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Speaker 1: Now, I think over the last couple of years, you've

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Speaker 1: heard us speak quite extensively, or certainly over the last

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Speaker 1: year or so about some of the issues that we've

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Speaker 1: got in the territory right now when it comes to

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Speaker 1: filling different jobs and some of those industries where it

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Speaker 1: has been quite difficult I suppose for people to know

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Speaker 1: to be able to fill those various positions, but also

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Speaker 1: to get people to move to the Northern Territory and

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Speaker 1: fill some of those roles. And the cost of living

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Speaker 1: has a big impact in this space. Now, what you

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Speaker 1: might not be aware of is there is actually a

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Speaker 1: program underway in the territory right now. It's called ren Choice.

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Speaker 1: It's been designed to meet the affordable housing requirements of

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Speaker 1: some of those key workers which are essential to the

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Speaker 1: growth and development of the Northern Territory's economy and community.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit more about this is Karen Walsh, who is

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Speaker 1: the CEO of Venture Housing here in the territory. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Karen.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Karen, thanks so much for your time this morning. Tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about what this rent Choice

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Speaker 1: program is.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so, as you've.

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Speaker 3: Said, everybody in the territory would know that there is

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Speaker 3: an affordable housing crisis. So you know, we're looking at

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Speaker 3: the shortage of affordable housing for key workers and also

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Speaker 3: for businesses to remain viable within the territory. We actually

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Speaker 3: need to you know, stimulate the economy and attract key

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Speaker 3: workers to local communities across the territory. So this program

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Speaker 3: was designed by Venture Housen in partnership with the Anti government.

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Speaker 3: They've given us three million dollars. They've invested three million

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Speaker 3: dollars to simulate this program, and this is designed to

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Speaker 3: deliver and relieve rental housing stress for eligible key workers.

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Speaker 3: It is designed to provide them incentives to either relocate

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Speaker 3: to the NPT or to remain in the NT and

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Speaker 3: the communities that they're living in so that they receive

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Speaker 3: a subsidy to go towards their rent, either within the

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Speaker 3: property that they're currently living in that might be an

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Speaker 3: extension of that existing lease when that lease comes up

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Speaker 3: for renewal, or it might be for a new lease

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Speaker 3: in a property that they're seeking to live in.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, I reckon, Karen, there's going to be people

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Speaker 1: listening right now who's is pricking up going hang on

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Speaker 1: a second, Am I in an industry where I could

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Speaker 1: actually be applying for this rental subsidy? Are you able

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Speaker 1: to talk us through some of those industries which are

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Speaker 1: actually included.

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, So there's five key industries across the territory, so

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Speaker 3: this is actually going to be operating in Darwind, Palmerston

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Speaker 3: and Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: Tenant Creek and Caprin.

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Speaker 3: Yes. And the industries are transport and logistics workers, automative

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Speaker 3: industry workers, construction workers, health and human services workers, so

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Speaker 3: people that are wealth workers, community aids, hospitality workers, so

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Speaker 3: people that work in retail, plubs, hotels, cafes, I could go.

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Speaker 3: We've actually got a list of over one hundred and

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Speaker 3: fifty occupations that are.

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Speaker 2: Eligible for this program.

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Speaker 3: That list is obviously too long, but that list is

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Speaker 3: available on our website, and we were actually seeing from

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Speaker 3: our applications so far that we have had people like gardeners,

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Speaker 3: truck drivers, mechanics, cafe managers, chefs, personal care assistants, community workers,

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Speaker 3: IT officers. So it's a very diverse list of workers

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Speaker 3: that are eligible because they are really essential to you know,

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Speaker 3: the operating of a thriving community and a thriving territory.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Wow, So the Northern Territory governments obviously invested three million

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Speaker 1: dollars for Venture Housing to be to deliver this program.

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Speaker 1: And look, I actually think that it is required. We

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Speaker 1: know right now that those rental prices for so many people,

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Speaker 1: it is incredibly high to be able to rent. It

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Speaker 1: can be tough going depending on what industry you're in.

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Speaker 1: So hopefully this is able to provide a bit of

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Speaker 1: support for some of those essential workers that we really

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Speaker 1: need to either bring to the territory or to keep here.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie. I mean looking at the.

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Speaker 3: Applications that we've assessed so far, this has only been

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Speaker 3: lie for just over a week, so just give your

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Speaker 3: sense of how it's been going. We've received one hundred

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Speaker 3: and forty applications so far. We've allocated fatures to eligible

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Speaker 3: applicants to the value of three hundred and ninety five

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Speaker 3: thousand dollars all up, and the average weekly subsidy that

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Speaker 3: we've allocated is one hundred and fifty nine dollars, So

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Speaker 3: that's over eight thousand dollars a year that those receipt

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Speaker 3: will be able to put towards their rent and we've

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Speaker 3: currently got forty seven active vouchers, so that's people that

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Speaker 3: we've issued patures too. They're currently looking for properties to rent.

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Speaker 3: And I'd also just like to say that we've been

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Speaker 3: partnering very closely with the real estate agents across the territory.

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Speaker 2: They've been fabulous.

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Speaker 3: In this this initiative, because without licensed real estate agents,

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Speaker 3: this won't be successful.

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Speaker 2: So when people do want.

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Speaker 3: To take up this, you know, this program, they must

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Speaker 3: rent through a licensed real estate agent and they actually

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Speaker 3: take a voucher to that real estate agent and that

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Speaker 3: actually demonstrates to them that they have that guarantee to go.

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Speaker 2: Towards their rent. So it is all about the viability.

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Speaker 3: And you know, if we lose the central workers in

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Speaker 3: communities think there are going to be no essential services,

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Speaker 3: it means that people aren't going to be attracted to

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Speaker 3: live in those communities. So we're actually dealing with more

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Speaker 3: than just you know, having affordability here.

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Speaker 2: This is absolutely about.

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Speaker 3: How we create driving dynamic communities across the territory.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so Karen explain to us exactly how it works,

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Speaker 1: because I reckon there's going to be plenty of people

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Speaker 1: listening this morning that if they're not eligible themselves. They

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Speaker 1: may actually be businesses who are trying to fill positions

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Speaker 1: right now who are going to be hearing this for

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Speaker 1: the first time and thinking, goodness, me, how do I

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Speaker 1: actually utilize this program or make sure that I'm able

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Speaker 1: to utilize or get this program utilized for some of

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Speaker 1: those workers that I want to keep in the territory.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely so, we have got.

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Speaker 3: Our website has got a lot of information on it,

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Speaker 3: It's got the frequently asked questions, It's got a lot

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Speaker 3: of information about how to apply through the rentally sub today,

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Speaker 3: so our business owners can look at that and they

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Speaker 3: can tell their stuff about it. Also, if business owners

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Speaker 3: are trying to recruit staff, they could also include something

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Speaker 3: in their promotions or advertising for new employees about the

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Speaker 3: rent Choice subsidy and include a link to our website.

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Speaker 3: We have a team of people that are working on

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Speaker 3: the assessment of the applications and they are very responsive.

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Speaker 3: They get back to people and you know, answer their

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Speaker 3: questions if they're not already on the frequently asked questions information.

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Speaker 3: We we are certainly you know, wanting to get this

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Speaker 3: money out the doors so that people that are in

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Speaker 3: need of affordable housing in the private rental market can

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Speaker 3: access this. So so what people need to do is

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Speaker 3: look at our website www dot venture Housing dot org

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Speaker 3: dot au. Or they can look at our Facebook page

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Speaker 3: or LinkedIn or Instagram. There's uh, there's videos, there's lots

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Speaker 3: of information out there, or they can send an email

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Speaker 3: through our website onto that portal.

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Speaker 1: But Karen, just to be really clear, there are obviously

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Speaker 1: limits as well. You know, you can't be trying to

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Speaker 1: get this rental subsidy for somebody that's earning sort of

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Speaker 1: two hundred thousand dollars a year. There are limits here,

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Speaker 1: aren't they? Oh?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie.

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Speaker 3: So if you're a single person in a single person household,

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Speaker 3: you can earn up to one hundred thousand dollars a year,

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Speaker 3: and for a couple it's one hundred and twenty two

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Speaker 3: thousand a year, and the families it's one hundred and.

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Speaker 2: Forty four thousand a year.

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Speaker 3: So those income thresholds are much higher than the usual

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Speaker 3: affordable housing thresholds for other programs that are operating within

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Speaker 3: the territory, mainly because we are targeting specific you know,

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Speaker 3: workers that are on that list of one hundred and fifty.

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Speaker 3: Some of those occupations do earn close to one hundred

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Speaker 3: thousand dollars. And there is an eligibility calculator on our

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Speaker 3: website that people can do an initial check. When people apply,

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Speaker 3: our staff will look at all the evidence and the

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Speaker 3: information that they provide to us to ensure that they

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Speaker 3: are eligible and that they are actually a key worker.

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Speaker 2: They are eligible.

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Speaker 3: And another thing with this program is you need to

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Speaker 3: be an Australian.

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Speaker 2: Citizen a permanent residence, but.

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Speaker 3: Also you can be on a particular visa type that

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Speaker 3: gives you rights to work in Australia.

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Speaker 2: So we know there are a lot.

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Speaker 3: Of people on different types of visas that are able

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Speaker 3: to work. They are also eligible for this program, which

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Speaker 3: is really good and I know that businesses are particularly

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Speaker 3: happy about that.

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Speaker 1: And just before I let you go, Karen, because we

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Speaker 1: will have to get ready to wrap up. But before

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Speaker 1: I let you go, how much are we talking here

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Speaker 1: that some people could be eligible to actually receive depending

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Speaker 1: on their household size and that kind of thing.

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Speaker 3: The maximum eligible amount per annum is twelve thousand dollars

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Speaker 3: per household. It can be as low as I don't know,

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Speaker 3: five or six thousand, but the average that we've allocated

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Speaker 3: based on the assessments and the voucher as we've provided

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Speaker 3: to day is about eight thousand.

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Speaker 2: Dollars per eligible household.

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Speaker 3: So it's not to be sneeze that it's really significant

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Speaker 3: and you know that will actually provide that, you know,

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Speaker 3: additional money that people need to go towards their rent

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Speaker 3: or to settle into a community and to incentivize them

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Speaker 3: to actually stay working in that community and create that

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Speaker 3: business viability for their employer.

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Speaker 1: And Karen, just to make it clear for those out

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Speaker 1: there listening this morning, i'man venture housing. You guys, like,

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Speaker 1: there's not any kind of bonus or anything that.

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Speaker 2: You get for this.

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Speaker 1: This is obviously it is a government funded It is

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Speaker 1: a government funded program. And you guys are a community

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Speaker 1: housing company, aren't you.

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Speaker 3: We are a registered community housing provider. We own about

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Speaker 3: one hundred and eighty five affordable housing properties. We manage

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Speaker 3: about over two hundred properties across the territory.

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Speaker 2: And incidentally, if.

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Speaker 3: Anybody is not in one of those key worker roles,

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Speaker 3: we do have other vacancies and properties that are separate

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Speaker 3: to this program that people can express an interest for

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Speaker 3: on our website if they're looking for long term affordable housing.

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Speaker 3: That we own and manage. They can also go onto

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Speaker 3: our website and access those properties. We get quite a

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Speaker 3: high turnover because of the transient nature in some of

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Speaker 3: the communities that are housing is located in. But your

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Speaker 3: question about are we getting a bonus, No, we're not.

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Speaker 3: We're we're getting a nominal administrative fee to administer and

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Speaker 3: manage this program. We've designed it in partnership with the

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Speaker 3: Anti Government because the Anti Government is absolutely committed to

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Speaker 3: doing their part in the economic stimulus.

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Speaker 2: And this is also very much.

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Speaker 3: Aligned with Venture Hansen's purpose and our mission. So we

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Speaker 3: are doing this because that's what.

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Speaker 2: We are, you know, that's what we're about.

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Speaker 3: We're not a profit organization that is doing this to

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Speaker 3: respond to the need of people that have got, you know,

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Speaker 3: hang in rental stress, but also create more vibrant and

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Speaker 3: viable communities across the territory.

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Speaker 1: Well, and I think you know right now there's probably

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Speaker 1: more people in the territory going through that rental stress

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Speaker 1: than what a lot of us realize. Karen, I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for having

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Speaker 1: a chat with us, and we really appreciate you telling

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this program.

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Speaker 3: Thank you Katie, thank you for hearing.

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Speaker 2: Thank you