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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie wolf On mixed one oh four

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Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin. You may have

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Speaker 1: read in the paper today that the joint management of

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Speaker 1: federal government controlled national parks is going to be reviewed

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Speaker 1: and three Territorians are going to have key roles in

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Speaker 1: the process. Now joining me on the line to tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about the situation is the

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Speaker 1: Federal Environment Minister Susan Lay.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Good morning Katie, and good morning

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Speaker 2: to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister, can you talk us through what is going

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Speaker 1: to happen with this review and the involvement of the

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Speaker 1: three Territorians.

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Speaker 2: I've established a senior advisory group to look at how

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Speaker 2: we jointly manage Commonwealth national parks. As you know, I

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Speaker 2: traveled and spent quite a bit of time in Kakado

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Speaker 2: towards the end of last year. Following that we made

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Speaker 2: a number of structural changes within parks Australia. We've got

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Speaker 2: two park managers, including at least one traditional owner, and

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Speaker 2: we've got a key senior executive position relocated from canber

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Speaker 2: to Darwin. And this is the next important step. I mean,

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Speaker 2: we know these sites are incredibly important for cultural significance

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Speaker 2: for environmental biodiversity, and we're reviewing the management of national

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Speaker 2: parks make sure that traditional liners have the right day

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Speaker 2: at the right time, Minister.

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Speaker 1: I guess from the outside looking in, for plenty of

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Speaker 1: US Territorians, there'll be people asking why does it seem

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Speaker 1: so hard to get it right here when it comes

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Speaker 1: to Kackadoo.

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Speaker 2: I understand that, and I always listen to territorians when

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Speaker 2: it comes to Kackadoo because I'm conscious and I saw

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Speaker 2: that with some of the issues we faced with parks,

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Speaker 2: that feeling of everything is being done from a long

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Speaker 2: way away. I e canbra so part of this group, which,

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Speaker 2: as you say, will have three Territorians Joe Martin Jard

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Speaker 2: from the Central Land Council, Shane Stone, well known to

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Speaker 2: everyone as a former Chief Minister, and Nolan Hunter who

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Speaker 2: was involved in the site of the native title of

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Speaker 2: the Kinderley Land Council. I've also got Denise Boden from

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Speaker 2: Yoshi Indies Foundation and the tasks the group will be

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Speaker 2: co chaired by Amana Vanstone.

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Speaker 1: Well.

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Speaker 2: These individuals will really boring together, not just their own

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Speaker 2: expertise and history, but that listening and that understanding what.

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Speaker 1: Type of timeline are we talking here in terms of

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Speaker 1: the review happening and being able to get some of

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Speaker 1: these changes implemented towards.

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Speaker 2: The end of this year six months. They'll be busy.

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Speaker 2: They'll travel to the parks that are in the territory

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Speaker 2: that also go to Budery of the New South Wales

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Speaker 2: South Coast, and they will come back to me with

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Speaker 2: their thoughts. But those thoughts will be informed by the

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Speaker 2: conversations they have with territories, not just those who live

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Speaker 2: and work in the park they're obviously really important, but

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Speaker 2: by everyone. When I was in the territory, of the

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Speaker 2: conversations I had with the tourism industry were very important,

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Speaker 2: and getting that right between continuity and certainty for visitors

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Speaker 2: if often and hope will suit again come from international

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Speaker 2: ports to see our parks, give them the best possible experience,

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Speaker 2: but to also recognize that we have to do it

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Speaker 2: in the right way with traditional owners. So there's a

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Speaker 2: very practical edge to this. As you say, people have

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Speaker 2: been frustrated because it hasn't been right. I'm determined that

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Speaker 2: we get it right. This is part of that. But

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Speaker 2: I mentioned those other changes that we've made about management,

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Speaker 2: about reporting, about traditional owner involvement and look, it's one

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Speaker 2: of the areas of my portfolio that I keep a

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Speaker 2: really close eye on Cacka Doo and what's happening there.

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Speaker 1: What do you think needs to sort of happen or

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Speaker 1: what do you want, you know, the advisory group to

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Speaker 1: really be looking at as a matter of urgency and

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Speaker 1: happening as quickly as possible.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to forecast what they might find. I

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Speaker 2: will always say to people doing a review on our

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Speaker 2: behalf or my behalf, you know, feel free to bring

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Speaker 2: back the recommendations that you want to and that will happen.

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Speaker 2: In this case, I management. The current management model has

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Speaker 2: been in place for forty years and maybe there are

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Speaker 2: of In fact, I know there are ways that we

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Speaker 2: can improve it. Perhaps the way the board meets, talks

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Speaker 2: and makes decisions. They themselves have told me they'd like

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Speaker 2: to see that changed or refreshed in certain areas. Better

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Speaker 2: consultation was a theme that I got very strongly from

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Speaker 2: the different groups in Kakadu. Everybody that has represents country

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Speaker 2: there is a traditional owner needs to be heard, but

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Speaker 2: ultimately decisions need to be made for the benefit of everyone.

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Speaker 2: How you do that is a challenge at times, and

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Speaker 2: it's certainly a challenge with a management model that's forty

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Speaker 2: years old. So we can do better and we will.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, I do know. This morning on the ABC Online,

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Speaker 1: it is being reported that a powerful land council has

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Speaker 1: been urged to call a special meeting to discuss the

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Speaker 1: closure of one of Kakadu's most well known tourist sites

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Speaker 1: amid a court battle over a sacred site. It says

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Speaker 1: in the report that Parks Australia is facing charges for

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Speaker 1: carrying out work on a sacred site near the Gunlam

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Speaker 1: Falls Infinity Pool, but court proceedings were on Monday delayed

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Speaker 1: again in court. Mick Markham, a bolmo Elda, who chairs

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Speaker 1: the Gunlam Land Trust, has now written to the Northern

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Speaker 1: Land Council asking them to call a meeting to propose

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Speaker 1: the closure of the entire Gounlom region. Firstly, I mean,

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Speaker 1: what's your reaction to this situation and how do we

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Speaker 1: get this so wrong?

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Speaker 2: There are some technical matters that are preventing the court

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Speaker 2: case proceeding at this stage. However I expect that they

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Speaker 2: will be resolved. The most important thing is that we

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Speaker 2: now have the right certificate to do the work at Gunlom.

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Speaker 2: Relating to the walking track, I met Nick when I

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Speaker 2: was there and other traditional owners on site, and I

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Speaker 2: saw for myself what they're very real concerns were, and

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Speaker 2: I understood those concerns, and my total focus is how

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Speaker 2: we improve the engagement, and that's part of what this

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Speaker 2: advisory group is about. But in terms of the actual

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Speaker 2: walking track and the site itself, we have the certificate

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Speaker 2: that effectively approved that work and that can take place

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Speaker 2: and the right consultation has happened, and I'm certainly not

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Speaker 2: going to say things were done as well as they

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Speaker 2: should have been in the past. But the focus is

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Speaker 2: how we get this this engagement with traditional owners right

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Speaker 2: as we look to the future.

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Speaker 1: Minister, are we at risk here of having a situation

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Speaker 1: though where the Gonleom region is closed.

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Speaker 2: I'm not going to speak to the traditional owners and

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Speaker 2: I'm simply going to say I want to hear from

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Speaker 2: them every step of the way with the concerns that

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Speaker 2: they have, whether directly or through the current acting Director

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Speaker 2: of National Parks. And I really mean that because having

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Speaker 2: spent the time that I did at Kakadoo, I gained

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Speaker 2: that really powerful appreciation of what matters to them, and

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Speaker 2: I think there had been some disconnect between their very

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Speaker 2: real concerns and the administration. That's not to point the

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Speaker 2: finger of blame at anyone. Sometimes the systems just don't

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Speaker 2: work as well as they should. That's what I thought,

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Speaker 2: That's what I took steps to fix, And of course

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Speaker 2: I regret many of the issues in the past, but

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Speaker 2: we need to get this right now and we will.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know you've hit the nail on

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Speaker 1: the head. We've got to get it right. I know

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Speaker 1: that it's not only territorians who want to be able

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Speaker 1: to enjoy Kagadoo, interstate visitors and once we're eventually in

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Speaker 1: a situation where our international tourists are allowed back, you know,

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Speaker 1: I guess there'll be some people listening this morning, though,

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Speaker 1: who will be thinking to themselves, how are we in

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Speaker 1: a situation, you know, with this consultation where we've somehow

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Speaker 1: ended up, you know, with the path on a sacred site.

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Speaker 2: Look, I don't have answers to all of those questions,

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Speaker 2: but what I can say is the government's commitment to Kakadoo,

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Speaker 2: which we made clear with our funding last year of

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Speaker 2: over two hundred million dollar package seventy million dollars for

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Speaker 2: Kakado to improve the roads, the visitor sites and of

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Speaker 2: course we want international tourists to be able to access them.

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Speaker 2: And notwithstanding all the problems, it is an incredible place.

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Speaker 2: It will be a shining light when international visitors come

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Speaker 2: back to Australia. Yes, there's been challenging times. I'm certainly

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Speaker 2: not going to shy away from that, but with the

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Speaker 2: sort of people we have at the table and the

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Speaker 2: commitment from all sides, I know we can get there. Well.

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Speaker 1: Environment Minister Susan Lay, we really appreciate your time this

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Speaker 1: morning and on very short notice. Thanks for chatting with us.

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Speaker 2: That's okay, Thanks Katie, Thank you,