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Speaker 1: NTI's Federal member for Linkri Marion Scrimjaw joins me on

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Speaker 1: the line. Good morning to you, Marion.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Really good. Great to have you on the show now, Marion.

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Speaker 1: We know the Prime Minister arrived in Darwin yesterday. He

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Speaker 1: announced an operator for the age care facility to be

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Speaker 1: built in Palmerston. This is incredibly welcome news, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Look, I think it's really important, Katie. I think if

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Speaker 2: you have a look at both for all Down Hospital

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Speaker 2: and Palmerston, for a long time there have been people

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Speaker 2: stuck in those hospitals that really should be in an

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Speaker 2: age care facility. Yeah, a really good, you know, start

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Speaker 2: of the art age care facility getting you know and

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Speaker 2: enjoying the final years of their life, but you know,

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Speaker 2: living without having to be in a hospital. I think

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Speaker 2: it's just it hasn't been right. So to see that

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Speaker 2: announcement for the age care provider and to see that facility,

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Speaker 2: you know, starting to be a reality is a good

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Speaker 2: thing for the you know, particularly for Darwin and for

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Speaker 2: older residents in their families. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I agree, and it's looking like it's now going to

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Speaker 1: go from if I understand correctly one hundred and twenty

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Speaker 1: beds to possibly one hundred and fifty, is that right?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I think that there's an opportunity for that

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Speaker 2: to increase. And I want to give a plug too

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Speaker 2: because I know and I hear him all the time

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Speaker 2: when we're down in Canberra. You know, Luke Gosling has

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Speaker 2: been quite a fierce advocate for this and has pushed

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Speaker 2: it because this has been promised by him and he's

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Speaker 2: made sure that the government is going to deliver on this.

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Speaker 2: So all cutos to Luke. But it's great to say,

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Speaker 2: you know that the Prime Minister has finally announced the

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Speaker 2: you know, the provider, and to make sure that that happened,

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Speaker 2: you know, well, let's hope it gets built in the

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Speaker 2: next you know, before another year. Agoes past Katie that

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Speaker 2: we're you know, we can finally have this facility open

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Speaker 2: for you know, older people in the in Darwin.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they deserve that dignity. And yeah, I hope that

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Speaker 1: it happens quite quickly. We'll keep a really close eye

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Speaker 1: on that. But Marion, another big announcement expected today. You're

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Speaker 1: in Catherine this morning. Talk us through what's being an

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Speaker 1: ounce there at Tyndall.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we're going to so I'll be with the

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Speaker 2: Assistant Minnesota Defense Pitter Khalil, and he'll officially open the

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Speaker 2: new m Q four C Triton facility at the rat

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Speaker 2: based Kindle in the Northern Territory, which is going to

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Speaker 2: mark Katie, a major miles over the ADF and it

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Speaker 2: will strength and you know, particularly across Northern Australia, that

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Speaker 2: whole air and maritime surveillance capability, you know, all part

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Speaker 2: of the making sure that we strengthen our norse because

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Speaker 2: there is you know, there are and we are vulnerable

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Speaker 2: in terms of strength. So putting that capability both in

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Speaker 2: Kindle and making sure that you know, Robinson Barracks and

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Speaker 2: because you know, whilst people might say, well you're putting

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Speaker 2: money into war and everything, we have to build our

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Speaker 2: capability and our defense should a threat. Given that there's

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Speaker 2: so much global uncertainty, this is really important that you know,

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Speaker 2: particularly for the North, that we're strengthening that capability.

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Speaker 1: Marion, what do you think this announcement means. I mean

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Speaker 1: you've sort of touched on it there, but in these

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Speaker 1: uncertain times that we're seeing globally, I mean, there is

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Speaker 1: that concern that the north. Is it a greater risk

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Speaker 1: particularly I guess with that military presence there at Tindall

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Speaker 1: as well, But you know, what do you think it means?

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Speaker 1: And in these uncertain.

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Speaker 2: Types, look, I think that this new facility, Katie will

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Speaker 2: so with the United States Navy and support the There

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Speaker 2: was a twenty twenty four National Defense Strategy, so that

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Speaker 2: looked at prioritizing and strengthening our Northern Bass and investing

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Speaker 2: in those systems to expand you know, Australia's intelligence, surveillance

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Speaker 2: and reconnaissance capability across the air and space domain. So

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Speaker 2: there's it builds on the three hundred and fifty five

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Speaker 2: over three hundred and fifty five million dollars that's been

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Speaker 2: put into that phase one. With having said that, Katie,

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Speaker 2: what's been really important for the Northern Territory and for

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Speaker 2: places like Catherine is that one hundred and sixty six

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Speaker 2: million of that was awarded to local businesses and about

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Speaker 2: seven point five million went to indigenous subcontractors. So you

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Speaker 2: know there's been flow on effects. While there's been significant,

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Speaker 2: you know, people might think or you're putting all this

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Speaker 2: money into defense and it's capability, but you know, no

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Speaker 2: outcomes for local people. But there's been huge twins for

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Speaker 2: local businesses and subcontractors who have all benefited from the

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Speaker 2: work that's going on at at Kindall and then an

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Speaker 2: around Catherine.

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Speaker 1: Now, if you've just joined us, we are on the

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Speaker 1: line with Marion Scrimjaw, the Federal member for Lnkari. Now, Marian,

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Speaker 1: before I let you go this morning, I do want

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Speaker 1: to talk to you about the administrator's appointment. You and

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Speaker 1: your colleagues have been pretty critical of mister Connolly's nomination

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Speaker 1: for the role of administrator, The Prime Minister yesterday saying

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Speaker 1: it's not a decision he would have made.

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Speaker 2: Would you no, Look, Katie, I think that there are

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Speaker 2: I can I just you know, say that there are

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Speaker 2: many you know, people I know associated with the CELP

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Speaker 2: that would have been worthy of that role. This is

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Speaker 2: a role that you know, I know, it's you know,

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Speaker 2: a figurehead of the government. It's appointment by the king,

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Speaker 2: you know, under the king. But it's somebody who you know,

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Speaker 2: in a symbolic way, is to bring communities and should

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Speaker 2: bring the community together. And I think it was really

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Speaker 2: important too. So if you look at all of the

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Speaker 2: administrators that we've had put aside. You know their politics,

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Speaker 2: but who they are, They were really important people. They

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Speaker 2: came from community, they worked from community. They are invested

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Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory. I don't think David Connolly is.

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Speaker 2: I think that yes, he was the manager of Tipperary

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Speaker 2: or he was out there for a while, but he

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Speaker 2: doesn't have the same investment in the Northern Territory as

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Speaker 2: we've seen our previous administrators. And it is a role, Katie,

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Speaker 2: that should bring the community together rather than, you know,

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Speaker 2: just build on one part of the community and ignore

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Speaker 2: the rest and some of the other issues.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we spoke to the former head of the

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Speaker 1: Anti Cattleman's Association yesterday, Will Evans, and he said that

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Speaker 1: David Connolly is an honorable bloke and that he's got

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Speaker 1: a lot of experience, a lot of investment. He reckons

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Speaker 1: that his results will speak for themselves. But do you

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Speaker 1: reckon this is more just a political appointment by the

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Speaker 1: sel pace.

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Speaker 2: Well, you know, Katie, where are all of the I mean,

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Speaker 2: besides Jared Mayley. I heard Jared Mayley come out, but

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Speaker 2: I haven't heard too many of Leofanoffieriro's colleagues come out

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Speaker 2: to say this is a fantastic appointment. I think that

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Speaker 2: this is a matter for the Chief Minister. Instead of hiding,

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Speaker 2: she should come out and justified the territory. Well, she

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Speaker 2: picked somebody who was highly political, I'm sorry to demon

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Speaker 2: to demean young women in sports, to be completely you know, racist,

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Speaker 2: and his comments about Aboriginal people no matter what people feel,

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Speaker 2: you know, like he's used social media as the platform.

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Speaker 2: And you know, for him to say, oh, well, I

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Speaker 2: didn't mean to cause the defense, you know, I didn't

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Speaker 2: realize I was going to be in the administrator's role.

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Speaker 2: Well that's a be furfy and the Chief Minister needs

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Speaker 2: to answer to territorians. When did she find out the

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Speaker 2: social media posts and that this man was totally inappropriate,

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Speaker 2: And yet she stood by her man, and she continues

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Speaker 2: to support someone who is seen as a divisive person

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Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory. And yet that you know, I

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Speaker 2: think it diminishes and demeans the role of the administrator

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Speaker 2: of the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there is still some questions there. I think that

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Speaker 1: needs to be answered. Marian just to play devil's advocate,

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Speaker 1: I mean, given how entrenched social media is in people's

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Speaker 1: lives these days, I mean we even saw Labour's Brent

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Speaker 1: Potter under the last Northern Territory government face similar a

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Speaker 1: similar issue. He didn't stand down as minute. Why do

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Speaker 1: you think mister Connolly's appointment shouldn't go ahead? I mean

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Speaker 1: you've already pointed it out, but is it a bit hypocritical?

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Speaker 2: Not at all, Katie. Both. You know, I actually rang

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Speaker 2: breat I also spoke to Egret at the time when

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Speaker 2: Brett Potter came out, and I told him he should resign.

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Speaker 2: I thought that his comments were, you know, like it

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Speaker 2: shouldn't be they weren't becoming of somebody at you know,

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Speaker 2: in his position he did. He told me that he

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Speaker 2: wasn't going to step down and he had the full

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Speaker 2: support of the Chief Minister at the time. I think

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Speaker 2: that was a big mistake, and I made it known

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Speaker 2: to both either but also to Brett at the time.

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Speaker 2: So I think that when we go into these positions, Katie,

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Speaker 2: you know, there's a certain particularly that we've had some

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Speaker 2: great administrators, and I think that this is a role

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Speaker 2: that should bring the Northern Territory together, not divide it. Now,

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Speaker 2: you know, yeah, really.

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Speaker 1: Quick one before I let you go. We're talking before

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Speaker 1: about health funding. Where do you think or do you

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Speaker 1: think we've got a pathway to potentially getting some funding

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Speaker 1: for a new hospital for Darwin with Royal Darwin at

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Speaker 1: that you know it's reached its peak.

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Speaker 2: Look, I think that what Steve Vedgington, the Health Minister

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Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory, needs to do is to sit

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Speaker 2: down with Mark Butler and his office and work through

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Speaker 2: it is critical that we get better funding for the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. Role going hospital certainly needs it. We're out

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Speaker 2: growing it and it is you know, I've said to

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Speaker 2: Steve Katie that I will do whatever it takes to

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Speaker 2: work with him to make sure that the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: benefits for any you know, for any health funding or

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Speaker 2: what our need is in terms of infrastructure. We will

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Speaker 2: you know, with Melanderie McCarthy, with Luke myself, we will

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Speaker 2: work with see to make sure that the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: gets what it should be getting in terms of you

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Speaker 2: know that we know that Rawal Daln Hospital certainly needs

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Speaker 2: if it is our growing it's used by date Katie,

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Speaker 2: and we do need to look at better infrastructure these Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, Marie Instream or the Member for Lingiari the federal member.

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Speaker 1: Really appreciate your time this morning From Catherine, Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: no

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Speaker 2: Worries, Katie, thank you, Good keep here you too, Thank

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Speaker 2: you