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Speaker 1: We know that.

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Speaker 2: You know, we've spoken yesterday about some of the positives

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Speaker 2: that were going on in Alice Springs. We spoke to

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Speaker 2: a business owner of the gallery there in the mall

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Speaker 2: about some of the positives. But then in one day yesterday,

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Speaker 2: to have these tragedies occur, it is it's utterly heartbreaking.

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Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line to talk a little

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Speaker 2: bit more about how things are going in Alice Springs

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Speaker 2: this morning, it is the mayor of Alice, Matt Patterson.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 3: Matt, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 2: Matt. An absolutely tragic day, I think is the only

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Speaker 2: way that you can describe what's happened in Alice Springs yesterday.

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Speaker 2: We just caught up with the Northern Territory Fire and

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Speaker 2: Rescue Service about the tragedy which saw a child killed

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Speaker 2: in a fire in Alice Springs. It must be an

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Speaker 2: incredibly sad time for everybody in the Red Center.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's I think Tragic's are right, probably the only

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Speaker 3: word for the last twenty four hours and Alice Springs,

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Speaker 3: you know how tight en it Alice Springs Stadium. When

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Speaker 3: things like this happened through the whole community, it's heartbreaking

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Speaker 3: for everyone involved, including the first responders, and yeah, I'm

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Speaker 3: sure you know. My heart goes out to the family

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Speaker 3: and to everyone. But as you said, it's tragic, tragic,

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Speaker 3: and it's hard, hard to come back from that family.

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Speaker 1: It really is. It is. It's utterly heartbreaking.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we just spoke to Josh Fisher from

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service. He did say

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Speaker 2: that there is going to be the territories a regional

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Speaker 2: coordinator when it comes to those fire investigations is on.

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Speaker 1: Their way to Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: A full investigation underway in terms of that fire and Matt.

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Speaker 1: The terrible part.

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Speaker 2: Here is that's not the only tragic thing that's happened yesterday.

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Speaker 2: We also have seen that a man was stabbed in

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Speaker 2: the mall.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I mean the man stabbed in the mall

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Speaker 3: at three o'clock, three hundred meters from a school at

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Speaker 3: school pickup time. I mean, this is chaos. And you know,

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Speaker 3: again another tragic event. Someone's lost their life. Incredibly sad

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Speaker 3: again first responders, I had to be party to another death.

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Speaker 3: It's just it's incredibly frustrating, it's incredibly sad for everyone that,

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Speaker 3: again this has happened and Yeah, really got no words

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Speaker 3: to describe it, Katie. It's just a pretty chaotic twenty

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Speaker 3: four hours unfortunately.

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Speaker 1: It truly is.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we know that there is a mailing custody

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Speaker 2: assisting police with their inquiries. Police are investigating the circumstances

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Speaker 2: surrounding the incident and are calling on any witnesses that

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Speaker 2: were in the vicinity of the northern end of Todd

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Speaker 2: Street and the intersection with Will's Terrace between three and

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Speaker 2: three point thirty in the afternoon to come forward, particularly

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Speaker 2: if they've got dash cam footage or any for their investigation.

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Speaker 2: But Matt, you know, you and I have spoken on

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Speaker 2: so many occasions about some of the terrible stuff that

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Speaker 2: has unfolded in Central Australia, and the tragic irony of

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Speaker 2: this yesterday is that we'd actually just caught up with

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Speaker 2: a business owner from the gallery in Alice Springs in

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Speaker 2: the mall yesterday who'd said that those patrols had been

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Speaker 2: going so well, that things were.

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Speaker 1: Going really well in the mall and then to.

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Speaker 2: Have something like this happen up the other end is

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Speaker 2: just terrible.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, the lritive of the traditional owner

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Speaker 3: patrols have been working people really appreciate what they've been doing.

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Speaker 3: Obviously they can't be everywhere, but it's yeah, you know,

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Speaker 3: people feel safel with the patrollers around, which is fantastic,

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Speaker 3: and unfortunately this is just taking the you know, a

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Speaker 3: shine off the positive stuff that is happening a lot

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Speaker 3: of Springs, and it constantly feels like as soon as

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Speaker 3: we get our head above water, people are just you know,

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Speaker 3: pushing us back under. And you know, I think it's

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Speaker 3: just it's difficult to know where if you could understand

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Speaker 3: where to from here and understanding that it's still being

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Speaker 3: investigated by police, so you know, naturally that will happen,

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Speaker 3: but it's what are the next steps with someone being

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Speaker 3: in custody and things that will play out from here.

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Speaker 2: And obviously we're all going to be keeping a very

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Speaker 2: close eye on that, you know, Matt, there's been a

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Speaker 2: lot of talk about a review into the legislation around

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Speaker 2: knife crime and the way in which we deal with

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Speaker 2: knife crime across the Northern Territory. It certainly seems like

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Speaker 2: the outcome of that review really can't come soon enough.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, it's not just one instance we've seen

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Speaker 3: with an edged weapon in our springs. There's been multiple

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Speaker 3: events and unfortunately someone's lost their life now, and you know,

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Speaker 3: we can't continue to kick the can down the road

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Speaker 3: with these things. We need to make brave decisions. And

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Speaker 3: as an elected member, whatever side of politics, whatever you

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Speaker 3: believe in, sometimes you've got to make really tough decisions

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Speaker 3: that are not popular, but we need to make them

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Speaker 3: before anything else goes wrong. And that's what our Springs

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Speaker 3: needs at the moment, is people who are willing to

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Speaker 3: make tough decisions for effectively the safety of our community

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Speaker 3: in the future of our community as well.

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Speaker 2: Matt, how is the sentiment of the town today well different.

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Speaker 3: To what it was twenty four hours ago. I mean,

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Speaker 3: as I said, there were you know, there were some

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Speaker 3: positive things happening in our springs and as I said,

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Speaker 3: in the patrols, you know, crime break into those sort

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Speaker 3: of things that are trending down, which we're grateful for.

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Speaker 3: But clearly now the sentiment's completely different and people are anxious.

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Speaker 3: You know, we've seen this play out before, and people

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Speaker 3: are anxious about what happens next. And I think that

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Speaker 3: that's you know, I think that's pretty fair to be

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Speaker 3: anxious about the next steps of what happened in our

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Speaker 3: springs with obviously the things that will play out from here.

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Speaker 1: Matt.

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Speaker 2: We had been due to catch up with you about

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Speaker 2: you know, about a number of other things, but I

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Speaker 2: feel like after what is unfolded in the last twenty

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Speaker 2: four hours, we might save it for another day, Mate,

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Speaker 2: because I just think I can hear that you yourself

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Speaker 2: are are pretty upset today. I think the whole community

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Speaker 2: is feeling pretty upset. So we might make a time

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Speaker 2: to catch up with you next week.

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Speaker 3: No worries, Cody, and thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: Thanks mate, appreciate it.