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Speaker 1: The territory was heartbroken when we learned of the deaths

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Speaker 1: of bottle shop worker decland Lavity. Then last week that

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Speaker 1: grief struck the community once again when Bangladeshi student See

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Speaker 1: Fat's life was lost in another act of senseless violence.

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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is Declan Lavity's mum,

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Speaker 1: Samara Lavity. Good morning, Samara, good morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me on the show. Samara,

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Speaker 1: how are you and your family going at the moment,

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Speaker 1: up and down?

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Speaker 2: We're having good days, we're having bad days, and even

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Speaker 2: on the good days, we're having bad moments. There's just

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Speaker 2: so many things that reminds me of him, And yeah,

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Speaker 2: there's just so many memories that both my daughter and

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Speaker 2: I are trying to process and get through each day,

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Speaker 2: one step at a time.

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Speaker 1: Samaraw I can't imagine what it's been like for you

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Speaker 1: since losing Declan. I've got a I've got a son

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Speaker 1: and a daughter as well, much younger than your two

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Speaker 1: and I I actually just can't even comprehend the heartbreak

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Speaker 1: that you must be living.

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Speaker 2: It's awful. It's a pain that I would not wish

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Speaker 2: on anyone else ever. It feels like half of my

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Speaker 2: heart has gone.

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Speaker 1: Samara. Last week we learned of another tragic loss of

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Speaker 1: life with international students, se Fat killed inside a home

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Speaker 1: in which he was staying here in Darwin. What was

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Speaker 1: it like for you when you found out about that

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Speaker 1: situation unfolding.

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Speaker 2: I was shocked. Deathlin's death is tragic and horrific, but

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Speaker 2: for this one will have happened in the way it

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Speaker 2: happened that it was just unbelievable, and both my daughter

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Speaker 2: and I sat there and we tried, because now another

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Speaker 2: family knows what it's like to have to go through this.

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Speaker 2: And the one thing I wanted and still want to

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Speaker 2: come out of Declin's death is that no other parent

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Speaker 2: has to deal with getting that phone call and being

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Speaker 2: told that their child is dead or is dying as

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Speaker 2: a result of somebody else's actions.

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Speaker 1: No parents should have to go through what you've gone through.

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Speaker 1: No parents should have to go through what sea Fat's

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Speaker 1: family going through right now. I understand that you reached

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Speaker 1: out to his family. Sorry, pattern did you reach out

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Speaker 1: to sea Fat's family?

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Speaker 2: I haven't. I have spoken to a few people who

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Speaker 2: were going to pass messages for me.

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Speaker 1: Though, like I said, I you know, so it is

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Speaker 1: just a situation where I can't fathom how you and

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Speaker 1: your daughter are going at this point in time. And Samara,

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Speaker 1: the thing that really struck me after the loss of

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Speaker 1: Declam was the absolute outpouring of love from the Darwin community.

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Speaker 1: People are really obviously incredibly upset by what's going on,

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Speaker 1: but they really wanted you and your family to know

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Speaker 1: that they care about you and that they do not

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Speaker 1: want Declan's death to be in vain.

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Speaker 2: I have received literally hundreds of messages from people Indo

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Speaker 2: and the support and the love and the cave that

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Speaker 2: we've been show and has just been phenomenal, amazing and

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Speaker 2: absolutely overwhelming. But my boy, my kid has impacted so

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Speaker 2: many thousands of people.

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Speaker 1: He truly has. Honestly, I think that it's been a

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Speaker 1: real turning point for the Northern Territory where we all

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Speaker 1: knew that we were suffering from really serious issues with crime,

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Speaker 1: but what happened with Declan it broke everybody, and no

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Speaker 1: one more so than you and your family, But it

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Speaker 1: really made the community sort of sit up and go,

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Speaker 1: this is enough. This should not have happened. This young

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Speaker 1: man should not have lost his life.

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Speaker 2: No, I absolutely agree, and it's had to take Declan's

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Speaker 2: passing to be the catalyst for change that it shouldn't

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Speaker 2: have to take someone dying for people to notice that

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Speaker 2: things are not right.

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Speaker 1: You spot on, Samara, are you in Darwin today for

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Speaker 1: the crime rally?

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Speaker 2: I am. I will be speaking at the rally today and.

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Speaker 1: What is your message for the Northern Territory government. Why

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Speaker 1: have you decided that you do want to stand up

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Speaker 1: and speak at that rally?

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Speaker 2: Because no other family should ever get that phone call

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Speaker 2: to hear the words that Declan has died. Broke something

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Speaker 2: fundamental in me and no other parents should ever have

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Speaker 2: to have that feeling. My daughter and her half sister

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Speaker 2: have lost their brother, the one that was going to

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Speaker 2: walk them down the aisle. Declon's half sister has a

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Speaker 2: one year old and is pregnant with another child. They're

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Speaker 2: never going to meet that uncle. There's just been so

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Speaker 2: much that has been absolutely stripped away from us and

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Speaker 2: our family and the person that Declin was becoming. I'm

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Speaker 2: so by things need to change.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm so sorry for the loss that you and

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Speaker 1: and your family are suffering and the ongoing, you know,

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Speaker 1: the ongoing grief that you are all feeling. Samara, what

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Speaker 1: is your message to the government today. Do you feel

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Speaker 1: as though they have done enough following on from what's happened.

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Speaker 2: I don't know very much at all about the political

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Speaker 2: side of Northern Territory politics. I've had a very very

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Speaker 2: quick lesson in how things have been perceived by different

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Speaker 2: factions of government, and my personal opinion is that there

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Speaker 2: just doesn't seem to have been enough acknowledgment towards the

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Speaker 2: crime levels. Because it's not just my son's death, it's

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Speaker 2: not Seafat death, it's not that poor lady who was

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Speaker 2: killed in the DV incident and the one that happens

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Speaker 2: the week before Declin died. That just doesn't seem to

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Speaker 2: have been any real, out there acknowledgments other than a

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Speaker 2: very basic This has happened, and it's tragic. But what's

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Speaker 2: happening on the ground to stop this? It's not an

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Speaker 2: easy answer, I get that, but something's got to start somewhere,

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Speaker 2: and as far as I can see, there hasn't been

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Speaker 2: a lot of notice put towards how the people in

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Speaker 2: the town feel. I kept coming into dawn yesterday. It's

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Speaker 2: a palpable feeling of apprehension wherever I went, and that

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Speaker 2: was sad and concerning because people are scared and something

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Speaker 2: needs to be done about that. But yeah, I haven't

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Speaker 2: seen anything about how they are really going to addresser

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Speaker 2: and how people's concerns are being taken into account.

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Speaker 1: Your spot on and look, I think it's really I've

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Speaker 1: been you know, I really respect the way that you've

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Speaker 1: conducted yourself and the way that you've stood up and

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Speaker 1: how and the strengths that you have shown over the

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Speaker 1: recent weeks in what is an unbelievable and undescribable situation.

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Speaker 1: And then to stand up today, obviously and speak what's

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Speaker 1: you know, what is the main thing that you really

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Speaker 1: want the community and our decision makers in the territory

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Speaker 1: to know when you do stand up and speak today.

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Speaker 2: Today is seven weeks and four days since I lost

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Speaker 2: my son. No other parent needs to be counting those days.

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Speaker 2: No other parents should be putting their child carest at

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Speaker 2: the age of twenty or twenty three. And see if

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Speaker 2: that's case, it's it just should not be happening. And

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Speaker 2: please listen to what the people are saying. Everyone's angry,

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Speaker 2: everyone's hurt, everyone's set up. That anger is going to

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Speaker 2: have to go somewhere, and someone needs to the lobject

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Speaker 2: before it became hits boiling points and vigilante actions happen,

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Speaker 2: or revenge of hat like fighting fire with fire is

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Speaker 2: not going to work. People can't be out just doing

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Speaker 2: their own thing, and so that's to happen. Someone in

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Speaker 2: government needs to step forward and say this is not

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Speaker 2: going to happen. This is how we're going to address it.

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Speaker 2: The multifaceted, multi factorial issue. But someone's got to start

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Speaker 2: the process somewhere.

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Speaker 1: Samara, there is no doubt that your boys had a

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Speaker 1: profound impact on Darwin. How do you want Deckland to

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Speaker 1: be remembered?

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Speaker 2: Funny? He was a funny, funny kid. He absolutely loved

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Speaker 2: his AFL beyond words to describe. He was very very

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Speaker 2: much a Richmond Tigers fan. But he's not just that

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Speaker 2: kid who has been killed at work in and is

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Speaker 2: now with the catalyst change. He was a person. He

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Speaker 2: was a brother, he was my baby boy, he lived

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Speaker 2: with his dad. He is a person, person, family, and

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Speaker 2: I think that's what people can relate to, is that

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Speaker 2: it could have been anyone's anyone's child, just at work

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Speaker 2: doing their job, and then this has happened. And it's

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Speaker 2: his story is relatable.

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Speaker 1: Samara, thank you so much for speaking to me this morning,

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Speaker 1: and for speaking to the whole of the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: and you know, sharing sharing that further sort of memory

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Speaker 1: of your son and the beautiful, beautiful kid that he was,

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Speaker 1: and for also speaking up for territorians, because I don't

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Speaker 1: think that anybody, aside from yourself and the families that

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Speaker 1: have lost loved ones through this really senseless violence. While

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Speaker 1: we've all felt really upset about what's going on in

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Speaker 1: the territory, no one can stand the loss that you

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Speaker 1: are going through and the way that it's impacted your family.

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Speaker 1: So I'm so grateful for you to open up and

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Speaker 1: have a talk to us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. We look forward to seeing

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Speaker 2: as many people as we can at the rally to

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Speaker 2: try and try and create some form of change.

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Speaker 1: Samara, thank you. I really appreciate your time and all

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Speaker 1: the best while you're in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: Great Thank you, Thank you for having me