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Speaker 1: We do know that tomorrow morning is of course going

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Speaker 1: to be the day where we do commemorate and remember

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Speaker 1: those that we lost in the bombing of Darh and

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Speaker 1: it's going to be a very momentous morning eighty years

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Speaker 1: and joining me on the line right now, live from

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs is the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good.

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Speaker 3: Morning, Katie. Good to be joining you and looking forward

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Speaker 3: to getting to dar and then particularly for the commemoration

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Speaker 3: servizens tomorrow.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I will talk to you more about that in

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Speaker 2: just a couple of moments.

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Speaker 1: I know that there's obviously a significant announcement being made

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Speaker 1: into defense as well before we get there, though, Prime Minister,

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Speaker 1: the issue of crime in the Northern Territory, it's one

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Speaker 1: which we've long covered on this show, and the issue

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Speaker 1: of crime in Alice Springs is one which has really

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Speaker 1: become increasingly concerning, so much so that the Mayor of

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs recently wrote to you and a number of

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Speaker 1: other prominent politicians around the country asking for help.

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister. Have you met with the mayor and and

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Speaker 2: what did he say?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I just met. I'm just literally come from the

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Speaker 3: meeting with Matt now and a very impressive, very impressive mayor,

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Speaker 3: I must say, and this is a very challenging problem,

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Speaker 3: there's no doubt about that. And it's a serious problem.

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Speaker 3: We can't have any suggestion this isn't real. It is.

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Speaker 3: It's very real, and it's threatening the safety of people

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Speaker 3: here and now the springs, and look, this has been

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Speaker 3: a challenge for a very long time and it is

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Speaker 3: clearly seeming to be getting worse. And I just want

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Speaker 3: to commend Matt for his strength and leadership on this.

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Speaker 3: He understands that the solutions of this are not simple.

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Speaker 3: It's just not a matter of more police or things

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Speaker 3: like this. There are law enforcement responses that are necessary here,

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Speaker 3: but we're talking about individuals, kids, kids who are thirty

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Speaker 3: and more offenses, and a big part of the solution

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Speaker 3: is trying to get hope back into these young people's lives.

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Speaker 3: And that's why Ken White was up here five days

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Speaker 3: after Matt wrote to us and announced that additional funding

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Speaker 3: to some of those programs. So that's just a start.

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Speaker 3: We've already put over thirty million dollars into these types

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Speaker 3: of programs and we've got to keep going. But it

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Speaker 3: is a serious community problem, and I gave Matt a

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Speaker 3: very strong commitment about working with him to do what

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Speaker 3: we can to support what would be a community led effort.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, I think we all understand that when

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Speaker 1: it comes to crime within the communities, it is something

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Speaker 1: that does need to be managed in each state and

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Speaker 1: territory individually. I think a lot of us can see

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Speaker 1: though around the nation at the moment, all you've got

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Speaker 1: to do is look to our.

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Speaker 2: Springs or look to cans.

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Speaker 1: Earlier this week when a fourteen year old was killed

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Speaker 1: in a stolen vehicle. Last week here in the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory we had a ten year old allegedly in a

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Speaker 1: stolen car in the early hours of the night.

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Speaker 2: This is a problem right around Australia at the moment.

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Speaker 3: Well, look, and it's not just these communities. I mean

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Speaker 3: it's in my home down to Sydney as well. We've

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Speaker 3: had things like this occur and we've got to try

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Speaker 3: and turn these lives around and give people hope in

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Speaker 3: a future. And that's why there are so many responses.

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Speaker 3: There's the law and order response, there's a community response,

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Speaker 3: there's the economic response. I mean I've just come from

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Speaker 3: a business ben Shaver who was at Chava, who runs

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Speaker 3: his own engineering business here welling business in Alice Springs.

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Speaker 3: He was in prison and he said, I don't want

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Speaker 3: to live like this. He got out of prison, got

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Speaker 3: himself a job, knocked on a lot of doors and

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Speaker 3: then insisted that they train him in a trade. And

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Speaker 3: now he's running his own business and employing ten people.

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Speaker 3: And I just met two young Indigenous boys who have

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Speaker 3: just joined his business. And so there are a lot

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Speaker 3: of responses here, but the volume of this problem here

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Speaker 3: in Alice Springs, I think is very real. And you know,

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Speaker 3: we can't just be making improvements at the edges here.

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Speaker 3: We've got to find ways of trying to provide some

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Speaker 3: direction and structure and future for these young Australians about

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Speaker 3: where they're going, because at the moment they're drifting and

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Speaker 3: they are causing harm to others and they're causing harm

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Speaker 3: to themselves.

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Speaker 2: It's quite heartbreaking, it really is.

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Speaker 1: And it's an issue, like I said, that's not only

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Speaker 1: happening in Alla Springs, that's happening here in Darwin right

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Speaker 1: now as well. But by the sounds of it, it's

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Speaker 1: something that you're hearing. I mean that commitment twenty one

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Speaker 1: point nine million dollars into an Indigenous Leadership and Governance

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Speaker 1: package to support that next generation of Indigenous leaders.

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Speaker 2: It is a step in the right direction. Is it

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Speaker 2: going to be enough though.

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Speaker 1: To help to keep kids off the streets and not

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Speaker 1: breaking into homes and stealing cars?

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Speaker 3: Not on its own. No, That's why I'm saying. There

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Speaker 3: are many more responses, and the territory and territory government's

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Speaker 3: response has to be significant, and they have to acknowledge

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Speaker 3: that there's a serious problem. As Matt just said to me,

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Speaker 3: we can't fix this problem with people don't think there

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Speaker 3: is one. And I'd certainly agree with him, there's a problem.

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Speaker 3: And I've asked Damien, our ex seriable candidate here at

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Speaker 3: the next federal election in Lingiari, to work with Matt

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Speaker 3: and to bring bring to me some initiatives that we

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Speaker 3: believe in addition to what we're doing, can exist. And

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Speaker 3: that's important. I mean, these aren't new problems, but they

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Speaker 3: are getting They are getting even more difficult to dress,

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Speaker 3: and we're dealing with more and more kids who are

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Speaker 3: finding themselves and making it softer and they're not being consequences.

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Speaker 3: That's not an answer either. And turning the other way.

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Speaker 3: We have to try and turn these lives around, and

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Speaker 3: communities need to do that otherwise the community won't be safer.

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Speaker 3: And this is a hard one. It's really difficult. I

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Speaker 3: think people understand that there isn't a simple solution if

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Speaker 3: there was someone who had already been doing it. That's

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Speaker 3: what Matcha said to me. And we've got to look

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Speaker 3: at some things that are out of the box and

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Speaker 3: unorthodoxa to try and crack this because if we can

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Speaker 3: achieve that in the Alis, there are many other communities

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Speaker 3: around the country where I think the lessons will be

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Speaker 3: well applied.

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Speaker 1: Now, Prime Minister to the other issue which is having

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Speaker 1: a really big impact in the Northern Territory right now,

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Speaker 1: indeed all around the country is COVID and the health system. Now.

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Speaker 1: Earlier this week, both the AMA here in the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory and also the Nurses Federation joined me on the

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Speaker 1: show to say that the territory's hospitals had reached Christ's

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Speaker 1: point with COVID rolling through the territory community. Both the

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Speaker 1: AMA and also the Nurses Federation had questioned whether we

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Speaker 1: need to call in the National Critical Care Team or

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Speaker 1: Defense Force to assist in this situation. Has that been

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Speaker 1: raised with you by the Northern Territory government or by

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Speaker 1: either of these unions and is it something that could

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Speaker 1: or would happen.

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Speaker 3: Well. Look, I worked directly with Chief Minister Ganna with

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Speaker 3: Michael on the COVID issues and we have worked close together.

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Speaker 3: We just extended the biosecurity powers in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 3: which is assisting in many remote communities. We pay fifty

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Speaker 3: to fifty at all the costs we pay for the vaccines.

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Speaker 3: We even pay the Northern Territory officials fifty to fifty

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Speaker 3: that are actually delivering the vaccines, nurses and others. So

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Speaker 3: there's a fifty to fifty commitment on all of those

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Speaker 3: COVID related expenses. I think we have to be careful

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Speaker 3: about what we think the defense forces can do. We

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Speaker 3: are currently using Clinical Defense Force teams as a strike group,

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Speaker 3: effectively going in h care facilities and dealing with acute

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Speaker 3: issues there where federal government has particular responsibilities. But there

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Speaker 3: isn't a whole nursing workforce in the defense forces that

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Speaker 3: can just come and replace. I mean, COVID will put

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Speaker 3: its pressure on the system, as we've seen in other

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Speaker 3: parts of the country. We've seen New South Wales and

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Speaker 3: Victoria coming through the worst of it now and they're

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Speaker 3: coming out the other side. So we've got to get

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Speaker 3: through these difficult months ahead and we're just going to

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Speaker 3: have to work together to achieve that. A big part

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Speaker 3: of the problem is that you have workforce that gets

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Speaker 3: taken out of the system because they've got COVID, and

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Speaker 3: we've changed the rules on close contacts and things like

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Speaker 3: that to try and keep as much at the workforce

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Speaker 3: there as possible. But you've just got to keep working

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Speaker 3: the problem day and day out, and we're doing that

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Speaker 3: with the Northern Territory government, and we've provided considerable financial

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Speaker 3: resources support them doing that, which i know Chief Minutes

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Speaker 3: the Gunner is appreciative of. And we're just going to

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Speaker 3: keep working the problem and we'll get through it. I

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Speaker 3: know we will. I'm seeing us get through that in

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Speaker 3: other parts of the country. Remember we've got eighty eight

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Speaker 3: percent double dose vaccinations in the Northern Territory. More than

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Speaker 3: ninety percent have had their first days and so you

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Speaker 3: know we are we are in a stronger position than

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Speaker 3: almost any other country in the world, both economically and

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Speaker 3: from a health point of view, and we just got

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Speaker 3: to keep pushing through, working together.

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Speaker 1: And what about though, I mean, when it comes to

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Speaker 1: that funding for the health system, I know the AMA

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Speaker 1: is certainly lobbying you from every stage, no doubt about that.

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Speaker 1: But are we in a situation here in the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory where we need additional funding, you know post COVID

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Speaker 1: when we're trying to snap back into action and get

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Speaker 1: back into those elective surgery weight lists, get those patients seen.

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Speaker 1: Are we in a situation here in the territory where

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Speaker 1: we need more funding for our hospital?

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Speaker 3: Well, yes, and you are getting it. I mean we've

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Speaker 3: increased funding for health and hospitals in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 3: by around one hundred and fifty percent over the time

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Speaker 3: of our government. And that doesn't include you may recall,

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Speaker 3: I'm sure we've discussed it before. What I was Treasurer,

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Speaker 3: we increased the GST. We made a payment on top

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Speaker 3: of the GST that Northern Territory was given in a

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Speaker 3: direct request of two hundred and sixty two million I

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Speaker 3: think it was at the time. So we've always kept

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Speaker 3: stumping up to support the Northern Territory budget that they've

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Speaker 3: got to do the job on the ground. We've been

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Speaker 3: providing that financial support for the health system, for COVID,

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Speaker 3: support for logistics issues and other workforce supports. We've been

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Speaker 3: doing that now over the course of the pandemic. But

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Speaker 3: I need them to do you know, everyone in a

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Speaker 3: pandemic like this has to do their job and the

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Speaker 3: things they're responsible for, and we've just got to keep

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Speaker 3: working together to get that job done.

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Speaker 1: So at this point in time, there won't be any

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Speaker 1: sort of change when it comes to the Northern Territories

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Speaker 1: health funding in the next budget.

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Speaker 3: No, it's increasing, That's my point. Under the existing funding

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Speaker 3: arrangements and the commitments that we've made, we are already

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Speaker 3: increasing the funding for the hospitals in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: That's already in the budget going forward. It's already going up,

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Speaker 3: you know. I mean we've already preempted this all right,

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Speaker 3: understanding what the future needs will be. I mean, just

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Speaker 3: at that one hundred and forty eight percent increase that

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Speaker 3: I was mentioning, that's an increase of two hundred and

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Speaker 3: thirteen million dollars.

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister. We are going to move along.

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Speaker 1: I know that you are pressed for time, as are

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Speaker 1: we and of course you're going to be in Darwin

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Speaker 1: tomorrow to join with the community in mark a day

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Speaker 1: of national observance, remembering that day exactly eighty years ago

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Speaker 1: when World War II forced itself onto Australia's mainland for

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Speaker 1: the first time and indeed Darwen was bombed. Prime Minister,

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Speaker 1: it's a day of remembrance. It is also a day

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Speaker 1: which really demonstrates the vulnerability and the importance of the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Though it does not.

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Speaker 3: Well, it does absolutely and that's why we've made such

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Speaker 3: significant investments in our defense industries and defense forces up

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Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory. We've invested and we're in that

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Speaker 3: eight billion dollars is approximately being invested in facilities in

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory. And to go back to the point

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Speaker 3: we're making before. You know, two point nine billion of

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Speaker 3: the five point seven billion of Commonwealth contracts are awarded

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Speaker 3: to Indigenous businesses. I mean that's a lot. I mean

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Speaker 3: we've got seventeen hundred and seventy one contracts valued in

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory alone, over one hundred million dollars which

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Speaker 3: have gone to Indigenous businesses in the Northern territory. So

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Speaker 3: these two issues come together. But what we're announcing today

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Speaker 3: and I'll be up in the Darwen are soon to

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Speaker 3: be making that announcement, is we've got one hundred and

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Speaker 3: twenty two million going in for thirty four defense projects

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Speaker 3: across the Northern Territory as part of your State Works program.

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Speaker 3: And in addition to that, there's one hundred and sixty

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Speaker 3: million dollars going into a regional maintenance center in Darwen

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Speaker 3: and that will create seventy jobs alone over the next

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Speaker 3: five years and support work of more than fifteen hundred

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Speaker 3: tradees from the Darwin region. So it is that is

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Speaker 3: our Northern approach, and it's a very serious issue, and

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Speaker 3: in our region it is getting more serious as we

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Speaker 3: as we as we know very clearly, and our government

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Speaker 3: has been investing in our defense capability in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 3: particularly a Darwin and tomorrow is a is a chilling

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Speaker 3: reminder of why we need to do that. But tomorrow

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Speaker 3: will also be a great opportunity to pay our respects

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Speaker 3: for the courage and the compassion and the resolve of

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Speaker 3: Territorians that lives on to this day.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, most certainly will be I mean as our relationship

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Speaker 1: with China does become more strained.

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Speaker 2: What do you think that means for Darwin? You know,

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Speaker 2: what does it mean for us and for the people

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Speaker 2: that live here.

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Speaker 3: Well, it means you need a government that knows how

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Speaker 3: to stand up to coercion and won't take it backward step,

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Speaker 3: that will keep investing in our defense forces. And that's

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Speaker 3: what my government does. We've done it every single year.

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Speaker 3: We've increased our defense force spending. We've increased our investment

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Speaker 3: and our intelligence agencies and our border protection in particular.

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Speaker 3: People in Darana need to remind them about that. So

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Speaker 3: this is what you need. You need a government that

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Speaker 3: takes national security seriously, not just talks about it. We've

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Speaker 3: set a very high bar when it comes to national

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Speaker 3: security and sadly, I don't think the Labor and the

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Speaker 3: Greens come anywhere near us. And that's I think provides

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Speaker 3: a real choice for people in the territory the next

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Speaker 3: federal election.

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Speaker 1: Well, Prime Minister, there is a lot being said this

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Speaker 1: week about Australia's relationship with China, and in what some

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Speaker 1: say is a growing sign that you are seeking to

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Speaker 1: elevate national security is a key point of contrast.

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Speaker 2: In the lead up to the election.

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Speaker 1: I know that earlier in the week you had said

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Speaker 1: that the opposition leader Anthony Albanesi was the Chinese government's

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Speaker 1: pick at this election.

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Speaker 2: Are you trying to scare Australians into voting for you.

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Speaker 3: I'm telling them the truth. I mean, the Chinese government

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Speaker 3: media outlets were the ones who are actually saying that.

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Speaker 3: And look, it's clear they wouldn't want me as Prime

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Speaker 3: minister because I've stood up to them and I've done

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Speaker 3: that in the national interest and we have received great

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Speaker 3: credit from our allies and partners who have admired Australia's courage.

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Speaker 3: You know, we stand with countries like Lithuania over in

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Speaker 3: Europe which also being targeted when we just can't have

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Speaker 3: it that sovereign countries are bullied brand while I'm Prime minister,

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Speaker 3: that won't happen.

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Speaker 2: We did just hear from Brian Windspeed.

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Speaker 1: Here's Windspear here is a one hundred and one year

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Speaker 1: old veteran who was here when Darwin was bombed. He

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Speaker 1: told me on the show a little bit earlier this

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Speaker 1: morning that you know, at the time it was a

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Speaker 1: little bit embarrassing for the police that they had egg

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Speaker 1: on their faces, because we really weren't prepared here in

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Speaker 1: Australia for what was coming for us. I mean, are

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Speaker 1: we doing enough, in the likes of Darwin right now,

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Speaker 1: given that strategic importance to make sure that we're prepared

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Speaker 1: for anything.

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Speaker 3: Well, I've just given two undred and eighty two million

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Speaker 3: more reasons about how we are getting that prepared. And

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Speaker 3: on the many visits I've made into the territory, it

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Speaker 3: has been about whether it's been training businesses, maintenance centers

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Speaker 3: out of Tyndall and the work we're doing there, fuel storage,

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Speaker 3: all of these sorts of things, and working particularly with

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Speaker 3: our partners in the United States and the marine training

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Speaker 3: that occurs there. Our government has lifted our investments in

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Speaker 3: our defense forces for capability, and we've taken up from

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Speaker 3: a level which under labor fell to the level you're

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Speaker 3: talking about what it was before the Second World War.

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Speaker 3: That's what we inherited and now we've got that over

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Speaker 3: two percent that continues to grow. The agreement that I

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Speaker 3: was able to put together with the United States and

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Speaker 3: the United Kingdom, the Orcus Agreement, is the most significant

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Speaker 3: advance in our ally and partnership arrangements since the and

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Speaker 3: dis agreement that was done many, many years ago. So

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Speaker 3: we're certainly doing our bit. We've set the mark, I

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Speaker 3: think and the bar very high on national security, and

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Speaker 3: we've got a leader of the Labor Party who's the

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Speaker 3: most left wing we've seen since Golf Whitlam and the

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Speaker 3: socialist left. They just don't believe in this stuff in

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Speaker 3: the same way that we do in the Liberal and

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Speaker 3: National parties in the zeal P.

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Speaker 1: Well, some listening this morning who've lived here for a

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Speaker 1: while we'll be wondering then, why we're in a situation

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Speaker 1: where the Darwin Port was leased to a Chinese company

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Speaker 1: several years back. Of course under a COLP government with

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Speaker 1: a liberal federal government.

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Speaker 2: So I know people will be.

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Speaker 3: Questioning, now I hang on a sick It was not

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Speaker 3: done with the federal government, that's no.

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Speaker 2: But you guys were in power then, no.

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Speaker 3: But we had no ability to stop it, So there

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Speaker 3: was no federal approval of the sale of leasing of

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Speaker 3: the port of Darwin. That was done autonomously by the

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Speaker 3: c or P government.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think people were questioning how that could happen,

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Speaker 1: how it could happen.

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Speaker 3: And why, I tell you how it could happen. The

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Speaker 3: Constitution and the laws of the land as they were

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Speaker 3: at the time, there was no power for the federal

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Speaker 3: government to prevent that sale and lease. There was none,

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Speaker 3: And so what happened because of that became very apparent.

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Speaker 3: As Treasurer I changed the law. I got all the

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Speaker 3: states and territories to agree to the fact that we

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Speaker 3: need to change the law that would not allow a

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Speaker 3: territory government as it was back then, or a state

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Speaker 3: government to sell such an asset or lease an asset again,

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Speaker 3: So problem solved it And are you.

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Speaker 1: Still happy with the fact that that port? Are you

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Speaker 1: still happy with the fact that that port is least

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Speaker 1: to a Chinese company? I know there has been a

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Speaker 1: lot of work done in this space over the last

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Speaker 1: over the last year or so.

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Speaker 3: They were keeping a really close on it with our

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Speaker 3: defense and intelligence agencies. And if they require the government

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Speaker 3: to take further steps to protect our national security that

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Speaker 3: I can assure you I will, and we're we're in

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Speaker 3: process on those issues right now, have been for some

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Speaker 3: time where we are watching this like a hawk. Now,

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Speaker 3: the federal government didn't sell it. It was the territory

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Speaker 3: government that sold it. With the federal government having no

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Speaker 3: power to stop it. I know the Labor Party runs

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Speaker 3: around saying we had no powers to stop that sale

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Speaker 3: whatsoever and it wasn't done at the behest or of

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Speaker 3: the encouragement or support of the Federal the book gupment.

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Speaker 1: Well, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, we always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much for chatting with us this morning.

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Speaker 3: Good to be with you. Thank you in the chattery.

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Speaker 2: Thank you