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Speaker 1: Now we know the territory's hospitality industry is appealing to

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government to end the requirement to vaccine

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Speaker 1: check at all licensed venues. So, under these Chief Health

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Speaker 1: Officer directions, operators of licensed premises, casinos, cinemas and gatherings

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Speaker 1: with more than five hundred people they're required to check

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Speaker 1: the vaccination status of every patron. Joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line is the CEO of Hospitality here in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: Alex Bruce. Good morning to you, Alex.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Kati. Alex.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you just heard the Chief Minister

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Speaker 1: on the show, but he indicated that there is going

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Speaker 1: to be a change in this space where it will

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Speaker 1: no longer be required when you're walking in the door

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Speaker 1: but having to check the vaccine status at the bar.

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Speaker 1: Did you hear that and have you had any update

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Speaker 1: on that.

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Speaker 2: I didn't hear that interview. We've just come from a

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Speaker 2: meeting with the Chief Health Officer, doctor Hugh Hegy and

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Speaker 2: his deputy, doctor Charles Paine. They definitely didn't indicate anything

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Speaker 2: of that nature, but we were raising the three issues

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Speaker 2: that are burning for our membership, being this vas checking

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Speaker 2: the vaccine passport for our customers, the VACS mandate, and

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Speaker 2: ultimately this two year legislation to keep the problems in

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Speaker 2: the nightmare it is happening for the next two years.

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Speaker 2: So look, it was a very respectful meeting and we

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Speaker 2: definitely appreciate that we do get the opportunity to strongly

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Speaker 2: put our industries used to both the show and the

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Speaker 2: Deputy show. We are after an end date, so anything

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Speaker 2: that the Chief Minister is saying that you can actually

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Speaker 2: put a flag in the sand and call it. We

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Speaker 2: are getting tourists to trickle. It's going to be a

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Speaker 2: flood within a month. If they're coming from jurisdictions like

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Speaker 2: New South Wales that you know, they've chosen freedom, Katie.

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Speaker 2: They're moving on with their lives, they're happy, they're up

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Speaker 2: here for a holiday, and they're starting to push back.

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Speaker 2: We are getting reports that, you know, some of those

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Speaker 2: customers are challenging staff, why are you still doing this?

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Speaker 2: Why is this even required? So you know, let's just

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Speaker 2: nip it in the bud now before it's a bigger problem.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, he indicated that there was going to be some changes,

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Speaker 1: but really didn't provide any sort of further clarifications. So

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Speaker 1: at this point in time, Alex, it doesn't seem like

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Speaker 1: it's going away in a hurry. What kind of impact

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Speaker 1: does that have on hospitality venues around the territory?

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Speaker 2: Look, unfortunately, our staff bearing the brunt of it. So

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Speaker 2: you know, since they made the border changes so you

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Speaker 2: can come in unvaxed, it's our roadhouses and wayside inns

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Speaker 2: that are now getting the emails from Jack and Shad's

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Speaker 2: UHF forty and Old Jack's unvaxed and can they come

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Speaker 2: to our venue or not? So why we suddenly the

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Speaker 2: frontline COVID cops when the government themselves have run away

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Speaker 2: from enforcing this. And similarly, people are jumping on planes

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Speaker 2: and they're coming up. So the first time anyone's saying

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Speaker 2: anything about vaccine status to them is when they're coming

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Speaker 2: for a beer or a meal in one of our

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Speaker 2: venues in Darwin. Why are we doing this, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think that's a big question, Alex. Why are

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Speaker 1: we doing it? And I think that this is part

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Speaker 1: of the reason and why a lot of people want

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Speaker 1: to see more regular reporting from the Chief Health Officer.

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Speaker 1: But instead it's appearing as though we're moving away from that.

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Speaker 1: We're extending powers for two years and we're not going

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Speaker 1: to see an in depth report until after the next election.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Chief Health Officer did touch on this with

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Speaker 2: us because we did share some of those concerns. And

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Speaker 2: apparently there will be a report at the end of

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Speaker 2: this ninety day extension tabled or produced and published. But then, yes,

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Speaker 2: the next one wouldn't be until two years is finished,

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Speaker 2: and that Matt Cunningham on the weekend quite rightly pointed

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Speaker 2: out that that lands conveniently just after the next election,

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Speaker 2: so that your listeners form their own views on that. Look.

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Speaker 2: At the end of last year, we got told that

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Speaker 2: this vax checking requirement on us would only be when

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Speaker 2: we were in lockout conditions. You know how many rule

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Speaker 2: changes have there been in the last couple of months,

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Speaker 2: but you know that was only going to be in

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Speaker 2: lockout conditions. It was going to be temporary and nature,

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Speaker 2: you know, a week at a time, had to do

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Speaker 2: it at the same time. Then we got to seventh

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Speaker 2: of January and they slapped this on us. And yes,

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Speaker 2: cinemas and groups above five hundred, but predominantly just hospitality

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Speaker 2: copped the head on this one. And we got told

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Speaker 2: that this was about cresting the wave or passing the peak.

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Speaker 2: You know, the Chief Minister gave lots of commentary at

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Speaker 2: the time about these measures were in place, including masks.

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Speaker 2: It's got to be said, and we're happy that we've

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Speaker 2: said sina to them. You know, the hospitalizations peaked forty

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Speaker 2: eight days ago. In cases peaked fifty two days ago, Katie,

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Speaker 2: So you know, where are we going with this stuff?

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Speaker 2: There were better road maps produced last year. How come

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Speaker 2: the government at the moment is giving less certainty to

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Speaker 2: business in the community than they were able to achieve

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Speaker 2: earlier in the pandemic, when arguably they know more now

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Speaker 2: than they've ever been able to know in the last

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Speaker 2: two years.

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Speaker 1: Oh, Alex, look, I just think that a lot of

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Speaker 1: people are very confused by all of this, and you know,

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister wants to appear as though they're very

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Speaker 1: open and transparent, but the public are feeling like it's

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Speaker 1: anything but, and they're feeling confused by a lot of

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Speaker 1: these decisions.

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Speaker 2: Alex.

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Speaker 1: I know that there's plenty going on, and certainly plenty

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Speaker 1: of concerns around COVID and the fact that this check

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Speaker 1: in remains in place at this point. You know, to

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Speaker 1: anybody out there listening this morning that's thinking to themselves,

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Speaker 1: come on, it's just a check in to you know,

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Speaker 1: to let people know that you've vaccinated. We want people

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Speaker 1: to be vaccinated. What would you say to them in

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Speaker 1: terms of the hindrance that it is on business and

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Speaker 1: you know, at a time when everybody else seems to

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Speaker 1: be scaling back.

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Speaker 2: Look, and this is one of the points we put

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Speaker 2: to the Chief help Officer. Those people that are choosing

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Speaker 2: not to be vaxed, Now, come hell or high water,

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Speaker 2: they're not going to get vaxed. So can we just

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Speaker 2: drop the fallacy that by depriving them the opportunity to

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Speaker 2: freely move around somehow we're all keeping each other safe

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Speaker 2: and patting each other on the backs. We had a

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Speaker 2: very aggressive event occur in one of our venues and

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Speaker 2: the staff will quite shook up about it and it

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Speaker 2: was a nerve that was pushing back, you know. So

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Speaker 2: there are people right across the community that are saying

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Speaker 2: enough is enough. They're looking at the lack of compliance.

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Speaker 2: When the police Minister, her first day out, you know,

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Speaker 2: breaks the rules. The Chief Minister three days before the

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Speaker 2: masked mandating door mass mandate lifted broke the rules. It's

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Speaker 2: very hard for there to ever be any compliance and

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Speaker 2: enforcement going on when the government's not even playing by

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Speaker 2: the rules themselves. So you know, we're seeing less and

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Speaker 2: less customers. It is a shared responsibility. We see less

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Speaker 2: and less of them coming up and showing their vac status,

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Speaker 2: it's fair to say. And I'm sure your listeners have

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Speaker 2: seen this. There's probably less of it going on across

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Speaker 2: our networks now as well, and so you've got the

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Speaker 2: venues that are doing the right thing going well, hold

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Speaker 2: on a minute, what's this about? How quickly can we

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Speaker 2: get rid of it?

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Speaker 1: Well, Alex Bruce, I tell you Wash I think that

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Speaker 1: there's going to be plenty of room for more discussion

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Speaker 1: about this throughout the week. We really appreciate your time,

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Speaker 1: as I wish I had a little bit more because

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Speaker 1: I'd speak to you about a few other things, including

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Speaker 1: what those were what won our Springs business. I might

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Speaker 1: just ask you very quickly that Alice Springs business last

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Speaker 1: week subjected to an assault and alleged assault with a

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Speaker 1: star picket mate. Are you pretty concerned about some of

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Speaker 1: these violent offenses that we are seeing around the place

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Speaker 1: right now?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, And we were down in Alice Springs and we

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Speaker 2: caught up with Derek from Club east Side at an

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Speaker 2: event later that afternoon, and he was absolutely shook up,

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Speaker 2: and he was talking about the impact that it was

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Speaker 2: having on his staff. And I know that you've spoken

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Speaker 2: to him, but you know they're talking about building panic

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Speaker 2: rooms into hospitality venues down in Alice Springs. Surely that

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Speaker 2: is a clear sign that all of the measures that

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Speaker 2: this government has put in place are failing.

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Speaker 1: Goodness me, a panic room in a license venue, that's what.

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Speaker 2: That club right now is looking at.

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Speaker 1: Wow, Alex Spruce. I mean I think that that it

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Speaker 1: is obviously extreme, but if they are feeling that unsafe,

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Speaker 1: you can understand it. I tell you what, We've got

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Speaker 1: to see some change in this space. It's what's happening

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Speaker 1: right now is just not good enough. Thank you very

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Speaker 1: much for speaking to us this morning. Alex. Thank you