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Speaker 1: But as we've just found out a little bit earlier

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Speaker 1: this morning, the Northern Territory Government is going to be

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Speaker 1: extending their takeaway alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs. So over

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Speaker 1: the past three months, the government says that they've seen

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Speaker 1: the restrictions work and support our community and frontline workers.

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Speaker 2: So joining me on the line right now to.

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Speaker 1: Give us the take well of locals in Alice Springs

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Speaker 1: is Robin Lamley, the Independent member for Aura lun Good morning, Robin.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 2: Robin.

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Speaker 1: Obviously this announcement just happening a short time ago, the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Government extending the takeaway alcohol restrictions for Alice.

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Speaker 2: What is your reaction?

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Speaker 3: No surprises there, Katie. I mean it has been effective

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Speaker 3: in stopping or ameliorating antisocial behavior alcohol fuel problems on

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Speaker 3: the days that you cannot buy takeaway liquor in Alice Springs,

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Speaker 3: and that is Mondays and Tuesdays. An extension of that

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Speaker 3: for another three months I think is will come as

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Speaker 3: no surprise to anyone.

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Speaker 2: But Robin, how are things going in Alice?

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Speaker 1: Obviously it does mean that there's a bit of a

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Speaker 1: reprieve maybe on those days where people can't access alcohol.

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Speaker 1: But the fact is there's still other issues that are

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Speaker 1: flowing throughout the whole of the town, aren't they.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, Look, it's kind of weird what's happened since

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Speaker 3: they introduced those two takeaway free days in Alice. You've

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Speaker 3: got two days a week that during the day seem

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Speaker 3: quite calm. There's very little activity on the streets on

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Speaker 3: Mondays and Tuesdays. Yet we know that at night the

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Speaker 3: streets are going crazy. Still. There's still a lot of kids,

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Speaker 3: large groups of children, young people roaming the streets at

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Speaker 3: night causing all sorts of havoc. And we know that

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Speaker 3: a lot of the alcohol fuel problems are still there.

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Speaker 3: And I hear anecdotally that on the day that you

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Speaker 3: can by takeaway grog that they're is still outrageous and

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Speaker 3: crazy and out of control. So we've got a long

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Speaker 3: long way to go. This is just a little temporary

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Speaker 3: band aid that's been put on Alice Springs. And look,

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Speaker 3: we as a town are so used to alcohol restrictions, Katie,

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Speaker 3: So I think we're used to just sucking it up

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Speaker 3: and going along with whatever the latest thing is. But

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Speaker 3: you know, a lot of work needs to be done

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Speaker 3: I heard the Chief Minister this morning talking about how

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Speaker 3: they're looking at extending the use of the Band Drinkers Register. Now,

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Speaker 3: this is a mechanism that was brought in in twenty eleven,

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Speaker 3: it was thrown out in twenty twelve by the COLP,

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Speaker 3: and they've had it back in place for six and

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Speaker 3: a half years or six years. What on earth is

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Speaker 3: she talking about? Like, surely any tweaking or modification or

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Speaker 3: improvement of the BDR should have been done by now,

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Speaker 3: but she said that they're in discussions around around improving

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Speaker 3: that and making putting trying to put more people on

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Speaker 3: the Band Drinkers Register, which I think should have happened

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Speaker 3: years ago. Well, that's it in place at all if

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Speaker 3: you're not going to fully utilize it.

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Speaker 1: And it's one of those things that we've you know,

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Speaker 1: at different times. We've spoken to the likes of Hospitality,

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Speaker 1: We've spoken to other stakeholders who have said that there's

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Speaker 1: ways that the Band Drinkers Register could be utilized more efficiently.

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Speaker 1: But why are we waiting this long to look at

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Speaker 1: reviewing these types of things and actually making those changes.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think one reason is politically a lot of

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Speaker 3: labor people, particularly working in the health industries. Health and

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Speaker 3: welfare industries don't like the BDR and so making professional

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Speaker 3: people put people that have alcohol problems on the BDR

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Speaker 3: has been rejected by a lot of people working in

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Speaker 3: health and welfare who are labor supporters, so there's not

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Speaker 3: a lot of support for it. I know. When it

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Speaker 3: was first introduced, the idea was to systematically put people

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Speaker 3: on the BDR who came to the attention of the

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Speaker 3: child Protection Authority, for example, but you had child protection

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Speaker 3: workers who just refused to do it. And I think

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Speaker 3: I've heard similar stories of people working in Aboriginal organizations,

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Speaker 3: aboriginal medical services. They just have a fundamental objection to

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Speaker 3: putting people on the band Drinker's Register. So you know,

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Speaker 3: once again, you know politically it might upset a few people,

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Speaker 3: so they've never bothered to enforce it in the way

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Speaker 3: they really should have and as you say, use it efficiently.

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Speaker 3: So more gobbledegoogen words from the Chief Minister. But will

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Speaker 3: it actually happen? I doubt it. Well, Robin, just slap

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Speaker 3: a few alcohol restrictions on the people of Alice seen

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Speaker 3: and make their life a little bit more uncomfortable and awkward,

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Speaker 3: But there is a greater good here, and I do

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Speaker 3: acknowledge that, Katie, but I think improved because of these restrictions.

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Speaker 1: The thing is, though, you have still got a situation

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Speaker 1: right now, as I understand it, and please correct me

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Speaker 1: if I'm wrong, where there are still youths out.

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Speaker 2: On the street at night.

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Speaker 1: I mean, just a week and a half ago Easter weekend,

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Speaker 1: there was vision of hundreds of kids in the CBD,

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Speaker 1: there was vision of vehicles being stolen. Has any of

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Speaker 1: that subdued in any way?

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Speaker 3: No, No, I don't think it has. I'm told that

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Speaker 3: the number of alcohol related presentations to the Alice Springs

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Speaker 3: Hospital Emergency Department has heart and there's been a reduction

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Speaker 3: in domestic violence by about a third. But what you

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Speaker 3: see and here on the streets, what happened, what is

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Speaker 3: happening at night, doesn't seem to reflect that. So we've

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Speaker 3: still got a hell of a long way to go.

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Speaker 3: But in principle, I agree with keeping these two alcohol

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Speaker 3: free days in place, Katie, for another three months. Let's

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Speaker 3: see what happens, Let's get some more data. I mean,

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Speaker 3: it is an inconvenience and it does impact our tourism industry.

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Speaker 3: But like all the other alcohol restrictions we've had in

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Speaker 3: place over the years. You just get used to it,

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Speaker 3: and our tourists get used to it, and you work

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Speaker 3: your way around it. It's no big deal at the

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Speaker 3: end of the day. If there's a greater good at

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Speaker 3: the end of the rainbow.

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Speaker 1: Robin, I do want to ask you, we know that.

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Speaker 1: Over the last week and a half or so as well,

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Speaker 1: there has been a real national focus yet again on

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs, Linky arimp Marie and Scrimjaw a bit earlier

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Speaker 1: in the week calling on the Northern Territory Government to

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Speaker 1: establish a queens and Style Family Responsibilities Commission with the

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Speaker 1: powers to enforce compulsory income management where children are being neglected.

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Speaker 2: Good idea, do you think.

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Speaker 3: I think it's a great idea, And good on Scrimshaw.

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Speaker 3: She never keeps to the Labor script and I love it.

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Speaker 3: She should be. She's always been a bit of a rebel,

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Speaker 3: even when she was a minister in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 3: Labor government years ago. Now Marian says it the way

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Speaker 3: it is and I think she's a great asset to

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Speaker 3: Central Australia. Yes, it's a good idea. We should be

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Speaker 3: trying all these things and more. We should be trialing

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Speaker 3: a curfew for children, for example, in Alice Springs, we

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Speaker 3: should be trialing income management, which is against her government's policy.

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Speaker 3: I might add, Yeah, we need to open our minds.

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Speaker 3: What we've got with the Northern Territory government is a

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Speaker 3: very tunnel vision approach. They're not taking on any sort

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Speaker 3: of new ideas. They're they're not really stretching themselves or

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Speaker 3: doing anything different, and I think that's their problem.

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Speaker 1: But the problem is that's exactly right, is the you know,

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Speaker 1: these issues are not getting fixed, and they've got be

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Speaker 1: prepared to look outside the box at the moment because

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Speaker 1: you know, even over the weekend up here in Darwin

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Speaker 1: As I know that you will know, we had a

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Speaker 1: woman allegedly stabbed at the hands of her partner and

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Speaker 1: killed tragically on Friday night, about thirteen kilometers away at Casarina,

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Speaker 1: two other people were stabbed in what is believed to

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Speaker 1: be another alleged domestic dispute. You know, enough is enough,

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Speaker 1: and everybody's entirely fatigued by the issues that we've got

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Speaker 1: with crime. They are absolutely over it, but they are

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Speaker 1: also utterly sick of the absolute violence and you know

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Speaker 1: the nature of that violence that we're seeing around the place.

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Speaker 2: It's just not good enough anymore.

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Speaker 1: And the government needs to take it really, really seriously. Well.

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Speaker 3: Until it starts to impact them politically, they will not

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Speaker 3: do anything. Obviously. What happens down here is of no

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Speaker 3: political consequence to them at all. That's why we've had

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Speaker 3: no real action or different strategies put in place. I

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Speaker 3: suggest that when it starts affecting the streets of Nightcliff

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Speaker 3: and Wanguri and Sanders and you will see changes and

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Speaker 3: new initiatives being considered. But until then, and I think

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Speaker 3: you've got a long way to go up there. And Darwin, Katie,

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Speaker 3: I give you a few more years of suffering before

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Speaker 3: you see any great.

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Speaker 2: Jake Goodness me.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you've got a long wait. And you know, talking

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Speaker 3: about feeling over it, people down here have been feeling

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Speaker 3: over it for a hell of a long time.

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Speaker 2: I bet you have. And I feel for you.

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Speaker 1: I feel for the people of Alice Springs because these

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Speaker 1: issues are just not good enough. And the government, I know,

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Speaker 1: like you've said, you feel as though we've got a

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Speaker 1: way to go. I really I don't feel so sure.

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Speaker 1: I don't think that the government can continue down this path.

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Speaker 1: People are they're getting really angry, Robin.

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Speaker 3: And you can hardly blame them. But just keep in

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Speaker 3: mind this government has lurched from one position to another,

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Speaker 3: from one policy to another. This is a government that

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Speaker 3: just a few months ago rejected my motion in Parliament

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Speaker 3: to make Parliament House a dry zone, a dry work zone.

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Speaker 3: This is a government that opened the rivers of grog

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Speaker 3: to more than four hundred living Aboriginal living areas across

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory just a few months ago, in July

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Speaker 3: last year. They don't really know what their direction is.

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Speaker 3: They're just in a state of crisis really. And the

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Speaker 3: side show, the Chalka she Minister's side show, is another

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Speaker 3: very sad indictment of what's going on. The focus on

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Speaker 3: that should all be refocused back to the situation that's

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Speaker 3: unfolding in all our suburbs, in all our streets throughout

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory. Now for Chalka, the Chief Minister and

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Speaker 3: the Police Minister to have allowed this situation to occur

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Speaker 3: between man to take over that the narrative of crime

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Speaker 3: and Laura and order is just a disgrace. So look,

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Speaker 3: this government is not performing they're in a whole world

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Speaker 3: of trouble and I think the next year, the next election,

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Speaker 3: I should say, cannot come around quick enough where people

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Speaker 3: have a chance to have their say. Again.

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Speaker 1: Well, Robin Lamley, I always appreciate your time, particularly this

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Speaker 1: morning with this government announcement and hearing your thoughts from

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Speaker 1: a local perspective in Alice Springs. Thank you as always

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Speaker 1: for having a chat with me.

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Speaker 3: Many thanks, Katie, thank you