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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine now

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Speaker 1: from this morning, well at about nine am, territory campus

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Speaker 1: and multi day trail walkers, we'll have to book online

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Speaker 1: to head out in our territory parks. Joining me on

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Speaker 1: the line is the Minister for Parks and Rangers, Selena Rubo.

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Speaker 1: Good morning, Minister.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, Good morning to your Mixed listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, how is this online system going to work? Exactly?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, We've got a really great new system that

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Speaker 2: is going live today from nine o'clock this morning, which

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Speaker 2: has been developed by our fantastic Parks and Rangers crew

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Speaker 2: with the WHAT Parks and Wildlife Commission here in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. It's a very simple and easy to use

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Speaker 2: online booking system. I had a virtual walk through last

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Speaker 2: week which is it looks fantastic. It's got many different functions,

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Speaker 2: but most importantly for us here in the territory, what

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Speaker 2: we love and what we enjoy in our pastime is

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Speaker 2: the ability to go camping and to do some of

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Speaker 2: those beautiful walks across our park. So it will allow

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Speaker 2: people to add their dates of choice and book certainty

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Speaker 2: for their holidays or their adventures.

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Speaker 1: So what does it mean for locals wanting to go

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Speaker 1: out camping. Are you hoping that it means more sort

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Speaker 1: of certainty, more claranty as to whether are those spots

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Speaker 1: are going to be available?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, Katie. Obviously we know some of about peak season,

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Speaker 2: in the dry season, in the winter season further south

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Speaker 2: in Central Australia, they tend to be the busiest seasons

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Speaker 2: and we have people whether they're single travelers, couples, groups

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Speaker 2: of friends, or of course families who do want to

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Speaker 2: travel out and enjoy our parks and often spend quite

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Speaker 2: a bit of time in our parks extended trips or

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Speaker 2: multiple weekends away with family and friends. So wanting to

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Speaker 2: make sure that the system supports the certainty of being

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Speaker 2: able to have a look. We know a lot of

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Speaker 2: people do travel many many kilometers to get to those

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Speaker 2: beautiful parks, in those campgrounds, and in that peak season,

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Speaker 2: often those beautiful spots already taken up, So it'll allow

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Speaker 2: a bit more certainty in that space in that regard.

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Speaker 1: Katie, Minister, I know this. We had a lot of

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Speaker 1: questions about this from listeners yesterday. As you know, these

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Speaker 1: changes do start to really flow through this morning. One

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Speaker 1: of the common questions that keeps coming through is what

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Speaker 1: happens if you arrive and somebody's in the spot that

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Speaker 1: you've booked.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, I know we've had that sort of question

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Speaker 2: already in the development of the new online booking system,

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Speaker 2: and our ranges are obviously very professional which we know,

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Speaker 2: but are trained to be able to support and work

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Speaker 2: through any of those issues. There will be a period

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Speaker 2: of education and transitioning into this new system. Obviously we

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Speaker 2: want to make sure one people know about it, but

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Speaker 2: too how to use that system effectively? And three what

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Speaker 2: do you do to help the problem solve? And if

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Speaker 2: there are any issues. There's also a survey mechanism that's

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Speaker 2: attached to that online booking system now, so if there

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Speaker 2: are any issues, people can feed that back into the system.

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Speaker 2: There will be ranges in our part could dislike always,

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Speaker 2: but there'll be people around to be able to assist

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Speaker 2: with resolving any of those issues.

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Speaker 1: Do you reckon we're going to see any confrontational situations

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Speaker 1: where someone maybe rocks up and somebody's in their spot

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Speaker 1: that they've already booked.

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Speaker 2: Well, I hope not, of course, Katie. But in terms

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Speaker 2: of helping to problem solve. There will be some clashes

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Speaker 2: and it'll be about how do we deescalate if there

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Speaker 2: is any frustration with that process. But of course we've

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Speaker 2: got those trained ranges to be able to support and

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Speaker 2: to work through that with people if they can't resolve

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Speaker 2: it themselves.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister Margo has been in contact. She was in

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Speaker 1: contact actually late last week. She was right onto this

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Speaker 1: and was wondering. She was quite concerned about the fact that,

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Speaker 1: you know, obviously plans change a lot. Let's say you're

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Speaker 1: out and about camping for the week and you're wanting

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Speaker 1: to travel around a few different spots in the territory,

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Speaker 1: but that mobile coverage and also the ability to book

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Speaker 1: once you're sort of already out and about could be limited.

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Speaker 1: Are there any plans in place to try to boost

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Speaker 1: that mobile phone coverage or to provide some kind of

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Speaker 1: backup system.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we're always conscious of our telecommunications in the territory

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Speaker 2: and you know, it can be a curse and a

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Speaker 2: blessing of course to be in range around the range.

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Speaker 2: But in terms of accessing the online booking system, there

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Speaker 2: will be of course a grace period. You can still

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Speaker 2: book in hindsight, if you have stopped in a place

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Speaker 2: that you may not have intended to stop. You can

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Speaker 2: still process and do your online booking system and the

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Speaker 2: payment for that night if you enter a mobile reception

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Speaker 2: or a service range then and of course, as I

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Speaker 2: mentioned earlier, we'll always have those ranges out and about

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Speaker 2: and checking and assisting people, so there will be that

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Speaker 2: support and that grace period as we transition to this

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Speaker 2: new system.

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Speaker 1: So no, but there's no sort of hard plans at

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Speaker 1: this point to improve mobile phone coverage in some of

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Speaker 1: those spots or any work that's about to get underwire

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Speaker 1: or anything we.

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Speaker 2: Do, Katie. We do have the extension of three of

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Speaker 2: our main parks and some of our highly visited areas

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Speaker 2: which will have extended Wi Fi available for the next

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Speaker 2: twelve months, so that will help assist in this process.

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Speaker 2: But of course we're always advocating at the federal level

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Speaker 2: to invest in the territory and make sure we've got

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Speaker 2: really strong telecommunications and not just for our parks but

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Speaker 2: of course right across the territory and some of our

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Speaker 2: very remote areas that we love. Now.

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Speaker 1: Of course, these changes when it comes to booking come

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Speaker 1: into place today. The fees, though, that is something that

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Speaker 1: was introduced towards the end of last year. If I

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Speaker 1: recall correctly, what is that money going towards with the

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Speaker 1: fees that are raised for our national or for our parks,

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Speaker 1: not our national parks, our territory parks.

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Speaker 2: Yes, definitely for our territory parks, but we of course

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Speaker 2: have some of those beautiful national parks here in the

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Speaker 2: NT so that the fees for our camping and walking

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Speaker 2: trails Katie will go directly back into the park's budget.

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Speaker 2: So you know, the maintenance of trails, the upgrades of amenities,

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Speaker 2: the work that's done to make sure that trails are

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Speaker 2: safe and accessible. And you know, we've got some great spots.

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Speaker 2: We've got some of those barbecue areas that campers can

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Speaker 2: use for free. So all of those things obviously cost

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Speaker 2: money to upgrade and maintain. But more importantly, with our

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Speaker 2: online booking system, we'll be able to see from that

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Speaker 2: data where are those we know some of our really

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Speaker 2: popular parks that where are some of those areas that

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Speaker 2: could use some more of that investment into parks to

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Speaker 2: make those amenities and those services and those trails even

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Speaker 2: better for our users.

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Speaker 1: Now, another question that came through yesterday where do your

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Speaker 1: book to walk? Is that the same situation, the same

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Speaker 1: booking system is what you do to camp?

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Speaker 2: Yes, it is. It's one website, Katie. It's very simple,

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Speaker 2: and then there's two functions through that one website. One

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Speaker 2: will be the multi day walking trails and there's three

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Speaker 2: that you can access through that, and then the other

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Speaker 2: one will show all the beautiful camping spots. So our

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Speaker 2: parks and rangers have done a great job in logging

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Speaker 2: and catalogging all of those camp spots, but it is

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Speaker 2: the one system.

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Speaker 1: And with the walking trails, I mean, has this booking

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Speaker 1: system been brought into place because you're wanting to limit

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Speaker 1: the number of people on those trails.

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Speaker 2: Not necessarily, Katie. There is limits for jap Bela Trail

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Speaker 2: and that's always existed in terms of the safety of

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Speaker 2: that particular walk, which is in Netlook National Park. There

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Speaker 2: still will be a limit per day and that's continued

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Speaker 2: to what the system is currently, but you'll actually be

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Speaker 2: able to see that in the online booking system. So

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Speaker 2: you'll book one night in each of the camp spots

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Speaker 2: on the Japela Trail, and it'll be similar for Tabletop

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Speaker 2: in Lichfield and also down in Central Australia.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister, just finally, I know last week we spoke

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Speaker 1: to Tourism Central Australia about some of the flood damage

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Speaker 1: that we've seen in some parts of Central Australia. I

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Speaker 1: think it was the West McDonald Rangers, if I recall correctly.

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Speaker 1: I understand that there is going to be some work

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Speaker 1: get underway there. Where are things at in that space?

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Speaker 2: Yes, Katie, So Central Australia's received i think in a

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Speaker 2: matter of weeks more of their annual rainfall that they

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Speaker 2: have in the last couple of years. So obviously it's

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Speaker 2: been a big impact to some of that accessibility in

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Speaker 2: our parks down in the center. My park's team have

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Speaker 2: told me that they've got some really quick upgrades and

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Speaker 2: investment that they're looking for mineor new works around that

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Speaker 2: Central Australia area with that flood damage and particularly around

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Speaker 2: road and pathway access. So that works underway. They're hoping

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Speaker 2: that that will all be completed by April, which will

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Speaker 2: be the start of sort of traditionally the highest season

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Speaker 2: there in Central Australia. So really looking forward to supporting,

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Speaker 2: of course, our tourism industry in that way. But parks

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Speaker 2: are definitely already got that as a proori and are

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Speaker 2: working on that.

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Speaker 1: Minister. Before I let you go, I know some of

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Speaker 1: my listeners will will be upset with me if I

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Speaker 1: don't ask. Where are things at with the window on

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Speaker 1: the Wetlands.

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Speaker 2: Ah, yes, So Katie, there is a proponent who was

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Speaker 2: successful in the tender for the window in the Wetlands.

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Speaker 2: They're working on some upgrades for the facility and they've

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Speaker 2: completed some of the commercial leasing for that particular site.

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Speaker 2: So my understanding is they're looking for end of March

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Speaker 2: beginning of April to open that up. So really looking

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Speaker 2: forward to talking to you and your listeners in the

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Speaker 2: next few weeks to consume when that will open again.

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Speaker 2: So really exciting about that news.

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Speaker 1: Sounds like it's only weeks away.

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Speaker 2: Though it is. It feels like things have gone very

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Speaker 2: quickly at the beginning of this year. But really excited

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Speaker 2: for the new business owners who will be opening that

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Speaker 2: up yet in a matter of weeks.

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Speaker 1: Katie, Well, we will look forward to chatting with you

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Speaker 1: again then, Minister for Parks and Rangers, Selena Rubo, really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you so much, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thanks you are listening to Mix one O four point

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Speaker 1: nine three point sixty