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Speaker 1: And if you've just joined me, well, I'm chatting in

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Speaker 1: the background there because Sue Shira joins me in the studio.

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Speaker 1: She is indeed the CEO of the Council of the

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Speaker 1: Aging or KOTA here in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Sue, Good morning cater.

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Speaker 3: We always have a laugh on you and.

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Speaker 1: I love a chash both on and you could never

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Speaker 1: dispute that.

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Speaker 2: We love a chat.

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Speaker 1: But look I've got you in this morning to have

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Speaker 1: a talk to you because we know cost of living

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Speaker 1: pressures have been in the spotlight again this week after

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Speaker 1: a report by Food Bank found that three point four

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Speaker 1: million households across Australia are experiencing food insecurity.

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Speaker 2: But it's sparked calls for more cost.

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Speaker 1: Of living relief, especially for vulnerable people with the you know,

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Speaker 1: with and you know those that are maybe on the

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Speaker 1: aged pension. Lots of different people how senior straking along

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Speaker 1: at the moment.

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Speaker 3: Oh, it's tough.

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Speaker 4: It's tough out there for people on either a disability

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Speaker 4: pension or either on a cara's pension or as you said,

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Speaker 4: the age care pension, or either on job seeker. Job

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Speaker 4: seeker is like four hundred and fifteen dollars a week

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Speaker 4: now if you're trying to pay rent and pay a mortgage.

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Speaker 4: And that's because they're too young supposedly to go on

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Speaker 4: the pension. So I think the federal government and a

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Speaker 4: lot of people are forgotten. They're the forgotten ones, the

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Speaker 4: same as people on a disability and also those care as.

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Speaker 3: Pensions as well.

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Speaker 4: I mean, it's just not enough when you look at

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Speaker 4: what a basket of shopping is now. They might get

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Speaker 4: the concessions on the anti concession scheme, but they haven't

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Speaker 4: changed for years and the same as an ant seniors

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Speaker 4: card it's fifty five dollars off your regio. We all

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Speaker 4: know the Churchy government put up the registration for a

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Speaker 4: car and cars really people rely on cars, especially in

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Speaker 4: the weather coming up in the wet. Who'd want to

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Speaker 4: wait at a bus stop and we all know the

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Speaker 4: lady who got stabbed at the Casaruina bus stop. It's

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Speaker 4: not safe. Our buses aren't safe. So we really do

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Speaker 4: have to look at keeping everybody safe, seniors as well especially,

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Speaker 4: and cars are essential. Fill your car up, Katie, My

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Speaker 4: cost one hundred, that's the thing.

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Speaker 1: But when you said four hundred and eighteen dollars a week.

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Speaker 1: I have to spend that much on food for the

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Speaker 1: family a lot of the time, exactly, and even you know,

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Speaker 1: it's astronomical, it is astronomical.

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Speaker 4: It's just really we have to bring those people back

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Speaker 4: up with us. It's just those us on a lower

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Speaker 4: income and are said income they are and haven't helped them.

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Speaker 4: I think it won't be very merry Christmas for a

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Speaker 4: lot of those people.

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Speaker 1: So what a senior's saying to you at the moment,

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Speaker 1: because I know you've got some.

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Speaker 2: Data that's you know, that's sort of that's shown you.

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Speaker 1: What's important to them, what's our concerns for them?

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Speaker 2: What are they saying to you at the moment?

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Speaker 4: In the Northern terraced you before, we've got forty thousand

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Speaker 4: seniors on our ant Seniors database.

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Speaker 3: Thirty five of those are active.

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Speaker 4: The other ones that aren't quite active, they're a little

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Speaker 4: bit older. Yep, they might have an email, but you know,

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Speaker 4: we we survey all these people and the main thing

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Speaker 4: is obviously is cost of living and then safety. But

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Speaker 4: it's okay having free buses, but if those buses are safe,

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Speaker 4: what's the point And you take away if they can't

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Speaker 4: afford the registration on their car and they feel their

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Speaker 4: car up, all the insurance as well, all those factors

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Speaker 4: have gone up.

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Speaker 3: Then you're in isolation again.

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Speaker 1: And so the thing is, you know sometimes some older people,

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Speaker 1: depending on you know your agility or you know your movement,

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Speaker 1: it's you already feel a little bit vulnerable.

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Speaker 2: I would imagine in some ways jumping on a bus.

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Speaker 1: So then when you know that there are really serious

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Speaker 1: incidents happening, and we've we've reported on that in the past,

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Speaker 1: it would be tough to even think about then getting

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Speaker 1: on the bus.

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Speaker 4: Well, then you have to walk to the bus stop then,

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Speaker 4: as you know, with the rain coming, sitting under those shelters,

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Speaker 4: I know they're responsible dipple shelters, you know, but really

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Speaker 4: do they keep people dry or safe? I know they'd

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Speaker 4: be worried about enclosing them for itinerants who might want

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Speaker 4: to sleep there and things like that. But we do

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Speaker 4: have to come up with a lot better solutions. So

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Speaker 4: our seniors and other people on pensions just don't miss out.

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Speaker 4: They don't miss out on being connected or going to

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Speaker 4: particular functions and enjoying them.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, you've worked your whole bloody life. You deserve to

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Speaker 2: enjoy yourself.

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Speaker 4: Well, a lot of those people as well. They fought

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Speaker 4: for the freedom, so to just forget them. But they

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Speaker 4: really do have to index all those especially the Northern

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Speaker 4: Churcher government index all those anti concessions and the motor

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Speaker 4: vehicle and the ant Senior's Recognition Scheme card as well,

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Speaker 4: they all have to be indexed to the CPI.

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Speaker 1: Now, so we have the incoming government or they've been

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Speaker 1: in for about a month now, have you messed with

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Speaker 1: the new government and not your shit?

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Speaker 2: No?

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Speaker 3: Invited to I hope.

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Speaker 4: So we're on the Ministry Advisory Council, so I get

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Speaker 4: to meet Jensen who Minister Jenson who is the Senior's minister.

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Speaker 4: So hopefully that's in November. But they were invited to

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Speaker 4: a GM tomorrow, very important date. But obviously they've got

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Speaker 4: a lot on their plate in the next two weeks

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Speaker 4: with getting all their crime agenda through, which we can understand,

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Speaker 4: but we'd like to put them on notice that next

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Speaker 4: year we'll be going very hard with the voluntaries just

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Speaker 4: to dying.

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Speaker 1: And that's something that a lot of those forty thousand

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Speaker 1: seniors with TIDER have really pushed for.

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Speaker 4: I have pushed for so as I said, they've got

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Speaker 4: their agenda with crime, which we fully understand. We want

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Speaker 4: again it affects everybody. You want people to feel safe,

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Speaker 4: and also with the domestic violence which is the worst

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Speaker 4: in Australia, which is just absolutely abhorrent.

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Speaker 3: But the VAD Yes, you.

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Speaker 4: Notice there's always let us in the paper nearly every day,

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Speaker 4: and it's all about choice. You might and I hope

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Speaker 4: that all a new elected members have read the Voluntaries

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Speaker 4: Sister Dying report that does say seventy five percent of

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Speaker 4: Territorians would like the choice. You mightn't want to use it,

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Speaker 4: but there has to be a choice, and with our research,

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Speaker 4: eighty five percent of seniors would like that choice. It's

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Speaker 4: not just about seniors.

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Speaker 1: As we were discussing before, people who are terminally ill.

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Speaker 4: We had a consultation with a young man of twenty.

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Speaker 4: He had a terminal disease and he'd liked the choice

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Speaker 4: and when he says goodbye, it do us all in tears.

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Speaker 4: I mean, so it's not just for seniors, it's for

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Speaker 4: all Territorians.

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Speaker 3: And you know we are the last. So how long

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Speaker 3: do we wait? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: I don't know, Sue, but I like I agree. I

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Speaker 1: think it is your final choice. And anybody that has

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Speaker 1: been there with a loved one when they pass it

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Speaker 1: does it certainly makes you think about these things a

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Speaker 1: little bit differently in my opinion.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, there's two words to remember as we discussvoluntary and choice.

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Speaker 4: So don't deny territorians their choice. Let's get cracking.

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Speaker 1: So we're fast running out of time, but I cannot

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Speaker 1: let you go this morning without talking to you about Grandparents' Day.

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Speaker 1: It's fast approaching, isn't it. You've got quite a bit planned.

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Speaker 3: It is Sunday week.

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Speaker 4: It's actually we're amazed at the response, which probably shouldn't

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Speaker 4: be amazed. We've got over about one hundred and thirty

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Speaker 4: booked in for Palmerston, over one hundred and twenty booked

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Speaker 4: in at Casarina, and over one hundred in Alice Springs.

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Speaker 4: I'm not sure the Catherine numbers as well, but come

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Speaker 4: along the grandparents will get a.

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Speaker 3: Little goodie bag.

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Speaker 4: Awesome, you know, to appreciate, because we appreciate, as we said,

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Speaker 4: they're the ones who obviously fought into war for us,

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Speaker 4: but they do a lot of voluntary babysitting and they

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Speaker 4: should do, and they're an example to.

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Speaker 2: Their granny had the kids on the weekend.

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Speaker 4: Well, I try and look after mine when my daughter

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Speaker 4: coaches Southern District football team, but sometimes I don't get there.

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Speaker 3: But yes we do.

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Speaker 4: We play a major role of being the example and

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Speaker 4: looking after them and helping our own children and then

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Speaker 4: our grandchildrens will. So it is is this is a

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Speaker 4: big thank you and also hopefully to instill a little

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Speaker 4: bit more respect into people, into those young ones as

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Speaker 4: I call them, who will look after the grandchildren, the grandparents,

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Speaker 4: because we do hear a little bit of unfortunately that

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Speaker 4: they don't treat them with the respect and courtesy that

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Speaker 4: they deserve.

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Speaker 1: So where can people go to find a bit more

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Speaker 1: information about that event if they're keen to head along?

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Speaker 4: Yeah under www dot coda, NT dot org dot au

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Speaker 4: on our website and we hope to see all there.

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Speaker 4: There's you have to pay five dollars adults to fifty

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Speaker 4: for the children, but you get a drink and popcorn

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Speaker 4: and all sorts of things. So come along in the

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Speaker 4: movies runtome, so get your mum to bring the kids along.

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Speaker 1: Well, they're always at sports, so granny and grunty is

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Speaker 1: always away, you know, for different things as I know

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Speaker 1: you enjoy a holiday too when you get the opportunity. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: which should be able to enjoy. Sushira, It's always lovely

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Speaker 1: to catch up with you. We'll talk to you again

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Speaker 1: very soon because there's no shortage of things for you

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Speaker 1: and I to talk about.

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Speaker 3: And some naughty things too.

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Speaker 2: Good on you, Sue. Thank you Jeems for joining me.