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Speaker 1: I received a pressure release a couple of weeks ago

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Speaker 1: from the Council of the Aging. Now, the peak body

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Speaker 1: for older Territorians is warning that vital dementia services could

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Speaker 1: be at risk if funding cuts go ahead. The NT

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Speaker 1: Memory Clinic is facing reduced capacity from July next year

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Speaker 1: due to changes to Commonwealth Dementia Program funding. Now the

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Speaker 1: Council of the Aging, also known as CODA, says that

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Speaker 1: the changes would see the clinics full time doctor cut

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Speaker 1: to a halftime role, while nursing and clerical support would

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Speaker 1: also be reduced. Now, Soushira, the CEO, joins me in

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Speaker 1: the studio right now. Good morning, Sue, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How are you. I'm good, lovely to see you as

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Speaker 1: always smiling. Now, I've been wanting to talk to you

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Speaker 1: about this for a couple of weeks when you first

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Speaker 1: sent this pressure release out, because I thought, goodness me,

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Speaker 1: the last thing we need in the territory is, you know,

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Speaker 1: is cuts to any of these wonderful services.

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Speaker 2: We're trying to retain our sceniors. And really, with this cut,

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Speaker 2: why wouldn't you think, well, I'm not going to get

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Speaker 2: the service I need the weight time, which is already

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Speaker 2: around about six months, will even be longer now because

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Speaker 2: they're going to cut actually two positions which are under

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Speaker 2: the Commonwealth Home Support Program, so that's what's commonly known

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Speaker 2: as shifts, I think from the acronym of it, and

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Speaker 2: then going to the in home Support program for AGK

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Speaker 2: which starts on the first of July, so that funding

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Speaker 2: will no longer be available. So that's two positions, so

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Speaker 2: the weight time will increase. And also they share the

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Speaker 2: doctor with the anti health and with the memory clinic,

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Speaker 2: so it's going to put more pressure on that doctor.

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Speaker 2: And the other one as well obviously is the nurse.

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Speaker 2: So to lose so to lose two positions, it's just

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Speaker 2: not on really when we are trying, as I said,

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Speaker 2: to keep seniors here, and really I don't know what

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Speaker 2: the federal government is thinking of Demeania is the fastest

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Speaker 2: growing disease in Australia, so don't we all the support

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Speaker 2: that we can get.

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Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing, and it feels like in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory in different ways we're being shafted, you know,

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Speaker 1: And I think that we all have concern around that,

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Speaker 1: and we have all for quite some time. But you know,

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Speaker 1: when I think about us trying to retain our seniors

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. None of us want, you know,

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Speaker 1: our mums and dads, our grandparents to move away. You

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Speaker 1: want to try and keep seeing us here for as

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Speaker 1: long as possible when they're in retirement. Well, there were

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Speaker 1: these kind of cuts. It's going to have an impact.

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Speaker 2: It's going to have a big impact. I said. Diminisia's

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Speaker 2: the fastest growing disease, and we see it a lot

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Speaker 2: with people coming in to talk to our age. Ken

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Speaker 2: navigated there about what's available, what can I do? And

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Speaker 2: I'm sure if you spoke to keras en T as well,

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Speaker 2: they'd be very worried about this outcome as well. So

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Speaker 2: it's just not on and you just wonder why, you know,

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Speaker 2: really we know that as I said, that old program

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Speaker 2: is finishing. Wouldn't you think the people in the Federal

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Speaker 2: Health Department would have a brain and go, oh, okay,

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Speaker 2: I'll lose two people because that program is no longer funded. However,

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Speaker 2: but the new program, yeah, oh we're confunded with the

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Speaker 2: new program. I don't okay, do it just flumixes me

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Speaker 2: sometimes how federal public servants work, Well, you know, you.

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Speaker 1: Think to yourself, if your mum or your dad, or

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Speaker 1: your husband or your loved one was going through a

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Speaker 1: situation where they had dementia, you wouldn't make this decision.

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Speaker 1: You'd be thinking, all right, we need to make sure

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Speaker 1: or that territorians have got these services. So I just

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Speaker 1: wonder sometimes, you know, whether people are sort of pushing

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Speaker 1: pennies in different directions and wondering how they can make savings,

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Speaker 1: but they don't really think about the actual personal impact

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Speaker 1: that it's going to have.

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Speaker 2: I don't think a lot of them understand the territory

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Speaker 2: at all. In their ivory towers. Back in Canberra. I mean,

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Speaker 2: we applied for funding once for our age can navigator

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Speaker 2: and I said, due to climatic conditions we might be

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Speaker 2: able to visit these places in the wet season, you know.

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Speaker 2: And I got back, what do you mean what climatic conditions?

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Speaker 2: What wet season? I said, well, if you've got off

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Speaker 2: you you know what your little bot boton came up here,

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Speaker 2: you'd be able to see what I'm talking about. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's forty five degrees in aallice. You know, you wouldn't

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Speaker 2: send your staff out in those conditions excuse me. Now

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Speaker 2: I feel like saying to that person, come up, now,

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Speaker 2: nobody's traveling in the church.

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Speaker 1: You now, dr exactly. So we have literally just received

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Speaker 1: a statement now from the Department of Health. Now they

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Speaker 1: say NT Health committed to providing equitable, quality health care

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Speaker 1: for Territorians with dementia. NT Health's been working closely with

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Speaker 1: the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Aging to

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Speaker 1: ensure that Top End Memory Services is funded to continue

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Speaker 1: delivering wide ranging community services in the Northern Territory, including

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Speaker 1: home clinic based services, home visits and specialist outreach in

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Speaker 1: remote communities. Now, they continue by saying Top End Memory

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Speaker 1: Services is co funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program

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Speaker 1: which enables allied health and nursing positions in the organization,

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Speaker 1: and nt Government, which provides funding for medical roles. They

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Speaker 1: say the Commonwealth Government has informed nt Health of its

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Speaker 1: decision to extend grant funding for a further twelve months,

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Speaker 1: which is going to commence on the first of July

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, and ensure ongoing service delivery. They finish

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Speaker 1: by saying NT Health are going to continue to work

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Speaker 1: with Top End Memory Services to provide Territorians with the

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Speaker 1: care and support they deserve. When when Win, they knew

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Speaker 1: you were coming on, so obviously decided, oh, we've got

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Speaker 1: to keep her. We've got to tell her what we're doing. Look,

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Speaker 1: is this enough? I mean, it's a year of certainty,

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Speaker 1: that's obviously.

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Speaker 2: What's the year. Hopefully in that year I will think

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Speaker 2: that they get together again and have some actual certains,

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Speaker 2: you like for five, ten years or ongoing as the

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Speaker 2: word says, concurrent funding to ensure we have that service.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, isn't it amazing we could have got that?

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Speaker 1: Oh well, thanks goodness, right, thanks goodness.

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Speaker 2: For all the people like Henry Gray and.

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Speaker 1: Henry Henry had sent us an email and I'll read

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Speaker 1: part of that out. He'd contacted me a little while ago,

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Speaker 1: but he'd sent an email and said the matter I

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Speaker 1: raise is of great concern. The Northern Territory Memory Clinic,

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Speaker 1: a vital part of the program offered in support of

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Speaker 1: people living with dementia and carars in the NTA, is

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Speaker 1: in dire straits. He said. The Memory Clinic is presently

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Speaker 1: supported by a point five part time doctor, with the

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Speaker 1: other half of the position supporting the geriatric program at

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Speaker 1: the Palmerston Regional Hospital. He said three specialist nurses support

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Speaker 1: the memory clinic. One full time NT funded position will

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Speaker 1: remain unchanged. The Commonwealth currently funds two positions through that

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Speaker 1: Commonwealth Home Support program and the funding's being cut from

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Speaker 1: July one. He said. The staff curtailment will mean that

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Speaker 1: memory clinics support services to the Catherine and Noulmboy areas

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Speaker 1: will cease, along with visits to people under the Care

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Speaker 1: at Home program in Darwin and Palmerston. He said that

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Speaker 1: this clinic and staff support an ever growing number of

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Speaker 1: clients and services need to be expanded, not curtailed. You know,

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Speaker 1: this is the thing.

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Speaker 2: So I know he's actually living with it, like with

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Speaker 2: living with his lovely lady with dementia. So, Henry, we

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Speaker 2: have another year, which is fantastic, but you shouldn't have

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Speaker 2: to go to that length.

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Speaker 1: Star.

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Speaker 2: Well now I guess I don't have to have a

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Speaker 2: meeting with Marion Scrimmager. So maybe she knew what was

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Speaker 2: happening as JA, So hopefully again behind the scenes they've

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Speaker 2: probably done common sense and common sense that's what it is, Katie,

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Speaker 2: isn't it. It's just like that lady is saying Oh,

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Speaker 2: what climatic conditions in the church. I mean, it's common

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Speaker 2: sense to do your homework first. And again, why should

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Speaker 2: we be the poor cousin of every other state might

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Speaker 2: have might only have like four seats or something in

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Speaker 2: the federal Parliament, but they are important seats. We are

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Speaker 2: important people in the Northern Churchary. We contribute to Australia. Really,

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Speaker 2: so why should we be poor cousins?

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Speaker 1: That's exactly right. So somebody else had just called in

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Speaker 1: and said, I think everyone's forgetting that people are being

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Speaker 1: diagnosed younger and younger as well, and that the memory

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Speaker 1: clinic is fantastic, but people need to realize that this

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Speaker 1: is happening people under the age of sixty five. Services

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Speaker 1: are even less and you're not eligible for age care,

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Speaker 1: but they still have the same disease and they should

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Speaker 1: all be treated the same. Like It makes me feel

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Speaker 1: really sad, you know when you think about this situation

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Speaker 1: and you think about the fact that it was even

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Speaker 1: a concern for those families that are living with a

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Speaker 1: loved one with dementia, they're worrying about that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they have enough to worry about it, especially if

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Speaker 2: they all of a sudden their loved one leaves the home. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: like our lovely Piero left Kota and we thought, where's

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Speaker 2: you're gone? We're all out looking for him, and the

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Speaker 2: police farding and boarding home. So those sorts of things

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Speaker 2: are a real concern. You know, you had enough to say, well,

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Speaker 2: what's tomorrow going to be? Like, what's this happening? When's this?

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Speaker 2: You know, feeding the loved one yourself, changing the nappy, yourself,

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Speaker 2: all those things with dementia patients, but also obviously if

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Speaker 2: they're looking after a person with age aged as well,

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Speaker 2: you've got you're enough to worry about rather than thinking, okay,

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Speaker 2: can I go to the memory clinic? Will people be

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Speaker 2: able to come here and do this with my loved one?

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Speaker 2: So it's it's really good news. We shouldn't have to

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Speaker 2: do this extent.

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Speaker 1: To get news. I'm glad. I'm very glad though, because

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Speaker 1: they're more frightened of you than I know about that.

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Speaker 1: I was about to say, tell you what, I wouldn't

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Speaker 1: want to annoy you and Henry Gray. I don't know

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Speaker 1: whether a couple of the two best territorians I know,

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Speaker 1: I reckon there's so many wonderful territorians out there, But

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Speaker 1: you guys or you know, like Henry often contacts us

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Speaker 1: and he doesn't contact us about things that don't matter,

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Speaker 1: exactly the same with you, you know. So when you

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Speaker 1: two contact me about something and you're saying this is

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Speaker 1: a real worry, it's a warry.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, he's a fantastic member of CODA. I'd also

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Speaker 2: like to just pass on to doctor ma Maharani. He's lovely.

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Speaker 2: He's just passed his lovely Lady we used to call it.

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Speaker 2: Doctor S was a CODA board member. They actually started

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Speaker 2: the geriatric unit out at Palmerston.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 2: They've contributed to the Northern churchy wonderfully and I'd hate

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Speaker 2: to see somebody like doctor S not being able to

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Speaker 2: access the memory clinic, you know, so that people like

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Speaker 2: that as well, who've contributed, as I often say after

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Speaker 2: a speech, they built this city, you know, and if

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Speaker 2: we can't offer people like that, hell, what are we?

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Speaker 1: That's exactly right, sous Shira. I always love catching up

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Speaker 1: with you. You're bringing a tear to my eye as well.

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Speaker 1: I love catching up with you. I'm so pleased that

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Speaker 1: common sense has prevailed here, and really please that Territorians

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Speaker 1: are still going to be able to access that memory clinic.

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Speaker 2: Oh and I also we've obviously postponed our Catherine expot Yeah, yep,

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Speaker 2: so I don't want them to miss out. So it'll

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Speaker 2: be either on the twenty ninth or the thirtieth of April,

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Speaker 2: with extended as long as we can because we don't

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Speaker 2: want them to miss out, and hopefully it will be

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Speaker 2: a little bit of a celebration for the scene as well.

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Speaker 2: Everybody and Catherine to come and have a morning tea

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Speaker 2: and connect again because it's probably been a bit isolated

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Speaker 2: down there and not being able to move. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: just want to let people know that that's the and

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Speaker 2: thank you to do hershy.

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Speaker 1: Keep us up to date. We're going to catch up

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Speaker 1: with Joe in a minute, but keep us up to

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Speaker 1: date as well, and let us know when it is

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Speaker 1: happening and we can let our listeners know. Definitely, lovely

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Speaker 1: to see you as well. Thank you as always for

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Speaker 1: you star Plane