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Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix

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Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com. The Federal government has

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Speaker 1: today outlined a major new investment package which is aimed

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Speaker 1: at supporting new job creation, digital connectivity and growing business

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Speaker 1: throughout Australia's North. The Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia,

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Speaker 1: Keith Pitt, joins me on the line right now. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Keith.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Great with you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, great to have you on the show. Now, tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this, well, one hundred

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Speaker 1: and ninety million dollar investment through our North, our future.

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Speaker 1: It's an investment plan I well as part of.

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Speaker 3: The refresh Agenda our next five years and delivering for

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Speaker 3: the North. Well, we want to connect the North to

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Speaker 3: the world.

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Speaker 2: It shouldn't matter right where you live. It should matter

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Speaker 2: whether you're in Kenes or Kanamara or Canbra.

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Speaker 3: You should have the same levels of digital connectivity as

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Speaker 3: every other astrain and we're looking to ensure that that

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Speaker 3: can happen.

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Speaker 1: Now, how will this how will this refresh gender deliver more?

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Speaker 1: I know that some have been critical obviously of what

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Speaker 1: they would say is a bit of a lack of

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Speaker 1: movement or as fast as they'd like. Maybe when it

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Speaker 1: comes to developing the North, how will this help.

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Speaker 3: We've already delivered billions of dollars in the last five years,

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Speaker 3: as you know, Katie. But this one hundred and ninety

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Speaker 3: million has broken up into three key components. That is

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Speaker 3: a pilot program for what we're calling Regions of Growth,

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Speaker 3: around sixty eight million dollars for connecting Northern Australia, and

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Speaker 3: then a Northern Australia Development program.

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Speaker 2: Worth around one hundred and twelve million dollars.

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Speaker 3: Now, the really exciting part, in my view is around

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Speaker 3: the digital connectivity. It's ensuring that we can start to

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Speaker 3: address more mobile black spots, more data connections, and we

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Speaker 3: want to make sure we can connect the North to

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Speaker 3: the world. Align with the Prime Minister's announcement this morning

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Speaker 3: one point two billion dollars towards the digital economy. I

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Speaker 3: think there's real opportunities in the North around automation, around

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Speaker 3: the use of drones and agricultural advances. You've got to

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Speaker 3: be connected to the world to make that happen.

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Speaker 1: Now, what will does this mean for the likes of

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Speaker 1: Darwin but also for our more regional and remote locations.

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Speaker 3: I will obviously be looking to partner with those private

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Speaker 3: providers that are out there to maximize the banks for buck.

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Speaker 3: In fact, we're here in Rockampton at Beef Week the

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Speaker 3: Gateway to the North. Minister Mark Colton's just are now

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Speaker 3: from extension to the Regional Connectivity Program which has been

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Speaker 3: really successful and was way over subscribed. There's more money

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Speaker 3: into that as well, but we want to make sure

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Speaker 3: that those opportunities occur right across the North. Now, the

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Speaker 3: Regions of Growth program is about being more targeted in

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Speaker 3: terms of our investments. We will look closely in the

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Speaker 3: first pilot areas.

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Speaker 2: Like Townsville, Mount Asa, I like Cananara.

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Speaker 3: Across the Darwen and across the Broom, I like the

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Speaker 3: Cansta glasson Lynks. And then in the next tier, which

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Speaker 3: we'll talk about in coming weeks, and that's around growth hubs,

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Speaker 3: regional hubs building on those strengths of Northern Australia.

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Speaker 1: So what, well, I suppose for those out there listening

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Speaker 1: this morning who are maybe thinking to themselves, well, what

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Speaker 1: all this actually mean for us here in Darwin, what

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Speaker 1: would you say to them? Oh?

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Speaker 3: Well, at a very simple level, it's a twenty five

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Speaker 3: million dollars towards the Mobile black Spot program, which has

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Speaker 3: been really successful now over a number of years. It's

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Speaker 3: forty one million for regional connectivity and that's about making

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Speaker 3: sure we can get those data connections.

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Speaker 2: Into those remote regional locations.

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Speaker 3: And the one hundred and twelve million dollars now, this program

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Speaker 3: is about predominantly supporting.

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Speaker 2: Those mum and dad businesses.

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Speaker 3: You know, they're the backbone of the North Katie, as

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Speaker 3: you and I both know well, helping them scale up

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Speaker 3: to diversify.

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Speaker 2: There's money in there around business case development.

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Speaker 3: We know a lot of organizations struggle to be able

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Speaker 3: to build that level of proposal, particularly when applying to

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Speaker 3: the nation, and we will make sure we can help

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Speaker 3: them out.

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Speaker 1: Keith. One of the issues that we're hearing a lot

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Speaker 1: in the territory at the moment, and no doubt you're

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Speaker 1: hearing it quite a lot in regional Queensland where you

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Speaker 1: are at the moment, is about a workforce shortage, not

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Speaker 1: only when you talk about our territory farmers, but also

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Speaker 1: even when we look at the likes of tourism and hospitality.

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Speaker 1: No doubt you're hearing that very loudly and clearly right

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Speaker 1: now too.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely and the new Minister and that portfolio.

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Speaker 3: Stuart Rollt has that plenty to say about targeting skills

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Speaker 3: to match what the shortages are in those areas.

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Speaker 2: I think that's a really positive move.

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Speaker 3: But we need every Australian to be at work.

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Speaker 2: Coatie. Yeah, if you're out.

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Speaker 3: There and you're looking for work, there's work for you

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Speaker 3: right now. And I just encourage everybody that's listening to

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Speaker 3: your show, get yourself out there, get.

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Speaker 2: Back in the workforce Australian need.

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Speaker 1: I know, we've got our NT farmers at the moment.

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Speaker 1: We're actually about to catch up with them in a

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Speaker 1: couple of minutes. The NT Farmers Association, in partnership with

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Speaker 1: Hospitality NT. They're urging the territory and the Commonwealth governments

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Speaker 1: to utilize the Bladan Point Worker village that we've got

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Speaker 1: here in Darwin as a quarantine facility for their workforce requirements,

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Speaker 1: so potentially looking at bringing some of those workers from

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Speaker 1: some of the safer countries overseas across to work you're

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Speaker 1: in the territory to fill some of those jobs that

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Speaker 1: we can't currently fill. I know you're not, you know,

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Speaker 1: you're not across all the detail of what they're proposing,

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Speaker 1: But is this something that we realistically need to be

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Speaker 1: taking a bit of a closer look at.

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Speaker 3: Oh, well, the Comonwealth's working closely with the state and

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Speaker 3: territory governments. I know there's been a lot of discussion

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Speaker 3: about quarantine facilities. We've already got how it springs in operations,

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Speaker 3: and I mean hotel quarantine for returning Australia has worked

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Speaker 3: very very well.

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Speaker 2: It's been incredibly successful.

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Speaker 3: We you only have to compare us to what's happening

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Speaker 3: in other countries around the world right now, Kai, the

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Speaker 3: Australian people.

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Speaker 2: Have just done a phenomenal job.

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Speaker 3: Now we'll continue to ensure that people are safe and

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Speaker 3: we'll also continue to ensure that we listen to the

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Speaker 3: health advice, particularly.

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Speaker 2: As that changes, and it has changed in recent weeks.

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Speaker 3: We know that India in particular is in a very

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Speaker 3: difficult position right now. That's why we've had to put

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Speaker 3: a pause on those returns. But will work our way

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Speaker 3: through these challenges that we have done over the last

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Speaker 3: twelve months.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and as you said, India it is a big concern.

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Speaker 1: I know even today there's a report in the Alien

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Speaker 1: that the federal government you guys are looking at proposals

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Speaker 1: that those repatriated Australians, all of them really from India,

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Speaker 1: come through the Howard Springs facility. There's a lot of

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Speaker 1: looking to Northern Australia, particularly the territory at the moment

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Speaker 1: when it comes to our quarantining.

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Speaker 3: Oh look, as the risk levels change and the advice changes,

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Speaker 3: will clearly we move. So we need these couple of

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Speaker 3: weeks out to May fifteenth to ensure that we've got

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Speaker 3: those things in place that are necessary are given the

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Speaker 3: increase in risk for travelers from India, and we've done

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Speaker 3: a good job so far, Katy, and as have all Australians.

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Speaker 3: I just want to thank them all for what they've done.

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Speaker 3: They've had some pretty hard yards to do in the

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Speaker 3: last twelve months, but the results have been fantastic.

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Speaker 1: Well. Federal Minister for Northern Australia, Keith Peter, it's always

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Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. Thanks for your time today.

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Speaker 3: Great with you, Katie, and don't forget the insurance package

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Speaker 3: that we've got to another ten billion dollars them a table,

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Speaker 3: get those insurance costs down.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Keith. Thank you