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Speaker 1: as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, And we had the Fusion Festival in Darwin

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Speaker 2: last week and that finished and culminated on the Friday

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Speaker 2: night with the Garamilla Food Fair on the Esplanade halfway

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Speaker 2: between the Cenotaph and the playground, and we saw over

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Speaker 2: fifteen hundred people in there for that particular part of

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Speaker 2: the festival, fairy lights, you know, people out enjoying the

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Speaker 2: dry season on a Friday afternoon and it was just

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Speaker 2: just really well attended. So transforms that area of the esplanade.

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Speaker 1: At the same time, Hey, I know that this week

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Speaker 1: as well, there is quite a few things happening as

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Speaker 1: a result of National Reconciliation Week. What are they and

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Speaker 1: when are they happening?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so it was part of National Reconciliation Week. We

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Speaker 2: had some nice guitarists yesterday Jackson de Santos in Raintree

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Speaker 2: Park so at lunchtime, so that that was great. But

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Speaker 2: also we've got an event on Saturday at Casuarina Library

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Speaker 2: and that's from nine thirty to eleven thirty, so as

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Speaker 2: part of National Reconciliation Week, which the theme this year

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Speaker 2: is bridging now to next. We invite children and families

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Speaker 2: to come along to the library and learn about First

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Speaker 2: Nations people in our shared stories and histories. We're also

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Speaker 2: going to have though the Darwin Beach Choir is going

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Speaker 2: to be there. They're going to teach the children if

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Speaker 2: they'd like to, to sing a song. And there's also

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Speaker 2: some creative and art to happen on Saturday morning, so

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Speaker 2: if you're looking for something to do air conditioning from

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Speaker 2: nine thirty, please come down to cas Library for that

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Speaker 2: good stuff.

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Speaker 1: Now, I also know that there's going to be a

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Speaker 1: community planting day. When's that happening and whereabouts?

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Speaker 2: So the next community planting day is on Saturday morning

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Speaker 2: as well, so you might have to make a choice

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Speaker 2: between the two Kaz Library or East Point and that

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Speaker 2: starts at eight o'clock and goes three till eleven o'clock.

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Speaker 2: So we encourage people to come down and participate in

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Speaker 2: that community planting. It's down near the gun turrets the

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Speaker 2: end of at East Point and the holes will be

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Speaker 2: pre drilled, so you just need to come along and

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Speaker 2: actually and actually put those put those plants in. But

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Speaker 2: it's part of the broader greening strategy. And the revegetation

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Speaker 2: of the area.

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Speaker 1: Because it is somewhere we're like unlike sort of the

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Speaker 1: reast of East Point. It doesn't have as many trees

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Speaker 1: around that area, so that is a good good spot.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, our team's continually looking for where we need those

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Speaker 2: that additional revegetation around the municipality and this is this

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Speaker 2: is the next target for East Point.

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Speaker 1: All good stuff will someone Saunders, the CEO of the

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Speaker 1: City of Darwin. It is always good to catch up

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Speaker 1: with you. Thank you very much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having us.

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Speaker 1: Thank you