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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie wolf On mixed one oh four

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Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin. We know that

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Speaker 1: the budget is being handed down tonight and there is

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Speaker 1: indeed a significant spend when it comes to infrastructure. We

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Speaker 1: spoke about that yesterday to the Deputy Prime Minister. Now

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Speaker 1: joining us on the line is the Senator for the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, Melandarry McCarthy.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning Katie, and good morning to you.

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Speaker 1: Listen now, Senator, we know the federal budget is going

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Speaker 1: to be big spending tonight when it's handed down. Well,

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Speaker 1: if the announcements which have so far been made or

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Speaker 1: anything to go by, what are you hoping to see

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Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: Well, I'd certainly like to see a very real commitment, Katie,

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Speaker 3: which means money hitting the ground. We've seen over the

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Speaker 3: last couple of budgets that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer.

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Speaker 2: Very much speak loudly around how much money they want

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Speaker 2: to spend. That we see an underspend in these budgets

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Speaker 2: and I think that's the real concern. We still need

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Speaker 2: to see where they've spent money was seen an underspent

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Speaker 2: of almost one point seven billion across Australia in recent budgets,

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Speaker 2: so it's sort of around infrastructure, so we need to

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Speaker 2: see just how genuine these announcements will be in terms

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Speaker 2: of hitting the ground as son as possible.

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Speaker 1: And Senator yesterday we spoke about Kakadoo and some of

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Speaker 1: the ongoing concerns out there. Glenn Heinley, the general manager

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Speaker 1: of Tourism top End, spoke to us yesterday. Take a

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Speaker 1: listen to what he had to say.

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Speaker 4: The big focus for us here is how much operational

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Speaker 4: funding will come out in the upcoming federal budget, because

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Speaker 4: I think that's the key to it all here, whether

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Speaker 4: that's invasive weeds, feral animals, more facilities for locals within Kakadoo,

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Speaker 4: more visitor facilities, being able to maintain.

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Speaker 2: Those facilities, that's the key to it.

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Speaker 4: It's all well and good to announce new thems, but

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Speaker 4: the operational funding to take care of it. You'll be

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Speaker 4: able to have the boots on the ground to be

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Speaker 4: able to employ locals in doing which the park desperately

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Speaker 4: needs to be maintained. So our focus there looking forward

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Speaker 4: is we're really hopeful, albeit we're not overly optimistic, that

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Speaker 4: we'll see a good solid operating budget given to Kagadoo,

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Speaker 4: a place that's just under a third size of Tasmania,

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Speaker 4: operates on thirteen million dollars a year. It doesn't go

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Speaker 4: anywhere near enough to being able to take care of

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Speaker 4: one of Australia's most wonderful efforts culturally and conservationally.

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Speaker 1: Sanasor what do you think needs to be happening here

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Speaker 1: when it comes to Kagadoo.

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Speaker 2: Well, bloom Hinley's correct, Katie. He raised this very concern

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Speaker 2: with myself and Milton Dick MP, and also with Luke

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Speaker 2: Gosling just recently at a round table in relation to tourism.

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Speaker 2: What we need to see with Kagadhu is not only

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Speaker 2: the Prime Minister racing me to pledge two hundred and

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Speaker 2: sixteen to reach vitalize the national park. We have to

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Speaker 2: see it actually hit the ground. But on top of

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Speaker 2: the two sixteen, as Glenna's rightly pointed out, there has

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Speaker 2: to be just the ongoing day to day care in

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Speaker 2: terms of the upkeep of the park and we have

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Speaker 2: to see that come out in this budget.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say, because I thought there

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Speaker 1: was actually money announced last budget for Kakado, but I

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Speaker 1: can't quite wrap my head around what's going on, and

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Speaker 1: you know why we continue to sort of be in

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Speaker 1: this situation where the infrastructure doesn't seem to be there

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Speaker 1: to support what is meant to be the jewel in

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Speaker 1: our crown.

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Speaker 2: It's interesting that you say you can't wrap your head

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Speaker 2: around at KD. I think it's a bit of a syndrome,

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Speaker 2: not for you, but certainly with the federal government announcing

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Speaker 2: and re announcing pledges. It announced the two hundred and

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Speaker 2: sixteen million in the twenty nineteen election, yet we haven't

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Speaker 2: seen that hit the ground in the National Park. So

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Speaker 2: we have to keep the federal government honors to on this.

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Speaker 2: It cannot keep rennouncing all of these funding announcements and

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Speaker 2: nothing actually changes. So you spot on too, Katie, that

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Speaker 2: we're not seeing these things to the ground.

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Speaker 1: Well, Senator for the Northern Territory Mallandarie McCarthy, we might

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Speaker 1: touch base again once we hear exactly what is included

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Speaker 1: in that budget tonight and see how the Northern Territory fees.

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Speaker 2: No worries, Katie, and happy to talk to you after it.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, thanks so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: That is the Senator for the Northern Territory. There Mellanderie

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Speaker 1: McCarthy