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Speaker 1: Recent reports have suggested that the Trouble Darwin RSL sub

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Speaker 1: branch considering developing a car park on the site of

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Speaker 1: its former clubhouse, which was gutted by fire back in

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Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. Now it's understood a development application has been

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Speaker 1: launched for a fifty seven space car park for short

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Speaker 1: term use between seven am and six pm weekdays. And

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Speaker 1: joining us on the line right now to tell us

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Speaker 1: more is Darwin RSL sub Branch President Stephen Gloucester.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Stephen, Good morning.

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Speaker 3: Morning Katie, and good morning with listeners.

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Speaker 2: Thanks so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Now Stephen, is a car park being considered for this

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Speaker 1: site and if so.

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Speaker 2: Why.

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Speaker 3: We've decided to put a car park on. It's been

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Speaker 3: about eighteen months we've been working to get it up

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Speaker 3: and going. It's just to cover the costs of the

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Speaker 3: rates and insurance on the site and a little income

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Speaker 3: while we're looking at building on the site.

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Speaker 1: Wouldn't take up the whole site there of the former

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Speaker 1: RSL it's just part of it.

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Speaker 3: No, it takes up the whole site.

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Speaker 1: Oh so it takes up the whole site, but it

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Speaker 1: doesn't mean that that's the permanent development it's just in

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Speaker 1: the meantime.

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Speaker 3: No, it's only there for it could be there for

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Speaker 3: six months, it could be there for twelve months. We've

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Speaker 3: had three or four developers looking at developing the block

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Speaker 3: and why that goes through and they're looking at buildings

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Speaker 3: anywhere between fifty and one hundred million dollars. So we've

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Speaker 3: got to go through the process with them and that

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Speaker 3: will take a year or so. So why we're waiting.

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Speaker 3: We thought we'd make a little bit of money with

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Speaker 3: car parking and we've had a lot of people ask

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Speaker 3: us if they could park there too over the last

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Speaker 3: few years.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, fair enough, Steve.

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Speaker 1: Look people are going to be wondering how is that

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Speaker 1: going to benefit the veteran community.

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Speaker 3: Well, it gives us money to spend on the veterans.

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Speaker 1: In terms of them having a place to be able

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Speaker 1: to gather.

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Speaker 3: Though.

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Speaker 1: I mean for a lot of people, they're going to

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Speaker 1: be thinking this just seems to be getting dragged out.

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Speaker 3: Well, we have a place that visit. We've got Bill

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Speaker 3: roy House, what does as much as any other RSL

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Speaker 3: in the territory, and.

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Speaker 1: So has the ambition to rebuild the RSL disappeared.

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Speaker 3: No, we're always going to rebuild. It's just that we've

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Speaker 3: only got a certain amount of money and we could

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Speaker 3: only put on, say a single story building where there's

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Speaker 3: a big block in the middle of the city and

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Speaker 3: it deserves to be developed and much better.

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Speaker 1: So I mean, is the car park situation just about

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Speaker 1: generating money.

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Speaker 3: Just to cover the cost of the rates. Our bill

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Speaker 3: for the rates is about twenty five in the year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, and so you're realistically in a situation where

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Speaker 1: you've got to think of some kind of way to

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Speaker 1: generate that income.

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Speaker 3: Oh well, it just helps cover the cons Yes.

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Speaker 1: Now tell me you know the fact that it does

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Speaker 1: seem to be delayed and delayed a new RSL. Is

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Speaker 1: that coming back to disagreements within the committee.

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Speaker 3: Oh no, we always have disagreements in the committee. It's

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Speaker 3: just the things we were at the start of this year.

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Speaker 3: We were looking quite well and then it slowed up

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Speaker 3: a bit this year, and then hopefully we'll get stuck

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Speaker 3: back into it next year. I think everyone forgets that,

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Speaker 3: you know, for an example, and Antick Day costs US

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Speaker 3: eighty thousand dollars to run and we need revenue for that.

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Speaker 1: Jack's just messaged in and said, Hi, Katie, can you

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Speaker 1: please ask the Darwin RSL if they are operating or

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Speaker 1: is that ninety day suspension still in place. There seems

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Speaker 1: to be two different stories going.

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Speaker 3: Around that ninety day suspension. That all that does is

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Speaker 3: take our charter office which was given to us by

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Speaker 3: South Australia. But because we're an incorporated body of the NT,

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Speaker 3: we're allowed to operate.

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Speaker 2: So still able to operate.

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Speaker 1: But I mean, does it make any changes to the

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Speaker 1: way in which you're able to operate?

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Speaker 3: No, none at all, right, So from.

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Speaker 1: What you're saying, you can just continue to do everything

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Speaker 1: the way that you ordinarily would.

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Speaker 3: Yes, taking a chart, it just takes our name RSL

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Speaker 3: office sets, all right.

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Speaker 1: So what are you currently sort of operating as? What

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Speaker 1: are you calling yourselves?

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Speaker 3: Oh? Well they've put in a temperate to take that

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Speaker 3: away from us, so we're but we're incorporated in the

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Speaker 3: NT under Darwin RSL, so we still under operate under

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Speaker 3: Darwen sub branch.

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Speaker 1: Now where are things that we're securing a new permanent

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Speaker 1: home for members and the veteran community. I know you

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Speaker 1: mentioned before Bill roy House, and you know you've got

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Speaker 1: plans to still redevelop that the site where the former

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Speaker 1: RSL was, But where are things at right now?

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Speaker 3: We're looking at to build on our side in Kavanagh Street.

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Speaker 1: Yes, and so developers are currently sort of looking at

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Speaker 1: that site or are we in the approvals phase?

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Speaker 2: Like where are you?

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Speaker 3: Oh? Well, it's taken seventeen months to get to have

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Speaker 3: a car park on that site there, so it'll take

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Speaker 3: us a fair way to get a building and everything

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Speaker 3: up there. Plus we have to go through all the

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Speaker 3: processes to make sure that we do it the proper way.

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Speaker 2: So why like, why is it taking so long?

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Speaker 3: It's just you've got to remember we're only a volunteer organization.

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Speaker 3: We have no full time staff at all, so everything

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Speaker 3: we do is all done by volunteers.

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Speaker 1: And so has there been any progress in terms of,

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Speaker 1: you know, dissolving the committee and reforming a new one

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Speaker 1: or you know the fact that they are all volunteers,

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Speaker 1: Like where is it at?

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Speaker 3: We're having our AGM this month twenty fourth, so as

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Speaker 3: we do every year, and and there'll be a to

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Speaker 3: place certain members on the committee as we do every year.

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Speaker 3: Nothing has changed, Steve.

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Speaker 2: Has I guess?

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Speaker 1: You know, I suppose what some people are going to

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Speaker 1: be listening and wondering though, is has it become like

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Speaker 1: you know, is there bad blunt in there?

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Speaker 2: Is that what the problem is?

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Speaker 3: No, I think some people would like to You've got

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Speaker 3: to remember the r rsel's worth a lot of money,

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Speaker 3: like it favored a lot of than million dollars. So

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Speaker 3: there's lots of little organizations would love to get their

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Speaker 3: hands on all that money.

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Speaker 1: And you reckon, that's sort of what's creating some of

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Speaker 1: the issues.

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Speaker 3: I think. So if we didn't have any money they

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Speaker 3: want to be near us? Would they?

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Speaker 1: I guess In the meantime, you know there's possibly veterans

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Speaker 1: listening this morning thinking yeah, but what about you know

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Speaker 1: what about veterans and having somewhere where we can all

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Speaker 1: gather And I know you said there's Bill roy House,

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Speaker 1: but not having an RSL for a place like Darwin

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Speaker 1: it is just a.

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Speaker 3: Pointing Well, the South Australian RSL and Nationals they don't

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Speaker 3: want us to have clubs at all anymore. There's supports

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Speaker 3: not in having.

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Speaker 2: A club And what do you think of that?

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Speaker 3: Well, I can see where they're coming at. You've got

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Speaker 3: to remember our club was two and a half million

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Speaker 3: dollars in debt when when the fire burned it down.

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Speaker 3: Oh look, I've got to make sure wherever you go

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Speaker 3: and what you do, it's going to cover its costs.

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Speaker 3: Otherwise you just lose everything and you won't have RSL

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Speaker 3: at all.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I think it's you know, it's a really

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Speaker 1: sort of interesting time that it seems as though the

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Speaker 1: RSL is in and as you've said, there, you know,

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Speaker 1: still operating, but without without the charter being reinstated right now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's just all the charter is just our name.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I hope that things, you know, I do

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Speaker 1: hope that, you know, that things sort of get a

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Speaker 1: bit better. Look, I don't know whether it does mean

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Speaker 1: that there are veterans out there that are feeling as

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Speaker 1: though they don't have somewhere to all gather, But I

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Speaker 1: know that there are plenty of veterans that listen to

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Speaker 1: the show, so I'm sure they'll get in contact if

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Speaker 1: they are feeling that way. Steve, you know, to anybody

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Speaker 1: out there listening that's feeling a bit disappointed about the

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Speaker 1: fact that the RSL, that that block is going to

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Speaker 1: be a car park realistically for the next six months

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Speaker 1: to twelve months, what would you say.

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Speaker 3: To them, Well, that's at least we're doing something with

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Speaker 3: the block and making a revenue while we look at

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Speaker 3: building on the site.

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Speaker 1: Well, Steve Gloucester, it's good to speak with you this morning.

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Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time. Thank you very much for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with us on three point sixty

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Speaker 3: Yes, thank you, Codie, thank you