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Speaker 1: Now we know that data has been released by the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory government. It shows that alcohol related emergency department

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Speaker 1: presentations increased by fifty percent since those grog bands lifted

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Speaker 1: in July. So the ABC reporting Matt Garreck reporting that

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Speaker 1: presentations at Alice Springs Hospital increased from eight hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty cases in the second quarter of twenty twenty two

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Speaker 1: to nearly thirteen hundred by the fourth quarter, during which

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Speaker 1: time the Stronger Futures legislation ended. So that's a bit

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Speaker 1: of info that's just come out this morning. But we

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Speaker 1: do know as well today that newly appointed Regional Controller

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Speaker 1: Darrell Anderson, who was appointed to advise the government on

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Speaker 1: the situation in Alice Springs, is due to report back

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Speaker 1: about the implementation of potential changes to alcohol restrictions in

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Speaker 1: Central Australia. Today, many wondering if we're going to see

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Speaker 1: alcohol band in town camps or the re implementation of

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Speaker 1: Stronger Future style restrictions. Now, the Senator for the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: Jacenter number jimper Price joins me on the line right now.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to your Senator.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now, how have things been going in our springs from

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Speaker 1: your perspective. For the last two days, with those takeaway

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Speaker 1: alcohol restrictions in place.

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Speaker 2: Well, I guess there's less, you know, there's still you

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Speaker 2: still see drunks here and there, but not the amount

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Speaker 2: that we have had prior to There's not much difference

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Speaker 2: in terms of the groups of young people which swarm

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Speaker 2: our streets late at night, you know, getting out there

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Speaker 2: and trying to insight violence on our streets. Just that

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Speaker 2: element really hasn't changed at all. It's still not safe

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Speaker 2: to be to be out on the street. If people

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Speaker 2: want to go out of the town, there's probably one

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Speaker 2: or maybe two venues that they can go to, but

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Speaker 2: going between those venues poses a problem because of the

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Speaker 2: amount of young people on the streets trying to see

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Speaker 2: what they can do to cause trouble.

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Speaker 1: Oh and horrible as well. Over the last couple of days,

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Speaker 1: you know, I've shared on social media one instance where

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Speaker 1: there's people, you know, behind the gates at a hotel

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Speaker 1: or behind a fence at a hotel, people young people

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Speaker 1: spitting and then swearing and then turning into a fight.

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Speaker 1: And then there's also vision from yesterday with teenagers with

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Speaker 1: an axe as I understand it, and another young bloke

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Speaker 1: trying to get away. And the really scary and sad

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Speaker 1: part here is that for us here in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: this isn't new, Like none of this is new. I

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Speaker 1: know it's really shocking to the rest of the nation.

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Speaker 1: But you've been talking about this for as long as

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Speaker 1: I've been talking to you.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean I feel like I'm

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Speaker 2: just banging my head against the brick wall, and you

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Speaker 2: know it's quite insulting. You know, this is my hometown.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I understand that our member for Linkiari, who

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Speaker 2: I appreciate being talking about it, but I've lived here

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Speaker 2: for eighteen months and I've been here on my life

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Speaker 2: and continue to be ignored even I've asked for, you know,

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Speaker 2: bipartisan support from the Labor government to be able to

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Speaker 2: do something about this. When to clearly outlined to my

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Speaker 2: concerns to this territory government about what would happen once

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Speaker 2: the Stronger Futures legislation came to an end, and they're

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Speaker 2: just letting letting things just go by the wayside. Basically,

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Speaker 2: you know, we didn't need a crystal ball, you know.

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Speaker 2: Hearing you site those figures, this morning. That's not something

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Speaker 2: new to us as well. You know, as locals, we

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Speaker 2: don't need the statistics. We can see everything before our eyes.

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Speaker 2: And I just don't understand the reluctance to act effectively

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Speaker 2: to be able to support these communities who you know,

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Speaker 2: and who have the most vulnerable Australians within these communities.

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Speaker 2: It's like Aboriginal people. It's complete hands off, just don't

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Speaker 2: do anything for fear of being called racist or if

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Speaker 2: there's a measure that they don't agree with. You know,

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Speaker 2: Natasha Files achievements. The Files pulls out the racism card

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Speaker 2: every time. Chancey Pate pulls out the racism card every time.

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Speaker 2: But they're completely and utterly ineffective in anything they attempt

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Speaker 2: to try it well, they're not even attempting to try to,

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Speaker 2: you know, certainly uphold the human rights of these children.

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Speaker 2: These children in fact, under Darrell Anderson's watch, she was

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Speaker 2: previously head of Territory Families. It was her responsibility in

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Speaker 2: child protection to ensure these children remained in you know, situations,

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Speaker 2: in circumstances that their lives were going to be protected.

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Speaker 2: But quite often I was told regularly by foster parents

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Speaker 2: of the fact that they were so beside themselves that

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Speaker 2: their children, the children they were caring for, were to

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Speaker 2: be returned to KIN because all of a sudden, you know,

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Speaker 2: a child that they've taken care of from when they

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Speaker 2: were babies till the age of seven or eight, someone's

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Speaker 2: put the hand up and said that we're kin, will

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Speaker 2: take will take these kids. When these kids have lived

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Speaker 2: in places like Alice Springs, where they've gone to school,

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Speaker 2: where they've had all their medical needs met, or their

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Speaker 2: special needs met, all their needs met that were going

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Speaker 2: to allow them to grow up to become well rounded

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Speaker 2: and educated adults. That's been stripped from those children when

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Speaker 2: they've been put back out into households that were dysfunctional,

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Speaker 2: out on communities where none of the services are available

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Speaker 2: to meet their needs, against the advice of professionals like

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Speaker 2: child psychologists, pediatricians. I've heard so many stories of that

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Speaker 2: taking place, and during the time during Durell Anderson's tenure.

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Speaker 2: So it concerns me that this government is relying on

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Speaker 2: this report from someone who hasn't even actually consulted leaders

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Speaker 2: within the community, organizations like Congress, even people like myself

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Speaker 2: to devise a strategy going forward. I don't understand why

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Speaker 2: they were relying solely on this individual to make decisions

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Speaker 2: going ahead when everyone else has got many of the

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Speaker 2: solutions that they're completely ignoring.

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Speaker 1: So Senator, you know, taking that into account and taking

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Speaker 1: into account what you've just seed, what do you think,

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Speaker 1: you know, what do you think we are going to

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Speaker 1: see today when that report is handed to the federal

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Speaker 1: to the federal government.

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Speaker 2: Well, I can't be sure. You know, it's a bit

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Speaker 2: like it's a bit like a lucky dip, you know,

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Speaker 2: stick your hand in and pull out whatever. We don't

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Speaker 2: know what we're going to see. I have obviously drafted

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Speaker 2: this bill which when we go back to Parliament I

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Speaker 2: will introduce which which seeks to reinstate the alcohol bands

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Speaker 2: in town camps where women and children, vulnerable people are

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Speaker 2: crying out for it, and in back out in those

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Speaker 2: communities until such time if communities want to have alcohol

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Speaker 2: in them, then they have to have in place an

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Speaker 2: effective alcohol management plan that the infrastructure and the education

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Speaker 2: that goes with it, because you can't simply just allow

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Speaker 2: for alcohol back in these communities. Obviously, but you know,

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Speaker 2: this is what should have happened, and perhaps this is

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Speaker 2: what you know Durell will suggest. I don't know. I

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Speaker 2: don't think any of us are going to hold our breath,

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Speaker 2: but it'll be interesting to see and you know, perhaps

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Speaker 2: perhaps politically that they look they're seeking to make my deal,

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Speaker 2: my bill redundant. But we'll see, because well I have

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Speaker 2: been in talk with Marion and Melanderry about it and

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Speaker 2: I'm hopeful that they will support me.

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Speaker 1: I think, you know, like honestly, I think we're at

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Speaker 1: the point where political party lines need to be dropped.

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Speaker 1: You know, we've got a crisis going on in Central

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Speaker 1: Australia and if we start to go I'm not doing

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Speaker 1: that because Jacinda's drafted it, or I'm not doing that

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Speaker 1: because Marian's drafted it or whatever, nothing's going to change.

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Speaker 1: You know, we're at the point where we've we've got

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Speaker 1: these really you know, really strong indigenous women leaders like

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Speaker 1: yourself standing up up saying we need to do you know, X,

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Speaker 1: Y and Z, we actually have to listen to you

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Speaker 1: rather than you know, following our party their party lines.

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Speaker 1: But in the Australian today as well, Senator the Minister

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Speaker 1: for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burning Now she's actually told Sky

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Speaker 1: News that recommendations in this report you know that's going

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Speaker 1: to be released today, will be considered very carefully by

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Speaker 1: the government, and protecting women and children was the top priority.

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Speaker 1: Does that give you any more hope hearing her say

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Speaker 1: those words?

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Speaker 2: You know, until really, until I see action, it's all

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Speaker 2: just words. It's all just what it is. And again,

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Speaker 2: if we really want to be serious about protecting children,

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Speaker 2: then there needs to be an absolute overhaul and a

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Speaker 2: child protection system that no longer prioritizes a child's language

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Speaker 2: or culture or connection to land, but prioritize the human

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Speaker 2: rights to live a life free of violence and sexual abuse.

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Speaker 2: If they were really serious, and they'd allow the opportunity

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Speaker 2: for these kids to have permanent care until the age

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Speaker 2: of toil the adulthood with the families that are in

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Speaker 2: fact doing that and upholding their human rights, regardless of

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Speaker 2: what the family's racial background is. And we provide the

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Speaker 2: opportunity for those kids to also be adopted as Indigenous children.

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Speaker 2: And we'd actually allow for more nurses like Rachel Hale

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Speaker 2: to come forward to actually tell us exactly what we're

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Speaker 2: talking about here. I mean, she's talking about four year

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Speaker 2: olds with anal warts. She's talking about two year olds

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Speaker 2: with STIs talking about whole families with gonorrhea. We've got

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Speaker 2: to get real about what's actually going on. We've got

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Speaker 2: to stop making this a race based issue and make

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Speaker 2: this a humanitarian issue.

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Speaker 1: I know there'll be so many people listening this morning

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Speaker 1: who agree with what you were saying, Senator, and you know,

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Speaker 1: feeling exactly the same that it has to be, you know,

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Speaker 1: like it can't be a race based issue. We've got

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Speaker 1: to make some inroads here. And what we're doing at

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Speaker 1: the moment is it's not working. You know, what's going

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Speaker 1: on in Ella Springs is an indication of that. What

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Speaker 1: do you think could be happening immediately today to try

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Speaker 1: and you know, to try and really turn off the

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Speaker 1: tap and make some change immediately.

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Speaker 2: Well, they need to bring back the cashless debit card.

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Speaker 2: Another Basics card exists for some that want it, but

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Speaker 2: the cashless debit card as a tool was far more

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Speaker 2: effective and a more superior form of technology than the

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Speaker 2: Basics card. They need to reinstate those bands effective immediately,

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Speaker 2: and I don't see why they can't then, you know,

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Speaker 2: provide that opportunity. It needs to be a process for

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Speaker 2: opting out of such bands. But we know the legislation

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Speaker 2: is there and it exists, and well, look when it

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Speaker 2: comes to children, they need to the government turn around

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Speaker 2: and honor the commitment that I made the eight point

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Speaker 2: three million dollars to yiper in the school to be

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Speaker 2: able to build the accommodation there for staff and students,

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Speaker 2: a stafe haven in an education with an education focused

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Speaker 2: for those problem kids that are on our streets that

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Speaker 2: deal specifically with you know, those those vulnerable children from

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Speaker 2: town camps, and look at how they can support a

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Speaker 2: model like that elsewhere in the Northern territory. And you

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Speaker 2: know what you know then there that does need to

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Speaker 2: be consequences for the crimes that are commuted on our streets.

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Speaker 2: And increasing the age of criminal responsibility does not speak

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Speaker 2: to that doesn't help when you've got you know, kids

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Speaker 2: twelve year olds who are sexually abusing other children, I mean,

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Speaker 2: wielding machetes and those sorts of things. You can't tell

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Speaker 2: me those kids don't understand that that's the wrong behavior.

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Speaker 2: There needs to be more effective consequences with regard to that,

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Speaker 2: and perhaps it's those responsible adults that need to also

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Speaker 2: understand what those consequences might look like in the community

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Speaker 2: of Hermansburg at the moment, they're actually they're problem kids.

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Speaker 2: The community is putting out flyers with their faces on

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Speaker 2: them and a description of what they have done, and

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Speaker 2: those children are being held to account by family members,

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Speaker 2: by community members. If the government is going to step

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Speaker 2: up and put in place in such measures, maybe the

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Speaker 2: community need to start doing that ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Well. Just center number, jimper Price, We always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much for having a chat with us today,

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Speaker 1: and I reckon we'll be talking over the coming days

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Speaker 1: after we see exactly what the federal and Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: government announced this afternoon, if they announced something this afternoon,

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Speaker 1: and whether they make this report public.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie, thank you