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Speaker 1: Mix one oh four point nine's three sixty eight nine

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Speaker 1: four one one oh four nine if you would like

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Speaker 1: to call through this morning. And as we've heard, an

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Speaker 1: exciting new chapter for Kakadu National Park, one which has

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Speaker 1: been backed by traditional owners and supported by key tourism organizations.

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Speaker 1: Well it has. It has opened, you'd have to say,

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Speaker 1: with the release of the Kakadoo Tourism master Plan. Now

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Speaker 1: joining me on the line is the Minister for Environment,

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Speaker 1: the Federal Minister, Susan Lee Lay. Good morning to you, Minister.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Lovely to be on your program talking

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Speaker 2: about Kackadoo.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, wonderful to have you on the show. Tell us

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Speaker 1: who's been involved in putting this plan together.

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Speaker 2: Everyone who has their heart and soul in the future

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Speaker 2: of this duel in the north. And I know I

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Speaker 2: always say that, but having been there several times, I

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Speaker 2: see Kakadoo that way. But we've had the traditional owners

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Speaker 2: at the center of this consultation and that's why I'm

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Speaker 2: convinced that the master plan that we've now release east

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Speaker 2: is the right one, the best one, and will facilitate investment,

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Speaker 2: much of it being provided by the Commonwealth in upgrades

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Speaker 2: that will make the visitor experience better, attract more international

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Speaker 2: visitors when they can finally come back to Australia, and

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Speaker 2: when you're there, make your experience in the park the

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Speaker 2: best possible one.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how important is it to get some of that

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Speaker 1: work done really before we do open back up to

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Speaker 1: our international tourists.

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Speaker 2: It's really important. And I've always said I want to

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Speaker 2: see territory jobs front and center. I want to see

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Speaker 2: contracts going to local people. I want who, of course

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Speaker 2: see traditional owners involved both with the building of the

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Speaker 2: new infrastructure, but also their ongoing engagement and their cultural

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Speaker 2: history being front and center of what we showcase in Kackado.

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Speaker 2: We're spending twenty two million over the next twelve months,

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Speaker 2: and our total commitment in the last budget to Kakadoo

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Speaker 2: in our parks package was about sixty million dollars. Add

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Speaker 2: that to two hundred sixteen million dollars before the last

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Speaker 2: selection as we transition Jabaru from a mining town to

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Speaker 2: a tourism town. So I'm hoping that your listeners get

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Speaker 2: the sense of the commitment of a Commonwealth government and

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Speaker 2: our collaboration and consultation right there on the ground. I

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Speaker 2: spent a week in Kakadu towards the end of last year, listening,

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Speaker 2: listening to what people wanted, and that included local tourism

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Speaker 2: operators and indeed many people in the top end.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean there has been some real criticism

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Speaker 1: in recent time about the management not working with traditional

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Speaker 1: owners as well as stakeholders in Kagadoo. How are those

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Speaker 1: relationships now going.

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Speaker 2: I listened to those criticisms and I believe we responded

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Speaker 2: and we've got more local management, so less from Canberra

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Speaker 2: and more from Darwin and indeed Jabaru itself, and more

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Speaker 2: consultation and that comes through in the master plan and

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Speaker 2: it comes through in the consultation we're going to have

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Speaker 2: about the road and infrastructure upbuilding program. And I believe

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Speaker 2: we've well, I know that we've turned a quarner, but

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Speaker 2: I believe that we will soon be able to demonstrate

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Speaker 2: with the sorts of project that this master plan is

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Speaker 2: backing in that as I said, they are the right

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Speaker 2: ones and they will make a difference. And look, kakitt

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Speaker 2: is an extraordinary place to visit. But one of the

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Speaker 2: frustrations I heard was where we need to see the sites,

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Speaker 2: we need to get access to them as much as possible.

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Speaker 2: We need to know that when we've booked, we can

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Speaker 2: actually get there. So if you think about the work

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Speaker 2: that we're doing, we're upgrading Kales Crossing, Jim Jim Falls,

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Speaker 2: the Origin Visitor Center, and also planning new eco lodges,

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Speaker 2: new tourist attractions, visitor centers across the park, so it's

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Speaker 2: not all just in Jabaru and so on and back

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Speaker 2: to again by that ever important road access so you

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Speaker 2: can actually get where you need to.

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Speaker 1: And that twenty million dollars twenty two million dollars which

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Speaker 1: is set to be invested over the next twelve months,

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Speaker 1: what sort of urgent work is going to get under

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Speaker 1: wigh immediately with that investment.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're over you're seeing the Kales Crossing viewing platform

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Speaker 2: start to go up or plans to make it go up.

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Speaker 2: I actually don't know where exactly it's up to, but

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Speaker 2: I know it's happening. The Jim Jim Creek Crossing upgrade,

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Speaker 2: that's lifting the road, that's vital, that's underway. The Origin

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Speaker 2: Cultural Center upgrades are underway, and importantly telecommunications upgrades because

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Speaker 2: it is so vital that tourists, particularly if they're not

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Speaker 2: particularly familiar with the area have good access to phone

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Speaker 2: coverage while they're in the park. So look, I mean

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Speaker 2: we're balancing the spend with, as I say, my determination

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Speaker 2: to see the Northern Territory community benefit from the contracts

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Speaker 2: and the jobs. I don't want to see contractors flying

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Speaker 2: in from all over Australia and something built in a

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Speaker 2: hurry that isn't exactly what people want but isn't actually

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Speaker 2: using our local wisdom and our local expertise.

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Speaker 1: Oh absolutely yeah. I think it's so incredibly important to

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Speaker 1: make sure that locals are engaged in any work that

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Speaker 1: takes place. I'm really keen to find out a bit

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Speaker 1: more about the new accommodation, including these eco lodgers and

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Speaker 1: wellness retreats, family holiday park and safari cams. Minister, how

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Speaker 1: soon could we see some of those wonderful facilities get

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Speaker 1: up and running.

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Speaker 2: They're in the plan and that means that they're supported

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Speaker 2: and the concepts of supported. And I think that's been

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Speaker 2: a good, strong discussion to get to this point. The

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Speaker 2: next step is inviting private investment, having the conversations with

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Speaker 2: funders and seeing where that takes us. But I saw

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Speaker 2: some sites and facts and facilities that probably had passed

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Speaker 2: their prime but could still be rebirthed if you like,

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Speaker 2: to be great tourist accommodation. So the background is there.

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Speaker 2: The facilities will need to be built, but I know

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Speaker 2: that there's a great deal of interest. Yes, portantly, by

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Speaker 2: having this plan, we know that we all agree with

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Speaker 2: what we want to see, and that's vital and as

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Speaker 2: I said, to having that traditional learner consultation front and center,

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Speaker 2: but in accommodation, can I say that the ranger stations

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Speaker 2: are also going to be upgraded. So for the really

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Speaker 2: important people who who work in the park every day

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Speaker 2: and are the interpreters if you like, of it's a

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Speaker 2: cultural history and its significance to visitors, we want to

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Speaker 2: see them in the best possible accommodation too.

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Speaker 1: Minister. I know that's very often we sort of hear

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Speaker 1: around the territory and certainly on the phone lines here

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Speaker 1: on this show that you know that our natural wonders

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Speaker 1: are amazing and they're absolutely stunning for any tourists that

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Speaker 1: come to the territory to see them. But as we

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Speaker 1: pointed out, you know, some of the infrastructure which supports

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Speaker 1: those natural wonders really isn't up to scratch and then

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Speaker 1: you know, in some circumstances when you're talking about accommodation,

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Speaker 1: particularly with international you know, tourists, if they travel all

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Speaker 1: the way to Australia to see something like Kakkad, we've

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Speaker 1: really got to make sure that you know, then when

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Speaker 1: they've got somewhere to stay, that it's up to the

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Speaker 1: standard that that expect it to be.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and one of the things we did in the

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Speaker 2: last budget, and I mentioned the sixty million dollars of

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Speaker 2: our two hundred and thirty eight million dollar package is

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Speaker 2: going directly to Kakado. It's about sprucing up, if I

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Speaker 2: can describe it that way, our many natural assets for

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Speaker 2: tourists from overseas and increasingly domestic tourists as well, So

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Speaker 2: it's building better opportunities of a vivitation. But I did

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Speaker 2: hear that when I was in the territory Katie, that

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Speaker 2: tourist operators were saying, if we've had people that have

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Speaker 2: booked to the trip of a lifetime, we want to

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Speaker 2: make sure that when they arrive they get to have

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Speaker 2: that experience. So that is absolutely a front and center

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Speaker 2: when it comes to the planning that we're doing in

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Speaker 2: Kakado going forward. We recognize that, and of course there's

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Speaker 2: just so much agreement around that. If you speak to

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Speaker 2: traditional owners and rangers, they really love the opportunity to

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Speaker 2: showcase their history and their culture to overseas visitors, and

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Speaker 2: they appreciate that the visitors take away a completely different

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Speaker 2: picture of this country when they do that. So we

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Speaker 2: are getting that right, and I'm confident that we as

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Speaker 2: the commons of providing the dollars to make it happen.

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Speaker 1: Minister, I've got a message here from one of our listeners.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure if it should be director to you

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Speaker 1: or whether it needs to be at our territory Minister,

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Speaker 1: but it says, can you please ask the Minister if

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Speaker 1: it's true that you have to pre book camping sites

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Speaker 1: online before going, and if so, who's going to sort

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Speaker 1: out the fights when tourists arrive and find others in

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Speaker 1: their booked sites. Again, I will say, I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: whether that's one that you can answer for us, or

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Speaker 1: whether it's something that we need to put to the

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Speaker 1: territory Minister.

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Speaker 2: I think it might be a question for your territory

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Speaker 2: Tourism Minister, and I think that might be Minister Ubo.

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Speaker 1: But I'm not sure, Minister Files. Now I think potentially

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Speaker 1: it could be Minister Rubo. Actually there's a Copley.

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Speaker 2: I'm very happy to pass that on, but I'm sure

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Speaker 2: your networks and your listening audience will do that. It

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Speaker 2: may well be a COVID reason. I know in our

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Speaker 2: New South Wales National parks you do have to book online.

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Speaker 2: It actually has worked quite well because it's made every

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Speaker 2: camping trip much more fun than it is when you're

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Speaker 2: battling over a space. But I also understand that there

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Speaker 2: are pressures at the local level too, So yeah, that's

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Speaker 2: a good question for your local minister.

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Speaker 1: We'll certainly follow that one up well, Minister for Environment.

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Speaker 1: Federal Minister for Environment, Susan Lay, We really appreciate your

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Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks so much for coming on the

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Speaker 1: show and telling us a bit more about this Kagadoo

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Speaker 1: master plan.

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Speaker 2: Always a pleasure, Katie, Thanks, thank you,