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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie wolf On Mixed one oh four

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Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin.

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Speaker 2: There's been quite a few of you getting in contact

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Speaker 2: with us this morning about your concerns around the Howard

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Speaker 2: Springs facility, the increase in those numbers per fortnite, the

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Speaker 2: fact that the management of it is going to go

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Speaker 2: from being with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center,

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Speaker 2: when you talk about the international arrivals to the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory Government and Northern Territory Health and Well having to

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Speaker 2: recruit up to four hundred staff. We did catch up

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Speaker 2: with the Union a little bit earlier this morning and

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Speaker 2: they certainly outlined the concerns that they've got when it

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Speaker 2: comes to recruiting those staff.

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Speaker 1: I've got a message.

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Speaker 2: I've got a lot of messages here, but one of

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Speaker 2: them from Darren and it says before COVID, the Howard

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Speaker 2: Springs facility was costing us money while sitting idle.

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Speaker 1: It's now being expanded.

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Speaker 2: Who pays the ongoing cost once it's no longer used

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Speaker 2: as a quarantine station, as expanded facility means greater cost. Oh,

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Speaker 2: I've got another one here and it says, Hi, Katie,

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Speaker 2: my question is with all of the money that the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory government will be receiving from the federal government

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Speaker 2: for taking care of the people in the quarantine facility

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Speaker 2: here in Darwin, will they be putting a chunk of

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Speaker 2: it aside to compensate our businesses that have to close

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Speaker 2: if and when we have an outbreak linked to the facility.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it would be only fair. Right.

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Speaker 2: That is a very interesting point and not something that

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Speaker 2: I'd thought of before, But I know that a lot

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Speaker 2: of business owners that I've spoken to are a bit

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Speaker 2: concerned about this. If we do see some kind of spread,

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Speaker 2: what's going to happen because you know, what we've seen

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Speaker 2: around the nation is is premiers locking down and locking

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Speaker 2: down hard, and that would have a massive impact on

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Speaker 2: business around the territory. Now, it does all come down

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Speaker 2: to us being able to contain any of those COVID

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Speaker 2: nineteen arrivals. And we're not talking about there being nobody

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Speaker 2: arriving at that facility with COVID nineteen because, as we've

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Speaker 2: discussed throughout the week, there's been about sixty seven cases,

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Speaker 2: if my memory serves me correctly, sixty seven cases that

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Speaker 2: have come through that facility. So far with COVID that's

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Speaker 2: been managed incredibly well under the ozmat team. We've seen

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Speaker 2: no community transmission and some of those cases have been

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Speaker 2: the highly infectious strain of the UK virus.

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Speaker 1: Now, if you.

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Speaker 2: Are a Territorian who's a bit worried about this situation

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Speaker 2: and certainly hoping that we don't see any community transmission,

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Speaker 2: you're not alone. Joining me on the line right now

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Speaker 2: is the Senator for the Northern Territory, the COLP Senator

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Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory, Sam McMahon.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning Tating, Good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 2: Now, Sam, you've penned a piece for the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: News today. I'm saying that this is madness on steroids,

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Speaker 2: the Health Department and US taking over basically, you know,

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Speaker 2: having this increased increased number of people being repatriated to

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs.

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Speaker 1: What are your biggest concerns, Katie.

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Speaker 3: My biggest concern is the fact that the control and

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Speaker 3: the running of the facility is being taken away from

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Speaker 3: the NCCTRC and OSMAT managed by Professor and Nataris and

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Speaker 3: a team of highly trained and highly specialized individuals, and

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Speaker 3: that's being given to the Anti government under the Police Commissioner,

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Speaker 3: and I'm just concerned that you're taking away a fantastically

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Speaker 3: run and managed facility and you hit the nail on

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Speaker 3: the head. You know, we've had a lot of cases

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Speaker 3: in there and the way it's been managed has meant

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Speaker 3: that there's been no transmission out of there into the community,

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Speaker 3: unlike other jurisdictions. And we're taking away that specialized control

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Speaker 3: and giving it to the antique government who quite frankly

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Speaker 3: couldn't organize a pint in a pub, and expecting them

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Speaker 3: to run and manage it. That concerns me greatly.

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Speaker 1: Sam.

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Speaker 2: You are obviously part of the federal government. Have you

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Speaker 2: raised these concerns with the federal Health Minister Greg Hunt?

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Speaker 3: Look, Katie, I haven't because I mean I sort of

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Speaker 3: found out about it, as did everyone else when there

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Speaker 3: was a press conference with the NTG and obviously Minister

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Speaker 3: Hunt at the moment is in hospital. I have been

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Speaker 3: communicating with him and I will raise it with him

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Speaker 3: next week.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, from your understanding, did the federal government,

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Speaker 2: did our leaders? Did Australia's leaders think that this center

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Speaker 2: was going to continue to be managed by the ozmat team?

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Speaker 3: Look, Cadi there was always always a plan that they

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Speaker 3: would transition back to their day job, if you like.

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Speaker 3: My concern is with the NTG potentially taking over. The

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Speaker 3: NTG now has control to say to NCTRC and Ozmat, no,

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Speaker 3: you know you can step aside. Now we're going to

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Speaker 3: take this from here. Now, that's not the intention, but

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Speaker 3: that's my concern is that that's what could happen.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon, there's got to be some really clear

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Speaker 2: instruction here in terms of, you know, when the ozmat

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Speaker 2: team's going to move out. But you know, from what

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Speaker 2: we heard from Professor Len Nataras yesterday on the show,

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Speaker 2: he'd said that they're sort of happy enough to stay

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Speaker 2: until they've got all the procedures and the appropriate measures

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Speaker 2: in place to ensure that we do not see any

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Speaker 2: community transmission.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, And look one hundred percent back Professor Nataras,

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Speaker 3: but that that is not going to be his decision

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Speaker 3: from now on in. It's going to be the decision

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Speaker 3: of the Police Commissioner and Michael Gunner. So I'm absolutely

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Speaker 3: adamant that Professor Nataras and his team must remain in

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Speaker 3: some capacity to have control over the biosecurity arrangements in

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Speaker 3: that facility until well, from my point of view, until

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Speaker 3: there's nobody left in there.

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Speaker 2: Well, And Senator I guess you're you know, you're actually

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Speaker 2: in a very unique position here where you do have

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Speaker 2: the year of the Prime Minister and of the Federal

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Speaker 2: Health Minister and are able to sort of voice those concerns.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you mentioned that you are going to raise them.

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Speaker 2: Is it something that you get to raise with the

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister as well?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie, Like I said, I have been. I have

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Speaker 3: been communicating with Greg Hunt, the Federal Health Minister, yesterday

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Speaker 3: and today. Even though he's in hospital. I'm not going

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Speaker 3: to bother him greatly while he's trying to recover himself,

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Speaker 3: but absolutely I will be talking to both him and

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Speaker 3: the Prime Minister next week when I'm in Canberra.

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Speaker 2: Senator, I guess if we believe exactly what the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister said on Friday when that press conference happened, he

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Speaker 2: had said that you know that the Police Commissioner had

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Speaker 2: always been overseeing the whole Howard Springs quarantine facility because

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Speaker 2: that's his role as the I can't think of exactly

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Speaker 2: what the word is.

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Speaker 1: That's right, The.

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Speaker 2: Territory Controller so really, I mean, is this going to

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Speaker 2: be too much different? We're always looking at transitioning the

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Speaker 2: ozmat team out anyway, is it going to be that different?

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Speaker 3: I'm concerned that it could be. Yes. Look I watched

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Speaker 3: that press conference and quite frankly, the Chief Minister seemed

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Speaker 3: confused and didn't seem to know exactly what was going on.

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Speaker 3: While yes, the Territory Controller is in charge of emergencies

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Speaker 3: and disasters, this is a highly specialized situation. It's not

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Speaker 3: really a disaster or an emergency. It is a quarantining situation.

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Speaker 3: It's managing a disease outbreak, managing quarantine, managing bio security.

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Speaker 3: And that all came undone the NCCTRC, managed by Professor Nataras,

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Speaker 3: So he did seem a little confused to me as

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Speaker 3: to what the actual situation was. And we are now

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Speaker 3: handing over the management of how it springs to the

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Speaker 3: Territory Controller. So that is a distinct difference.

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Speaker 2: All right, So Senator, you're hoping to have a sit

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Speaker 2: down with the Prime Minister and the Health Minister early

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Speaker 2: next week to be able to voice these concerns. I

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Speaker 2: reckon we might try and catch up with you after

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Speaker 2: you've done that if possible.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'd be more than happy to Kadie. And obviously

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Speaker 3: you know we put in federally a lot of money.

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Speaker 3: We've put in over two hundred and forty million to

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Speaker 3: the NTG so far, and we're going to be putting

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Speaker 3: in a lot more with the more than doubling the

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Speaker 3: capacity of this facility. So I am very concerned, and

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Speaker 3: yes I will be speaking to them. In fact, they'll

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Speaker 3: be speaking to the whole coalition party room and I

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Speaker 3: am more than happy to keep you informed of what's

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Speaker 3: going on.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon a lot of our listeners are very

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Speaker 2: interested in this one. Senator Sam McMahon. Always good to

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Speaker 2: catch up. Thanks so much for your time today.

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Speaker 3: No worries, Katie. Thanks want me to talk as always,