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Speaker 1: Wanting us on the line right now though, to talk

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Speaker 1: about this and plenty more hospitality int CEO Alex Bruce,

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Speaker 1: Good morning, Alex.

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Speaker 2: Katie.

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Speaker 1: Sorry mate, we're having some issues with our phone line earlier,

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Speaker 1: so glad we've got you back on the line.

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Speaker 2: Alex.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure whether you heard the Chief Minister Michael

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Speaker 1: Gunner on the show just a short time ago, but

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of us were very excited when

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Speaker 1: we heard that this direct London flight was going to

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Speaker 1: be happening. But it seems that even if you are

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Speaker 1: able to get across to London, you're still going to

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Speaker 1: have to quarantine in Howard Springs for two weeks when

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Speaker 1: you return at this point. And then any traveler it's

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Speaker 1: looking to come from the UK to the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: well they are going to have to quarantine and Howard

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Speaker 1: Springs for two weeks at this point in time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we probably have a look at this from

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Speaker 2: a couple of different perspectives. Firstly, it is good news

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Speaker 2: and credit to the government, Connice and NTI Airports that

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Speaker 2: worked hard to get this. The two immediate benefits are

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Speaker 2: residents can quarantine free, jump on a plane and wake

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Speaker 2: up in London. That's pretty phenomenal and exciting. The benefit

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Speaker 2: for our industry is as a departureport for backpackers and

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Speaker 2: longer stay travelers. If we can really cement Darwin's reputation

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Speaker 2: as a port to leave once you've done your travels

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Speaker 2: around Australia like we used to be twenty thirty years

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Speaker 2: ago and sadly we dropped away, we think we'll see

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Speaker 2: more backpackers not just going up the East Coast and

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Speaker 2: departing out of Cans, but potentially coming in working in

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Speaker 2: our roadhouses, working throughout our tourism and accommoination providers and hospitality.

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Speaker 2: So we see those two benefits of the gateway out.

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Speaker 2: Listening to Tom Danley from NTY Airport's talk this morning,

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Speaker 2: the gate back in is very difficult. You won't be

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Speaker 2: able to go London to Darwin. You have to go

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Speaker 2: to Sydney quarantine for two weeks in hotel quarantine, and

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Speaker 2: then because you're in a declared hot spot, from Sydney

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Speaker 2: to Darwin for another two weeks. So local residents might

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Speaker 2: find a free door out, but four weeks quarantining on

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Speaker 2: the way back in well, and I think it's important

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Speaker 2: though yeah, it is. I agree with you.

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Speaker 1: It is certainly an important thing. But then when you

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Speaker 1: talk about it from a tourism perspective or the on

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Speaker 1: flow obviously to hospitality and some of our tourism businesses,

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Speaker 1: it's certainly not going to be as simple as you know.

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Speaker 1: The Chief Minister had said this morning that he did

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Speaker 1: think there was direct flights back from London to Darwin,

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Speaker 1: but yeah, the airport is obviously saying the contrary that

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Speaker 1: you've got to either go via Sydney or Melbourne. And

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Speaker 1: that was, you know, what we'd found when we jumped

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Speaker 1: online and tried to book. But then when you even

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Speaker 1: look at this from a tourism perspective, at this point

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Speaker 1: in time, while there are still those two weeks of

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Speaker 1: quarantine at Howard Springs, it really doesn't seem like it's

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Speaker 1: going to be too different unless you are a long

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Speaker 1: term traveler wanting to come to the territory and maybe

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Speaker 1: work or something.

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Speaker 2: That's it. And I suppose we were hardened to hear

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Speaker 2: the Chief indicating that you know that November or early

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Speaker 2: December plan really won't solve that issue either, and buy

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Speaker 2: about February next year, you know, sooner the better but

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Speaker 2: by Sebruary, we really need to move beyond the next

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Speaker 2: stage and really shorten those quarantining times. The reality is

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Speaker 2: we're not going to get a bona fide tourist to

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Speaker 2: warm themselves up for fourteen days in one of our

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Speaker 2: hotels around town. We really need to shorten that for

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Speaker 2: safe double vacks international and domestic travelers.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on. You know it's not only the

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Speaker 1: international travelers. But then when we even talk about domestic

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Speaker 1: travelers over the Christmas break, I know, like you said, November,

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Speaker 1: he's hoping that we'll reach that eighty percent vax rate

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Speaker 1: or early December. From the hospitalities perspective, how important is

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Speaker 1: it that we've really tried to make some inroads when

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Speaker 1: we talk about that quarantining for the Christmas break.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we think the November plan that's been announced

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Speaker 2: but not yet put in places realistically probably as good

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Speaker 2: as it gets before Christmas, and that will allow a

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Speaker 2: lot of territoriums that have been cooped up that can't

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Speaker 2: see their family and loved ones down south, the reprieve

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Speaker 2: and the respite, knowing that if they do come back

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Speaker 2: and they're still in a red zone being red zone

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Speaker 2: at worse, they've got a couple of weeks home quarantine,

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Speaker 2: but again that will limit travelers tourists from those areas

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Speaker 2: coming up for us. So before the next dry season,

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Speaker 2: we need to get to the next stage and the

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Speaker 2: one after it. And that's our message that we've been

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Speaker 2: working with the government team on what a February stage

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Speaker 2: of less quarantine restrictions look like. And that's why the

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Speaker 2: vaccination stuff, Katie, is just so important but also unfortunately

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Speaker 2: so devastating some of those Lovak's stats that are coming out. Now.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree with you, and I think it's a

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Speaker 1: really tough situation that we're in, you know, for every territorium.

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Speaker 1: But then when you look at it from that real

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Speaker 1: business perspective and the impact that it is having, I

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Speaker 1: know that your industry and others are feeling it very much.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, and again we agree with the Chief. It's

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Speaker 2: not an indigenous versus no Indigenous issue, lo and behold

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Speaker 2: who knew, of course, but Indigenous people have a whole

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Speaker 2: range of views, just like non Indigenous people, and they're

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Speaker 2: not a homogeneous group. So there is a remote rural

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Speaker 2: issue that's coming through in our stats. We are coming

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Speaker 2: dead last now across the country for sixteen and above rollout.

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Speaker 2: We really shouldn't have been in this situation. Partly it's

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Speaker 2: our remoteness, but if you look at the seventies and above,

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Speaker 2: which is really where the mortality and the really sick

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Speaker 2: effects cluster on all of this. I'm not a doctor,

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Speaker 2: I don't have a PhD. Of Google, but you know

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Speaker 2: they all say seventy and above the most at risk group,

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Speaker 2: and even our non indigenous seventy and above the laggards

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Speaker 2: in the nation. So you really have to wonder why,

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Speaker 2: And I do think it is when even some of

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Speaker 2: the messaging from the chief on the show just previously reconfirmed,

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Speaker 2: you know, the hesitancy. Well, he's going to keep keeping

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Speaker 2: COVID out where the reality is COVID's coming. If that concerned,

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Speaker 2: you go and get vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Hey, Alex. Before I let you go, I

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Speaker 1: do just want to touch on the fact that I

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Speaker 1: know hot To Mali, one of the hospitality one of

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Speaker 1: our hospitality favorites, have lost a very much loved young employee.

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Speaker 1: He passed away last week in that terrible crash, that

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Speaker 1: tragic accident. Mate I go fund b page. I believe

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Speaker 1: has been set up in order to try and to

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Speaker 1: try and support his family. And is there somewhere where

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Speaker 1: people can go to actually find it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, just jump on the hot to Marley facebook page

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Speaker 2: and that's the best link through to that. It was

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Speaker 2: very tragic last week and our thoughts are for everyone

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Speaker 2: in the Nepalese community, the international student community, and our

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Speaker 2: hospitality family that the people that unfortunately had to take

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Speaker 2: the calls. Credit to the frontline responders to you know,

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Speaker 2: professional as always and they do deal with humanity in

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Speaker 2: the most tragic circumstances. But by all accounts, you know

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Speaker 2: they did. It's all proud the Nepalese community last last

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Speaker 2: week in two hours, raised over twenty five thousand dollars

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Speaker 2: recent Creation flight so that you know, this poor soul

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Speaker 2: can go back to his family and loved ones in

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Speaker 2: the poor and Robbo down at Hot Tamali and Analyse.

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Speaker 2: They've launched this go fund me page with the support

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Speaker 2: of the family that's to help pay off the apparently

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Speaker 2: have over twenty thousand dollars in our student loan debts

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Speaker 2: to come here to study in the first place. And

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Speaker 2: you know, was a contributor to that family back there.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, we're asking people if they can to obviously

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Speaker 2: support that in any way they can. Unfortunately, it was

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Speaker 2: just such a tragic outcome for a budding young chef

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Speaker 2: in our industry, and you know how critical those hard

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Speaker 2: workers are for us and they're all valued. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, so much love to his family, his friends, all

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Speaker 1: of that crew there at Hot Tamali and if you

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Speaker 1: jump on their Facebook page you'll be able to follow

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Speaker 1: those links and be able to help them out. Alex

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Speaker 1: Bruce Mate always appreciate your time. Thank you very much

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Speaker 1: for having a chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Katie, thank you