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Speaker 1: Before we get there, though. We've spoken on the show

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Speaker 1: quite a bit about the plans for the Catherine Council

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Speaker 1: to upgrade the pool in Catherine, but not everyone feels

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Speaker 1: that that ten million dollar price tag for the redevelopment

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Speaker 1: of the forty three year old pool, which closed in

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Speaker 1: March due to infrastructure failure, is enough now. The COLP

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Speaker 1: member for Catherine, Joe Hersey, has taken to social media

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Speaker 1: to voice her concerns, saying that the pool project has

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Speaker 1: just over ten million allocated. This is not going to

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Speaker 1: be enough to cover what's needed. We're in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the Big Rivers region and service twenty one thousand

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Speaker 1: people across the region. We deserve a first class pool facility.

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Speaker 1: Joe Hersey joins me on the line.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Joe, Good morning Katy, and good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Joe.

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Speaker 2: What are your concerns class pool? Katie?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what are your concerns here with what's being proposed

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Speaker 1: by the council.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm just concerned that and it's not you know,

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Speaker 2: the council has received funding for this pool project. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and that was a federal government in the have at

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Speaker 2: the last election. But ten million dollars what I'm you know,

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Speaker 2: the government the council are going to do a great

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Speaker 2: job in bringing that pool to the people of Catherine.

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Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is we have only received I

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Speaker 2: think it was three hundred and fifty thousand from the

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Speaker 2: NT government where in Darwin at Palmerston they gave five

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Speaker 2: million too the Swell Center, which is amazing, and the

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Speaker 2: same for Casarinastry Casina Pool. And what I'm saying is

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Speaker 2: why haven't they given Catherine. As I've said in that

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Speaker 2: Facebook post, we are in the middle of the Big

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Speaker 2: Rivers region. We service twenty one thousand people and we

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Speaker 2: need a first class pool and it should be equitable

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Speaker 2: across the regions. I mean, you know, we do have

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Speaker 2: a lot of people coming through. The pool precinct is

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Speaker 2: right on the Stuart Highway. A great pool facility there

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Speaker 2: will attract people to stay in Catherine, stay for longer.

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Speaker 2: We know, tourisms down you know, it's a great place

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Speaker 2: for people to go and get and look.

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Speaker 1: I come at it from a real that's exactly right.

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Speaker 1: I come at it from a real parent perspective, Joe,

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Speaker 1: in the sense that I've been there to Catherine for

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Speaker 1: some in carnivals at different times. And it's such a

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Speaker 1: wonderful club right that operates out of Catherine, but as

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Speaker 1: you've touched on, it also services the whole Big Rivers region.

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Speaker 1: We want our kids to know how to swim and

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Speaker 1: we want them, you know, getting in the pool, being healthy.

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Speaker 1: It helps in so many ways. It also you know,

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Speaker 1: if kids are involved in sport, they're staying out of trouble.

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Speaker 2: That's exactly right, Katie. And you know, I just want

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Speaker 2: the ND government to realize that, don't forget us and

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Speaker 2: don't leave us behind, and along with the council, advocate

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Speaker 2: for more money for that pool, because what we're going

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Speaker 2: to get with ten million dollars basically is is is

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Speaker 2: not going to cut it. We haven't had the pool

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Speaker 2: for a couple of months now it's twelve months, you know,

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Speaker 2: until it reopens again. We actually do not have anywhere

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Speaker 2: for any one to swim. The swim club has got

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Speaker 2: an arrangement with the raft based to use their pool,

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Speaker 2: but apart from that, there's you can't swim in the

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Speaker 2: river because of crocodile so there's nowhere for people to go.

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Speaker 2: And I just think we deserve better and I will

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Speaker 2: not go down with House fighting for more funding from

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Speaker 2: the NT government.

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Speaker 1: Joe Wear sixty six days out from the Northern Territory election,

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Speaker 1: is the CLP going to commit to providing more funding

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Speaker 1: for the Catherine Pool.

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Speaker 2: That is absolutely something that I will be discussing with

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Speaker 2: colleagues Katie and certainly advocating for more funding for that.

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Speaker 2: So we'll have to see when the budgeting all gets done,

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Speaker 2: but I will absolutely not be giving up on fighting

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Speaker 2: for more funding for that initiative, which I think you know,

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Speaker 2: as I've said, we also service the people that are

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Speaker 2: in Ropergolfshire, Big Daily, Shy and I know someone said

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Speaker 2: on my Facebook, well those people don't use it, well,

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Speaker 2: actually they do. They come in Catherine is their main center.

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Speaker 2: So I don't think it's unreasonable to reach out to

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Speaker 2: those councils and to the larger Aboriginal organizations in town,

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Speaker 2: you know, whether it be jar and whether it be NLC,

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Speaker 2: Rope Golfic Dialect Daily. I think, you know, everyone can

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Speaker 2: put a little bit of funding in for a first

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Speaker 2: class facility and I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation, Joe.

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Speaker 1: Have you had those conversations with some of those different organizations,

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Speaker 1: and what's been the feedback.

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Speaker 2: I've had those conversations with council, and council said they've

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Speaker 2: reached out to those organizations and obviously nothing's come to

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Speaker 2: the table. Well look, which is a shame because you

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Speaker 2: know they strongly are advocating for more funding as well.

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Speaker 1: I mean, look, it is bloody expensive to operate to

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Speaker 1: run a pool, to upgrade a pool, but as you've

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Speaker 1: rightly pointed out, it's servicing quite a large area. I

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Speaker 1: mean the work that they've ema does sound like there's

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Speaker 1: quite a bit going to happen. Ten million bucks, like

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Speaker 1: some people are going to be listening thinking, goodness me,

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Speaker 1: how much do you need?

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Speaker 2: Well, nineteen point five in Darwin for Parmeerston Swell and

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Speaker 2: twenty four for Casarina, So to have ten for ours

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Speaker 2: in Catherine is absolutely not enough, Katie, and I know

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Speaker 2: that the plans that were put in. I spoke to

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Speaker 2: someone that was doing the planning and the plans are

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Speaker 2: over fifteen million dollars for you know, as in what

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Speaker 2: they've planned is over fifteen million to deliver. So when

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Speaker 2: you've only got ten, is you know it will have

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Speaker 2: to be a stage.

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Speaker 1: Well, Joe Hersey Unfortunately, yeah, look, please keep us up

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Speaker 1: to date. Unfortunately we are going to have to leave

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Speaker 1: it there for this morning. Thank you, as always for

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Speaker 1: your time. It's greatly appreciated. No worries, Katie, Thank you,

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Speaker 1: talk so