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Speaker 1: There's been a lot of discussions so far this morning

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Speaker 1: about the announcement made by the Northern Territory government yesterday.

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Speaker 1: What we know is that alcohol bands are going to

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Speaker 1: be reinstated across the Northern Territory, preventing the sale of

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Speaker 1: alcohol to people living in town camps and remote communities.

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Speaker 1: The Northern Territory Chief Minister yesterday, well, she did cave

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Speaker 1: to what has been mounting pressure amid crime and terrible,

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Speaker 1: terrible situations with domestic violence and alcohol related assaults. And

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Speaker 1: just going through that report, it really identifies what a

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Speaker 1: number of groups and individuals have been saying out of

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Speaker 1: Central Australia for quite some time.

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Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line right now.

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Speaker 1: Is the CEO of Central Australian Congress, Donna g.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you. Donna.

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Speaker 3: Hey morning, Katie, Thanks so much for.

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Speaker 2: Your time this morning. Donna. What was your reaction to

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Speaker 2: the announcement yesterday.

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Speaker 3: Oh, look, Katie, Congress is very pleased for Aboriginal leaders,

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Speaker 3: communities and organizations in Australia have been listened to. As

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Speaker 3: you said in your introduction, we've been calling very strongly

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Speaker 3: for a two fold strategy, strategy to address the harm

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Speaker 3: that alcohol is causing for our people. So having the

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Speaker 3: reintroduction of alcohol bands to break the cycle of violence

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Speaker 3: and keep our people and family safe, combined with sustained

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Speaker 3: investment and action on the drivers of destructive drinking like

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Speaker 3: intergenerational trauma, poverty, poor education, poor housing and discrimination. With

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Speaker 3: that announcement of two hundred and fifty million investments, along

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Speaker 3: with the reintroduction of the alcohol restrictions, we think that

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Speaker 3: both governments have made a very good decision and they

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Speaker 3: have listened to what Aboriginal leaders have been calling for.

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Speaker 2: It took them a while, though, didn't it. Donald.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they certainly seemed to be digging their heels

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Speaker 1: in last week and the week before. I know that,

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Speaker 1: you know, even yourself had been in quite a terrible

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Speaker 1: situation where you'd suffered a home break in, and you know,

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Speaker 1: your story wasn't different to what a lot of people

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Speaker 1: were saying out of Central Australia, which I guess was

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Speaker 1: the really tough part. But they did seem to be

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Speaker 1: digging their heels in last week, didn't they.

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Speaker 3: Well, Katie, look, I've made it really clear, you know,

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Speaker 3: leading up to this decision that we were looking at

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Speaker 3: you know, this sort of situation occurring, So I don't

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Speaker 3: really want to look backwards. Actually, I think it's important

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Speaker 3: that we look forward and that we and that we

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Speaker 3: all worked together with the Commonwealth, the Northern Territory government,

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Speaker 3: and the Aboriginal leadership of the Northern Territory to actually

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Speaker 3: make sure that you know, that the robust process for

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Speaker 3: decisions being made at the local level in communities that

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Speaker 3: are affected by these bans who would wish to see

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Speaker 3: alcohol return to their communities, with appropriate mechanisms in place

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Speaker 3: to ensure that we don't see a return of those

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Speaker 3: awful statistics in relation to alcohol fuels harm. Along with

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Speaker 3: making sure that the two hundred and fifty million dollar

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Speaker 3: investment that we keep both governments accountable and in particular

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory government, but also those who will be

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Speaker 3: recipients of this funding to make sure that there are

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Speaker 3: appropriate accountability mechanisms put on them as well. We're all

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Speaker 3: in this together. We're all in this together, and if

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Speaker 3: we're going to make a difference, we've got to work

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Speaker 3: together to make this happen, and we've got to have accountability,

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Speaker 3: transparency and shared decision making.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, spot on, you know, particularly with making sure that

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Speaker 1: money that is invested is going into areas where it's

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Speaker 1: truly needed and that it's having an impact in a

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Speaker 1: positive way.

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Speaker 3: Exactly, Katie, and I think, Look, I think that what

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Speaker 3: we've got here is some really important elements of the

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Speaker 3: two hundred and fifty million dollar announcement. So community safety,

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Speaker 3: ensuring that you know that we have cohesion and more

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Speaker 3: news engagement and diversion programs, job creation, better services, addressing

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Speaker 3: feedal alcohol fecter and disorder fas D, investing in families

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Speaker 3: and improving school attendance and completion. Now I'm not sure

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Speaker 3: if your listeners are aware, but we have three thousand

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Speaker 3: Aboriginal kids that aren't going to school across the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: So the fact that they's been identified as an area,

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Speaker 3: you know, for investments, I think is a really good

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Speaker 3: decision of both governments. So we need to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we that we that we have appropriately well designed

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Speaker 3: strategies to get those three thousand kids that aren't going

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Speaker 3: to school into the school system, and for those that

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Speaker 3: are in the school system and that they're not dropping out,

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Speaker 3: to keep them in, We've got to make sure that

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Speaker 3: we've got you know, quality wrap around support services, you know,

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Speaker 3: and their families and you know, in partnership with the

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Speaker 3: Cist school. So we want I'd like to see the health,

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Speaker 3: health sector and the education system working together to get

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Speaker 3: those appropriate support, wrap around support services for those kids

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Speaker 3: in the school as well the other the other area

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Speaker 3: around fas D. You know, we've got a waiting list

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Speaker 3: as an example at Congress, we've got a Child Youth

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Speaker 3: Assessment and Treatment service and we've got we've got over

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Speaker 3: a hundred referrals that we cannot meet the demand. So

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Speaker 3: the announcement to have fas D is a priority area

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Speaker 3: we are really pleased with. You know, one of my

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Speaker 3: staff was recently, uh you know, doing some public media

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Speaker 3: on this and said, look, you know, she was asked

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Speaker 3: the question how, you know, in terms of additional staff

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Speaker 3: to meet that need. What what would you be looking at?

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Speaker 3: Because this service that we've got is one of its

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Speaker 3: kind in the Northern Territory as well as in the country,

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Speaker 3: you know, having neuropsychologists, social workers and the appropriate field

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Speaker 3: workforce to do these assessments and then have subsequent treatment provided.

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Speaker 3: So we're only able to do that in town. There's

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Speaker 3: a much there's much need out in the bush. So

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Speaker 3: she was asked the question, what what what what additional

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Speaker 3: you know, stuffing would you need and she said, look,

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Speaker 3: I hate to think, but off the top of my head,

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Speaker 3: at least four to six, you know, additional staff to

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Speaker 3: meet the need. And that's that's the need in terms

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Speaker 3: of the waiting list as well as meeting some of

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Speaker 3: the need out Bush. So I am really pleased with

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Speaker 3: the focus areas and I'm really pleased that we've got

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Speaker 3: to both and approach not a either all because I've

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Speaker 3: constantly heard this debate that alcohol is a symptom. Now

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Speaker 3: I get that, I really understand that that's that. But

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Speaker 3: at the end of the day, this is, you know, complex,

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Speaker 3: and my view is is that alcohol consumption and as

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Speaker 3: a result of that, alcohol related harm is actually a cause.

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Speaker 3: And we thought we've seen it. We've seen it because

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Speaker 3: as soon as you lifted the restriction, look what happened.

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Speaker 3: So the underlying social determinants, you know, we've got a

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Speaker 3: long way to go there. So it's actually both. We've

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Speaker 3: got to do both, and we've got to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we you know, we stay the course. We stay

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Speaker 3: the course, and we monitor the outcome and we make

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Speaker 3: sure that we're making a difference.

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Speaker 1: Donna, we are going to have to wrap up, but

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Speaker 1: do you have a hope for Alice Springs and for

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Speaker 1: Central Australia following on from that announcement yesterday?

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Speaker 2: I know it was tough, Like the last couple of weeks.

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Speaker 1: I'd seen a few of those interviews that you've done

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Speaker 1: and it was it was tough to watch. So I

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Speaker 1: can't imagine how you know, how you were feeling and

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Speaker 1: how the people of Alice were feeling. Do you have

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Speaker 1: hope for the Red Center following on from yesterday, Katy.

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Speaker 3: Katie, I am feeling very optimistic now. In light of

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Speaker 3: those immediate restrictions that were put in place, we saw

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Speaker 3: almost immediately improvements. We saw improvements in domestic violence go

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Speaker 3: from twenty five a day down to under ten. We

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Speaker 3: saw police call outs go from two hundred to one

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Speaker 3: hundred and twenty, and so we've seen immediate improvements. We've

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Speaker 3: still got a bit to go, of course, but this

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Speaker 3: announcement is really going to help that, and we've just

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Speaker 3: got to work together, put politics aside and put in

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Speaker 3: place the things that we know work. Do it in

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Speaker 3: partnership with Aboriginal leadership. And communities and we will definitely

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Speaker 3: bring the town back to what it was always a

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Speaker 3: beautiful town. Like any other rural or remote town in Australia.

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Speaker 3: We have our ups and downs, like I've said in

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Speaker 3: the past, but I'm feeling optimistic. I am really feeling

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Speaker 3: optimistic now. So thank you.

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Speaker 1: K Yeah, I really appreciate your time this morning, Donna,

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Speaker 1: and please keep in contact with us. I'd be really

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Speaker 1: keen to hear how things are tracking, but keen to

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Speaker 1: hear more as well about some of those initiatives that

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Speaker 1: you've spoken about with faz D and various other areas,

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Speaker 1: because I think that they are really important parts of

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Speaker 1: the discussion. So Donna Archie, thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: your time today.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, thank you