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Speaker 1: We know that a specialized alcohol and drugs withdrawal service

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Speaker 1: in Alice Springs it's going to be shut after the

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Speaker 1: Government hands it over to Corrections later this month. The

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Speaker 1: Independent Member for Our Lun, Robin Lamley, said it truly

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Speaker 1: beggars belief that any alcohol and drug services would be

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Speaker 1: cut in Central Australia, while the Government says the services

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Speaker 1: well that are there, instead changing location to better meet

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Speaker 1: the community's needs. Now joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: Robin Lamley, the Independent member for Our Lun. Good morning, Robin,

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Speaker 1: Hi Katie. Now Robin, firstly, tell us a bit more

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Speaker 1: about what this integrated withdrawal and Assessment service is, what

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Speaker 1: the facility is, and your understanding of what's happened.

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Speaker 2: So this service has been operating at a site which

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Speaker 2: is adjacent to the prison in Alice Springs for probably

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Speaker 2: around six or seven years. It's never been a part

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Speaker 2: of the prison precinct formally. It just sits out there

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Speaker 2: on the edge. So for people listening, our prison is

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Speaker 2: about twenty five ks south of town and this service

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Speaker 2: is yeah, it just sits out there. It's a really

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Speaker 2: lovely location apart from sitting next to the President's lovely

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Speaker 2: view and it's peaceful and it was purpose built originally

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Speaker 2: as a youth youth center or a youth detention facility.

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Speaker 2: And interestingly, when I was Health Minister back in twenty

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Speaker 2: thirteen and fourteen, we went out there and it hadn't

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Speaker 2: actually been used for anything at that point, and we

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Speaker 2: were looking for a site to kick off alcohol mandatory

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Speaker 2: treatment and we use that as our assessment center. So

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Speaker 2: after the change of government, it was then used for

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Speaker 2: this very specialized alcohol and other drug withdrawal an assessment service.

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Speaker 2: It's an ideal location for people. It's very discreete for

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Speaker 2: people needing to detox ye to get off serious alcohol

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Speaker 2: and other drugs.

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Speaker 1: So has it been popular, Robin, has it been somewhere

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Speaker 1: that's well utilized.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm not sure about the answer to that, but

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Speaker 2: it's only got seven beds and I think I think probably.

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Speaker 2: I went out there a couple of years ago, Katie,

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Speaker 2: and they said that you know, it had sort of

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Speaker 2: like a seventy percent occupancy rate and it is used

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Speaker 2: and look, I guess the point is, Katie, in a

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Speaker 2: place like Alice Springs, where alcohol in particular is such

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Speaker 2: a problem and our alcohol use is way above the

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Speaker 2: national average to have a seven bed specialized unit with

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Speaker 2: specialist addiction allied professionals and medical professionals is it's always

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Speaker 2: been something of great value to our community. And the

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Speaker 2: fact that at this point in history the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: Labor government are closing as really does Begga believe and Robin.

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Speaker 1: They say, well, my understanding is that the Health Minister

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Speaker 1: Selena Rubo has told the paper well, claims that alcohol

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Speaker 1: and other drug services were cush are absolutely untrue. She said.

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Speaker 1: Our Labor government's adjusting the model of care to bed

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Speaker 1: cater for people's needs with a fit for purpose approach

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Speaker 1: that includes supporting hospital at assertive clinical outreach to the

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Speaker 1: non government sector who will provide the day to day

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Speaker 1: twenty four to seven residential care for people. But look,

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Speaker 1: you know, even on the weekend, I was talking to

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Speaker 1: somebody who's got a family member who you know, who

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Speaker 1: does require some assistance in this space, not in our

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Speaker 1: springs but up in Darwin. And if anything, I am

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Speaker 1: hearing that there is an absolute need for more services

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Speaker 1: rather than less or rather than changing them and sort

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Speaker 1: of putting them into the corrections sector when not everybody

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Speaker 1: is actually committing a crime that needs this support.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think corrections are just taking it over for

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Speaker 2: whatever use they have. I don't think they intend to

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Speaker 2: use it for alcohol and other drugs. Look, I wouldn't

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Speaker 2: be sure about that, but look, you're right, Katie, this

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Speaker 2: is a really great service. And the aspect of it

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Speaker 2: which is outstanding is that it's discreet. If you and

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Speaker 2: I needed to detop from alcohol and other drugs, we

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Speaker 2: could go out there and no one would know we

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Speaker 2: were there. And I think that's critical because you know,

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Speaker 2: it's deeply embarrassing for individuals and families to have to

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Speaker 2: go through this. It is a medical problem. You've got

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Speaker 2: specialists out there. It has been respected, highly guarded as

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Speaker 2: an excellent service for this particular treatment. And now the government.

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Speaker 2: What you just read out from Selena Ubo, the Minister

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Speaker 2: for Health, is a lot of garbage. She's probably never

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Speaker 2: been there. She wouldn't have a clue where we've been

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Speaker 2: and how we've got to this point. And for her

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Speaker 2: to somehow rationalize and try and explain the fact that

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Speaker 2: she's cutting this really important service in Alice Springs is

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Speaker 2: absolute nonsense. I have to say, Saluna Ubo has been

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Speaker 2: in the job for a couple of months, and she

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Speaker 2: has no idea, Katie, So this is bad news for us.

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Speaker 2: You can't. There's no other way to explain it. It

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Speaker 2: is just a part of this government for some god

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Speaker 2: knows reason.

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Speaker 1: Robert, how are things going in Alice Springs? The curfew

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Speaker 1: is due to end on Wednesday. How's it going from

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Speaker 1: your perspective?

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Speaker 2: Grave. It's not a complete solution, None of these things

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Speaker 2: ever are, but it's taken the pressure out of the town.

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Speaker 2: People are really happy with what they've seen over the

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Speaker 2: last ten or twelve days or whatever it is. People

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Speaker 2: are wanting it to continue. We don't know what's going

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Speaker 2: to happen every day in our springs over the last

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Speaker 2: couple of weeks, last couple of months is a different story.

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Speaker 2: The goalposts change daily. We've just found out today that

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Speaker 2: the police don't intend to provide full coverage of our

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Speaker 2: bottle shops as of Wednesday. So that's a real concern.

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Speaker 2: I mean, well, do you.

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Speaker 1: Think that's going to mean, Robin, Because we know just

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Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, it felt like it blew up.

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Speaker 2: When that happened, it did, Katie, it was a disaster.

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Speaker 2: We're back to where we were a month ago, so

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Speaker 2: bat and down the hatches. Gog's going to be flowing

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Speaker 2: freely throughout the town, and all the games that we've

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Speaker 2: made over the last couple of weeks are in vain.

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Speaker 2: So I really fail to understand what this government's doing.

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Speaker 2: It's been explained as a resourcing problem, and I get

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Speaker 2: that the police are having trouble filling the jobs. But

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Speaker 2: having said that, we were getting ten extra police from

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Speaker 2: South Australia as of Wednesday and another ten the week after,

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Speaker 2: So I don't understand. We need consistency, we need stability.

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Speaker 2: It's policy on the run and it's not good for

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Speaker 2: the town.

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Speaker 1: What do you make of those additional police coming from

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Speaker 1: South Australia, Robin? Is it a good move?

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Speaker 2: Well? I'm confused. How did this even happen. I don't

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Speaker 2: ever recall this happening before. It's very nice of the sea.

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Speaker 1: Well, they're not overly happy there. I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you heard, but in the opener I played a story

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Speaker 1: from nine News Adelaide last night and their union's pretty

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Speaker 1: furious about it, saying that they're short of police officers

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Speaker 1: in Alice Springs as well. Brent Potter had told us

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Speaker 1: on the show on Friday, the Minister for Police on

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Speaker 1: the week that was that you know that we've got

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Speaker 1: a lot of visitors in Alice Springs right now from

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Speaker 1: the ap Wylands and that that is why the South

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Speaker 1: Australian Police were going to be stepping in and assisting.

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Speaker 2: Well, okay, that's interesting. I mean, you know you know

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Speaker 2: more than we do and we're sitting in the middle

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Speaker 2: of it all. Look, there are a lot of visitors

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Speaker 2: in town. I saw that the other day. I was

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Speaker 2: outside of one of the bars in town that was

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Speaker 2: just bursting at the scenes at three o'clock in the afternoon.

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Speaker 2: Crops everywhere, people everywhere, and they weren't local people, so

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Speaker 2: that might explain that. But look, it is a nice

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Speaker 2: thing for the South Australian to do. They're not very

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Speaker 2: happy by the sound of it, and I know that

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Speaker 2: Darwin people weren't very happy a week or two agoes.

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Speaker 2: When a lot of the coppers up your way, we

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Speaker 2: turn down to us. That's what happens when a cry

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Speaker 2: this occurs and we're still in a crisis, Katian and

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Speaker 2: this patching up and providing things and then cutting them,

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Speaker 2: and it's not good it's not good governance, it's reactionary.

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Speaker 2: We just need a plan, a really good mid to

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Speaker 2: long term plan about how we're going to address these problems.

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Speaker 2: I don't mind the curfew being temporary, it has to

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Speaker 2: be extended beyond Wednesday. That's just a nonsense to cut

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Speaker 2: it after it has been so effective for the last

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Speaker 2: couple of days.

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Speaker 1: So how do you think they can keep it in place? Robert?

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Speaker 1: That curfew?

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Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. I wouldn't have thought you'd do

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Speaker 2: anything for less than a month. But I look, who

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Speaker 2: knows what the real story is around police numbers. We're

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Speaker 2: not ever told the full truth. And we know that

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Speaker 2: when when you know, you hear one one day and

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Speaker 2: then the decisions made to bring more police in from

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Speaker 2: whatever direction another day, and you think, well, you know

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Speaker 2: they're telling us one minute we've got enough police, and

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Speaker 2: then obviously we haven't if we're getting more in. It's craziness,

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Speaker 2: really a kadie. It's really strange and weird, and residents

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Speaker 2: of Alice Springs just sitting back and watching the merry

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Speaker 2: go round really Robin.

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Speaker 1: Some in well, some in Catherine are now calling on

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Speaker 1: a curfew for Catherine. I don't know whether you've had

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know you've got your own problems to

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Speaker 1: keep an eye on in Alice Springs, but I don't

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Speaker 1: know if you've had much of an opportunity to look

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Speaker 1: at what's been going on in Catherine. With some of

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Speaker 1: the service stations targeted in recent weeks and some locals

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Speaker 1: calling for a curfew in Catherine, what do you make

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Speaker 1: of that.

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Speaker 2: I understand why they would want a curfew, and I

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Speaker 2: think probably a curfew and Catherine would be far easier

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Speaker 2: to execute than a slightly larger place than Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: A small community can be covered off by the police

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Speaker 2: a lot easier, so I would support their plea. I

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Speaker 2: think it's worked really well for us over this very

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Speaker 2: limited period, and I can see why the people of

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Speaker 2: Catherine would want the same. And I think Tenant Creek

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Speaker 2: is another obvious place where a curfew could work even

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Speaker 2: easier because it's even smaller. Yeah, for those people in.

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Speaker 1: Ten Before I let you go, somebody's message through and said, Katie,

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Speaker 1: do you think that the government's closing down the rehab

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Speaker 1: service so that they can take those beds over for

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Speaker 1: corrections because the corrections facilities are bursting at the scenes.

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Speaker 2: It's not a prison. It was set up as a

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Speaker 2: youth center, but it was never used for it originally.

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Speaker 2: And this is going back to twenty twelve twenty thirteen

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Speaker 2: when the cop took government and when I was a

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Speaker 2: part of that. It was never set up as a

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Speaker 2: prison and it was never used for a youth facility

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Speaker 2: because it wasn't really for that purpose. There were lots

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Speaker 2: of problems with it being even housed as a hostel

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Speaker 2: or a refuge for us. So that's why we used

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Speaker 2: it ultimately for alcohol rehabilitation. So I don't think that's

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Speaker 2: what it can be used for unless Corrections want to

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Speaker 2: spend a bit of money on it. Look, we're getting

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Speaker 2: an extra ninety bits at the All Springs prison. It's

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Speaker 2: the boom industry in Alice Springs. In fact, it's probably

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Speaker 2: the only industry apart from security and locksmiths and glaziers

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Speaker 2: that are doing particularly well. Is the prison Well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and you know this is the thing in

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Speaker 1: poor old Alice Springs at the moment. There's been so

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Speaker 1: many issues and we're actually going to be catching up

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Speaker 1: with Daniel Rochford in just a couple of minutes time.

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Speaker 1: As well to talk a bit more about the impact

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Speaker 1: on tourism with all the issues that are being experienced,

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Speaker 1: and I've no doubt that the impact on tourism economy.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the while economy has been impacted. We're all screaming

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Speaker 2: call because it's not good for any of us apart

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Speaker 2: from those limited fields that tend to gain from. Oh yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's not good, I suppose.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it is not good at all. Robin, keep us

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Speaker 1: in the loop. If you hear anything today about whether

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Speaker 1: this curfew is being extended or what's going on, we'd

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Speaker 1: love to love to find out more. Thank you, as

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Speaker 1: always for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you