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Speaker 1: Always plenty on the agenda, and we are continuing to

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Speaker 1: talk about those issues impacting truck drivers in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: rocks thrown at prime movers in Catherine, and the poor

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Speaker 1: state of outback highways. NT Transport Association executive Officer Louise

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Speaker 1: Belato joins me on the line. Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, Louise, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show now. First off,

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Speaker 1: are you aware of these recent incidents in Catherine with

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Speaker 1: youths throwing rocks at trucks near the Catherine Bridge.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I was hoping to raise that with you

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Speaker 2: this morning as well, because we've been shocked by those

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Speaker 2: recent incidents. We've had a series of our truck guess

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Speaker 2: that's our operators report windscreen damage and light damage as

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Speaker 2: well as damage to their vehicles and very concerned that

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Speaker 2: the police response. Will you what do you want us

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Speaker 2: to do about it? That's not good enough. Obviously, rock

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Speaker 2: throwing is extremely dangerous and it's our truck drivers' livelihoods

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Speaker 2: that are being impacted as well as their lives that

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Speaker 2: could be impacted by these rock throwing kids.

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Speaker 1: It's bloody dangerous, There is no doubt about that. We

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Speaker 1: ended up. We just caught up with the Assistant Commissioner,

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Speaker 1: Peter Mally and raised it further with him. Now he

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Speaker 1: actually said that there's been eleven reports over the last

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Speaker 1: two weeks alone. Louise, from your perspective, like, how bad

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Speaker 1: have some of these incidents been.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, extremely bad. You probably saw on social media

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Speaker 2: one of them who was reporting to me in the

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Speaker 2: early hours of Monday morning. I mean, we remember the

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Speaker 2: tow truck driver in our springs who lost the sight

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Speaker 2: of his eye, who has been impacted for life by

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Speaker 2: a rock that was thrown through his window. But those

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Speaker 2: drivers of the trucks over on Monday night, they had

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Speaker 2: to turn the stock, turn around their truck and then

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Speaker 2: go back to Darwin to get repairs done because they

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Speaker 2: couldn't get those windscreen and light repairs done in Catherine.

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Speaker 2: So think of the cost to that business. And what

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Speaker 2: we wanted to really emphasize is that for our owner drivers,

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Speaker 2: those trucks are they're their lives there. You know, we

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Speaker 2: talk about them as being their personal sacred site. They

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Speaker 2: invest a huge amount of money and time in ensuring

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Speaker 2: those trucks are roadworthy before they get on the road.

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Speaker 2: Otherwise they're going to get fined by the Northern Nurtry

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Speaker 2: government and then things like that happen. So you know,

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Speaker 2: we do really need this to be taken seriously. We've

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Speaker 2: seen it elsewhere. We've seen it in Tenant Greek, We've

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Speaker 2: seen it in our springs. It's in tunn and Ura,

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Speaker 2: paus Creek and Fitzroy Crossing. We know it's not isolated,

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Speaker 2: but it really does need to be taken seriously.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like to me we need we need to

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Speaker 1: have a fairly strong, you know, approach to this as well,

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Speaker 1: because like the fact is somebody could be.

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Speaker 2: Killed easily, easily easily killed.

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Speaker 1: Louise, what do you reckon needs to happen? Like from

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Speaker 1: your perspective, I mean, you know, we spoke the police

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Speaker 1: said that they're going to be working with a few

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Speaker 1: different organizations, including territory families to try and you know,

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Speaker 1: their belief is that we are talking about kids here

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Speaker 1: throwing rocks in these recent incidents, so they're going to

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Speaker 1: be working with these different organizations. But what else do

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Speaker 1: we need to do in this space from your perspective

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Speaker 1: in terms of protecting those drivers?

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Speaker 2: Well, yeah, is it about having police or security on

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Speaker 2: the Katherine Bridge at the moment, or you stopping children

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Speaker 2: congregating in the lead up to the bridge space escorting

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Speaker 2: truck through town. I don't know. I mean what we

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Speaker 2: certainly want are parents and in the community to be

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Speaker 2: able to remind those children that everything in the territory

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Speaker 2: pretty much comes in on trucks. So all they eat,

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Speaker 2: you know, drink, consume is transported by our truck drivers.

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Speaker 2: They're doing work on behalf of those communities to deliver

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Speaker 2: what they need to survive. So you know, being respectful

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Speaker 2: of those people who are doing a job and they

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Speaker 2: said it at night time on their behalf is really important.

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Speaker 2: So that's a message to parents and elders, is to

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Speaker 2: ensure that they know what those children are doing and

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Speaker 2: to remind them how the consequences of this huge, considerable

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Speaker 2: life and limb is one thing, but it's also as

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Speaker 2: I said, people's livelihoods. Well, they're out trying to do

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Speaker 2: a job and to make a buck.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, do you reckon. We're at the point where

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Speaker 1: potentially there does need to be security or there does

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Speaker 1: need to be police on that breach to to make

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Speaker 1: sure that at least in the really near future, that

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Speaker 1: they're able to get through there safely.

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Speaker 2: Well. Absolutely, I mean this is rammed up again. I

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Speaker 2: mean it seems to go in cycles. Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 2: we've had periods where it hasn't been problematic. I'm not

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Speaker 2: sure what's behind the reason these children are choosing to

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Speaker 2: throw rocks at the moment, but yeah, absolutely there needs

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Speaker 2: to be a much more considered response than what you

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Speaker 2: want us to do about it. It has to be

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Speaker 2: taken seriously.

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Speaker 1: Well, we've got the Minister for Logistics and Infrastructure, Billyan

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Speaker 1: on the show tomorrow morning as well, so I'm going

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Speaker 1: to put it to him. You know, I felt really concerned.

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Speaker 1: We spoke to Bed earlier in the week, who owns

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Speaker 1: one of those companies and had spoke to us about

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Speaker 1: the impact on one of his drivers earlier in the week.

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Speaker 1: We've had others get in contact with us and say, Will,

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Speaker 1: it is bloody dangerous and it's really you know, it's

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Speaker 1: a worrying situation. And they'd even spoken about Louise that

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Speaker 1: sometimes you know, with some of our truckies they do

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Speaker 1: take their kids with them for you know, for some

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Speaker 1: trips because they are away on the road so much.

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Speaker 1: So imagine if you're in a situation where you're in

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Speaker 1: your truck with your you know, with your kids, and

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Speaker 1: someone bloody throws a rock at the window and God forbid,

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Speaker 1: something terrible happens.

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Speaker 2: Well, you've got a truck fully loaded with livestock, you know,

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Speaker 2: or it's on the Catron River bridge and it rolls

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Speaker 2: into the bridge. I mean, yeah, it's unfathomable. What the

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Speaker 2: things that could happen are I've had one person who

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Speaker 2: was had a rock thrown through the windscreen. They and

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Speaker 2: he had all these windows up, air conditioning on, and

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Speaker 2: he said it sounded like a you know, an explosion

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Speaker 2: in the cab of the truck. It was frightening, you know,

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Speaker 2: because it's unexpected, and especially at nighttime if it's you know,

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Speaker 2: it's not something that you're thinking will happen. Yeah, it's

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Speaker 2: really an impactful event on that person as well. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: so as I said, doesn't warrant thinking about the worst

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Speaker 2: case scenario. But even if it's not the worst case scenario,

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Speaker 2: it's still hugely impact along the business.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you're spot on, and Luis, look, we had planned

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Speaker 1: to get you on obviously to talk about the state

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Speaker 1: of our roads as well. But you know that rock

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Speaker 1: throwing stuff is top of mind at the moment. But

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Speaker 1: look when we talk about the state of the roads,

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Speaker 1: we've also we've been contacted by a few listeners who've

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Speaker 1: sent through some photos about the shocking state of the

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Speaker 1: Tablelands Highway in particular, which literally show that most of

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Speaker 1: that road is missing. How bad are things from your

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Speaker 1: perspective and which roads do you feel as well? Which

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Speaker 1: highways are most concerning at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, what I wanted to say at the beginning is

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Speaker 2: road infrastructure and road construction has to be above politics.

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Speaker 2: So we see politics and throwing stones at each other

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Speaker 2: all the time. The Northern Territory we obtained self government

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Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy eight. We've said this before, but we

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Speaker 2: had a really underresourced road infrastructure network going back to

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Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight, so nearly fifty years we have had

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Speaker 2: very poorly maintained and seventy percent plus of unsealed roads,

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Speaker 2: And it goes back to then. We didn't have a

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Speaker 2: negotiated agreement to ensure that the federal government put as

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Speaker 2: much money as that as they had done in the

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Speaker 2: other jurisdictions into our roads. So we've continuously gone cap

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Speaker 2: in hand to the federal government. And it doesn't matter

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Speaker 2: what political persuasions in whether it's liberal and labor or

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Speaker 2: labor and liberal opposite ways, there's always not enough money

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Speaker 2: for roads and especially the National highway network in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory over the years, with the amount of flooding

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Speaker 2: we've had the Barkley in particular. You know that March

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Speaker 2: February March yet twenty twenty four flooding was massive on

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Speaker 2: that road and the road repairs haven't been sufficient to

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Speaker 2: really restore it to what it was. But we need

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Speaker 2: it not just to be restored, but we need it

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Speaker 2: to be upgraded. So it really Yeah, so the Barklay

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Speaker 2: is notoriously bad at the moment. And you know we

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Speaker 2: saw the photos in the Antinews that the guys wash out.

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Speaker 2: Well that's a fact. Everyone's been very aware of the risks,

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Speaker 2: especially coming across there when you're passing another road train

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Speaker 2: and the drop off is so comprehensive the Tablelands Highway.

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Speaker 2: And this is personal. I mean, our father was putting

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Speaker 2: bitchmen on single aim bitchmen on that road probably fifty

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Speaker 2: five years ago, and that's probably the bitchmen that's still

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Speaker 2: were so it does it. It's difficult because that's a

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Speaker 2: working road. You know, the Carpenter and the Tanama are

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Speaker 2: a bit similar, but the Table and Highway is pretty

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Speaker 2: much a pastoral road, but it's had some additional you know,

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Speaker 2: local traffic on it. Is that our highest priority will

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Speaker 2: speaking to our members Darwin or Berry Springs to Catherine

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Speaker 2: is our highest priority right now. The shoulders there are

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Speaker 2: really really, really bad. The Barkley Highway obviously as well,

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Speaker 2: but the National Highway network is the responsibility of the

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Speaker 2: federal government. You know, we got two hundred million to

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Speaker 2: towards duplicating in the May budget, and the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: government said, well, we don't have a forty million to

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Speaker 2: contribute on an eighty twenty basis. We need way more

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Speaker 2: than two hundred million dollars to duplicate the Stuart Highway.

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Speaker 2: But that's a start and we need to get started

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Speaker 2: and the built. Yeah, the cost of road building is well,

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Speaker 2: we always say it was a million dollars a kilometer,

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Speaker 2: Well now it's probably getting up beyond one point five million,

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Speaker 2: then closer to two million dollars a colmuter and that's

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Speaker 2: just the cost of materials and everything.

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Speaker 1: And then when you look at, you know, the level

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Speaker 1: of work that needs to be undertaken. I mean, are

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Speaker 1: you aware of any major road works that are scheduled

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Speaker 1: to take place in the near future or like, where

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Speaker 1: are we sort of at with some of these major

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Speaker 1: areas that do need some real focus.

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Speaker 2: Well, two million dollars is being spent to look at

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Speaker 2: how to actually upgrade the you know, the Darwined Catherine,

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Speaker 2: which is that that is money well spent because it

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Speaker 2: does have to be planned. There was sixty eight million

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Speaker 2: put onto the which has been you know, is underway

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Speaker 2: at the moment for bridges and work on the Carpenterier

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Speaker 2: Highway and that's you know, that's going to be gas

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Speaker 2: roads and you know, hopefully bring in additional royalties for

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory government in the long run. So you know,

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Speaker 2: we do need to upgrade that. The Tanami Road, we're

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Speaker 2: still waiting for two road infrastructure tenders to go out

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Speaker 2: to be released that closed in February and March and

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Speaker 2: really should have been well and truly underway by now.

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Speaker 2: And we know the Tanami Road, besides our biggest gold

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Speaker 2: mine in the territory and our biggest royalty stream that's

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Speaker 2: also an adyf critical project for you know, connecting the

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Speaker 2: east coast to the west coast. So you know that

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Speaker 2: that is a really important piece of work, even though

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Speaker 2: that's not the Stuart Highway or the Barkley or the

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Speaker 2: Vic Highway.

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Speaker 1: Louise, I know that recently as well, you were at

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Speaker 1: the National Road Transport Hall of Fame, and I understand

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Speaker 1: that that state of the roads across the country was

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Speaker 1: a hot topic.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, yes, so exactly. I mean the section of the

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Speaker 2: Barkby into Concurry sections up through to Broken Hill. You know,

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Speaker 2: there was a lot of conversation about not just the

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Speaker 2: territory roads being in a poor condition. The Bruce Highway

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Speaker 2: has got one point two billion dollars committed by the

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Speaker 2: federal government, so another you know about it'll be two

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Speaker 2: billion dollars that they're spending on the Bruce Highway, which

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Speaker 2: is really important. But our fear is that with the

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Speaker 2: twenty thirty two Olympics that most you know, additional monies

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Speaker 2: will go to building Olympic infrastructure and my additionally on

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Speaker 2: our roads. And well that's I mean, again, if it's

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Speaker 2: a finite piece of pie that you're dividing up and

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Speaker 2: that's going to be really problematic for the hurtry.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it sounds like it is going to be.

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Speaker 1: And it's like, I guess it's interesting as well over

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Speaker 1: the years because it used to be a bit of

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Speaker 1: a situation where you'd travel in from Queensland and I know,

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Speaker 1: I'd be traveling in from Mount Ere and it was

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Speaker 1: always a bit of a joke that the state of

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Speaker 1: the roads in Queensland were terrible and then you'd cross

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Speaker 1: over to the Northern Territory and you'd, you know, a

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Speaker 1: bit it was a lot better. And it feels like

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Speaker 1: that's no longer the situation, Louise, like, you know, it's

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Speaker 1: a terrible state for us now.

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Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, And again I mean we had two huge

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Speaker 2: wet seasons in a row. We were very fortunate and

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Speaker 2: you know that was seen with the emergency services budget.

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Speaker 2: You know, this last wet season that we've just had

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Speaker 2: earlier this year was we didn't need to be delivering

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Speaker 2: emergency food and fuel into remote communities. But I mean

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Speaker 2: the situation at wad Air at the moment, you know,

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Speaker 2: that could have been resolved sooner with more moneies as

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Speaker 2: spent on that road because there was monies allocated and

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Speaker 2: you know that that road is really important. We're also

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Speaker 2: really concerned about the barge landing at Man and Grida.

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Speaker 2: You know that community is just you know, booming, and

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Speaker 2: you know there's more problems there. That top road. Well,

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Speaker 2: it's got restrictions to double road trains at the moment,

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Speaker 2: taking a lot longer to get out to the community,

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Speaker 2: to build the police station and the health facility, et cetera,

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Speaker 2: and houses. Well, they need to upgrade the barge landing

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Speaker 2: there as well, because you won't even be able to

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Speaker 2: get chill to the power station. You know, simple simple things,

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Speaker 2: but they need to be actually attended to.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and you know sometimes it can be a

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Speaker 1: situation where it's out of side, out and out of mind,

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Speaker 1: but it can't be because then it winds up being

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Speaker 1: a massive concern. I mean, Madame Greater and what are

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Speaker 1: are some of our biggest, biggest communities outside of our

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Speaker 1: major town centers.

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Speaker 2: And emergency management costs a hell of a lot more

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Speaker 2: than doing the work exactly. So the you know, the

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Speaker 2: activities with the support of civil contractors and said many times,

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Speaker 2: our civil contractors know how to make good roads, you know,

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Speaker 2: in the territory we've got some exceptionally good civil contractors,

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Speaker 2: and building roads in the remote areas of the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory is a logistics nightmare. It's it's hugely difficult to

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Speaker 2: actually get workforce and you know, equipment and you know, yeah,

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Speaker 2: the whole package out there. It's not it's not a

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Speaker 2: simple task, no, although they make it look simple a

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Speaker 2: lot of the time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but it has to happen, right like, there's no

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Speaker 1: doubt that it has to happen all Louise Blag, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna have to wrap up. Really good to speak with

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Speaker 1: you this morning. I really appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie. And rock sowing is important

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Speaker 2: to get on top of immediately.

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Speaker 1: I agree with you, you know, for safety concerns, but also,

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Speaker 1: as you very rightly pointed out, we are talking about

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Speaker 1: getting our freight around the Northern Territory and into Darwin,

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Speaker 1: into the taller, smaller town centers as well, and if

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Speaker 1: they're not able to do that safely, well it's going

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Speaker 1: to have a huge impact on everybody.

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Speaker 2: It's it's completely disrespectful. It is really disrespectful. Yep.

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Speaker 1: Spot on, Louise, good to talk to you, really appreciate

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Speaker 1: your time,