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Speaker 1: Yesterday we heard from a rural resident raising a young

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Speaker 1: family in bees Creek who has raised concerns or has

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Speaker 1: raised the issue of footpaths. Now. It comes after a

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Speaker 1: young boy, as we know, was hit by a car

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Speaker 1: after getting off a bus late last year, and two

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Speaker 1: pedestrians were hit last month, injuring them and killing their

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Speaker 1: two dogs. Now we've spoken to local residents, some who

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Speaker 1: are calling for more footpaths along bees Creek Road, saying

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Speaker 1: that it might improve the safety along there. They believe

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Speaker 1: believe that more walkways would also benefit families wanting to

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Speaker 1: get out and exercise. More signage was also one of

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Speaker 1: the things suggested. Now joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: the Mayor of Litchfield, Doug Bardon. Good morning to you, Doug.

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Speaker 2: Morning, Katie and listeners, Thanks so much.

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Speaker 1: Sorry, thanks for coming on the show this morning.

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Speaker 2: Yep, yep, not a problem at all.

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Speaker 1: Now, there has been a couple of terrible incidents on

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Speaker 1: bees Creek Road in recent months, as I touched on

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Speaker 1: just saying, a young boy hit by a car after

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Speaker 1: getting off the school bus last year. Also two pedestrians

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Speaker 1: hit last month injuring them and killing their two dogs.

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Speaker 1: Doug following on from those incidents. Is the council looking

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Speaker 1: at any additional safety measures on bees Creek Road.

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Speaker 2: Not at the very moment, but just like it's very

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Speaker 2: expensive doing these footpaths. Councils did corepare a very good

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Speaker 2: comprehensive Litchfield Council feed path plan in May twenty twenty

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Speaker 2: which does include bees Creek Road from the Stewart Highway

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Speaker 2: to local and along Gordenia Road. And the total cost

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Speaker 2: of the plan is over forty one million dollars for

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Speaker 2: a footpaths and that was in twenty twenty. The bees

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Speaker 2: Creek section we've been well over a million dollars.

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Speaker 1: To do right, so by the sounds of things for

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Speaker 1: the Litchfield Council, it is just like it's not actually

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Speaker 1: a paintable financially.

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Speaker 2: Well, yes, as much as we'd love to do it.

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Speaker 2: We have Bee's Creek Road that needs footpaths. We have

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Speaker 2: Whitewood Road extension needs footpaths on whole area needs footpaths.

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Speaker 2: We even need footpaths on from going from calling Linger

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Speaker 2: through to our Friend's Pass Recreation Reserved. You see the

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Speaker 2: school kids quite often walking along the side of the

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Speaker 2: Stuart Highway unprotected.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So Doug, is it something that the Lichfield Council

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Speaker 1: has to fund or is it something that the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory government or the federal government could actually put in

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Speaker 1: some funding for.

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Speaker 2: The section from the caller Inger Shops through the Fruits

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Speaker 2: Pass Road would be would be MTG or federal government.

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Speaker 2: If it was a long Bee's Creek Road, council would

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Speaker 2: have to fund it, which it's richarly loved to do,

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Speaker 2: but unfortunately some matter of resources. Yes, okay, certainly is

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Speaker 2: certainly loving for the path between to Fred to Be's

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Speaker 2: Creek Road, yep. And hardly hard for the for the

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Speaker 2: footpath that has gone with Jerry Woods that has started

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Speaker 2: from the police station at Barrama all the way through

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Speaker 2: to Paul and India. So, Doug, from.

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Speaker 1: Your perspective, by the sounds of it, obviously some of

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Speaker 1: the areas where footpaths are needed would fall under council funding.

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Speaker 1: Some of it it may be Northern Territory government. Some

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Speaker 1: of it you might be able to get some federal funding.

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Speaker 1: Is the council doing some work. I know that you'd

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Speaker 1: noted that there was that report back in twenty twenty.

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Speaker 1: I think you said, is the council doing some work

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Speaker 1: on a way that you may be able to roll

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Speaker 1: out some of these some of these.

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Speaker 2: Footpaths, not really unless we can get some funding from

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Speaker 2: the MTG, people of govenment. It's they've got to remember

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Speaker 2: Cadie work is over seven hundred kilometers. We're still over

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Speaker 2: seventy kilometers of dirt road. And then on top of

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Speaker 2: that we even have complete road reserves that are in

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Speaker 2: third world conditions which are just great big drops. And

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Speaker 2: these ilegacies from the NTG and the Commonwealth Government before

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Speaker 2: Listfield Reform and the previous Listal councils have really really

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Speaker 2: done a great job to get six hundred and forty

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Speaker 2: kilometers of road sealed in a short thirty five year history,

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Speaker 2: which is around about twenty kilometers a year.

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Speaker 1: I guess you know there'll be people listening this morning

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Speaker 1: who may be thinking to themselves, so is there a

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Speaker 1: way that it can be prioritized in terms of areas

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Speaker 1: that are sort of close to schools or where you

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Speaker 1: are seeing children, you know, sort of getting on and

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Speaker 1: off buses and then walking. Is there is there some

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Speaker 1: kind of way that it can be prioritized because some

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Speaker 1: people will be listening this morning thinking what is it

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Speaker 1: going to take, you know, somebody to lose their life.

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Speaker 2: I think I think you've brought up a good point

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Speaker 2: and we certainly going to be the Education Department to

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Speaker 2: help us to improve our footpaths. Yeah, there's no doubts

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Speaker 2: about that. We want to see We want to see

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Speaker 2: as many footpaths sporting as possible. As well, as I

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Speaker 2: said at the very beginning, it's a matter of resources

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Speaker 2: and priority. I suppose one of our big priorities is

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Speaker 2: to get our roads sort of for our roads are

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Speaker 2: very very dangerous in many places. Thease cret Groad, for

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Speaker 2: it looks after several businesses. It's not just our residents,

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Speaker 2: it's the businesses the aviation industry along the bees Bees

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Speaker 2: Creek Road at the nam A that's that's very very rough.

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Speaker 2: If we could get help with that from the nt

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Speaker 2: G or even the Middle Armed Road.

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Speaker 1: So that's in terms that's in terms of the roads obviously,

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Speaker 1: not you know, not looking at footpaths or signage at

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Speaker 1: this point. That's in terms of the roads being better sealed.

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Speaker 2: Well, well, that's right, and our residents out there and

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Speaker 2: these on these dirt roads, I mean they're driving in

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Speaker 2: third conditions, you know, they slip off the road and

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Speaker 2: into the drain and you're going to pick them pull

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Speaker 2: them out of the drain. So, I mean, we've got

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Speaker 2: big problems out here to solve them.

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Speaker 1: On, Doug, I reckon, there'll be people listening this morning thinking, well, Fee,

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Speaker 1: why didn't they spend some of the money out on

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Speaker 1: sealing the rural roads or on the footpaths rather than

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Speaker 1: the giant signs that we've got in some of the

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Speaker 1: other areas.

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Speaker 2: Yes, well, you've got to remember, Katie, Litchfield Council is

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Speaker 2: at the size of over twenty nine hundred square kilometers

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Speaker 2: and that five times larger in area than Perist and

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Speaker 2: down our Springs all put together, and literally Teams is

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Speaker 2: the third highest in populations.

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Speaker 1: Now tell me, Doug, what about with some you know,

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Speaker 1: with some of those areas, particularly Bee's Creek Road, and

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Speaker 1: after the terrible incident that we saw with the little

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Speaker 1: boy and then with the couple being hit. You know,

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Speaker 1: obviously by the sounds of it, the footpads are really

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Speaker 1: very expensive. But what about do you think that there's

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Speaker 1: additional signage or anything that is required.

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Speaker 2: At this point. I'm sure we can look into that, Kate. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure that footpaths would have I don't know

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Speaker 2: enough about the actual accidents other than what was in

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Speaker 2: the media, and I'm not sure that these accidents would

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Speaker 2: have been our footpaths would have prevented them. But I

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Speaker 2: don't know enough to comment to be quite only.

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Speaker 1: No, that's fair enough. Now with all that, just on

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Speaker 1: another topic, with all the monsoon or rain lately, there

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Speaker 1: has been a few incidents of cars going through flooded crossings.

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Speaker 1: I know that not all of them are obviously out

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Speaker 1: in the rural area, but realizing, you know, like some

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Speaker 1: people not realizing the height I suppose of the water,

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Speaker 1: you know, and how much of a risk it actually posed.

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Speaker 1: One of those incidents that we've seen was a school

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Speaker 1: bus with three students on board. Is the council looking

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Speaker 1: at any of those different areas and whether there does

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Speaker 1: need to be you know, some further sort of meter

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Speaker 1: gauges or is there sufficient signage there in some of

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Speaker 1: those spots.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I am that that bus third in the Valley region.

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Speaker 2: We don't worry. We've we've had huge problems in the

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Speaker 2: past with buses going down creeks in Lichfield in the

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Speaker 2: late eighties or early nineties nineties, we nearly lost the

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Speaker 2: whole school bus in the rural area and Rebad Road

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Speaker 2: with a bus going down the creek. Luckily Suker who

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Speaker 2: didn't have the contract as on from Sugar's Buses, he

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Speaker 2: was out there pulling the kids out through the roof

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Speaker 2: in the eighties. So I mean this it is a

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Speaker 2: it is a huge problem these creeks. I saw something

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Speaker 2: on Facebook a lady being down road on Darwin River there.

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Speaker 2: I went out and had a look at that and

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Speaker 2: and I mean that's that creek has taken many, many,

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Speaker 2: many over the last thirty years. And also the Fly

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Speaker 2: Fly Creek. Thankfully, I'd like to thank the federal government

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Speaker 2: and empty teople helping us do the Kentish Road crossing

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Speaker 2: which was famous for taking cars. Yeah, yeah, which was

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Speaker 2: part of the Mango Road. And it is a huge

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Speaker 2: god of I don't know. Once again, it's like it's

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Speaker 2: like the bike paths. Where do you start?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a hard like that's a hard part, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: But then I guess you sort of start maybe at

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Speaker 1: the areas that are the busiest.

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Speaker 2: Well, well then you would have to start and die

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Speaker 2: and then wouldn't even if you know me, for a

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Speaker 2: rural area except that the problem.

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Speaker 1: No, I know, but I mean out the like out

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Speaker 1: in the rural area. Some of those areas that maybe

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Speaker 1: do have you know that do have a few more

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Speaker 1: cars going through. There must be some that are a

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Speaker 1: little bit busier and and yeah, maybe maybe have a

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Speaker 1: look at those to start with.

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Speaker 2: Well, well well sealed roads is, in my opinion, and

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Speaker 2: I think most counselor's opinion, is a very high priority. Yes, council,

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Speaker 2: I mean footpaths need to be need to come on

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Speaker 2: to the agenda. I think that we will be. I

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Speaker 2: don't worry. It is a discussion within council. It is

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Speaker 2: a discussion, it's not And the problem is we've been

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Speaker 2: discussing the white Woodrone in the in the past, but

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Speaker 2: at this stage we haven't committed anything other than repairing

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Speaker 2: and repairing and lobbing NTT in federal government.

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Speaker 1: Well keep us up to date, Doug. Look, I know,

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Speaker 1: I know these things are incredibly expensive, and I know

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Speaker 1: that even sometimes when you have these types of discussions,

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Speaker 1: there are some people that obviously really want them to happen,

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Speaker 1: or want foot paths, or they want signage there are

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Speaker 1: others that say no, no, keep rural rural. So I

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Speaker 1: know that it's quite a you know, it can be

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Speaker 1: a divisive sort of debate as well. But keep us

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Speaker 1: up to date as to how those discussions go and

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Speaker 1: we'd be keen to, you know, to find out more

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Speaker 1: if there is any movement.

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Speaker 2: Yep, no, that's not a problem, Katie. And we're doing

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Speaker 2: our best to to to get more to get more

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Speaker 2: infrastructure out here is as best as we can and

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Speaker 2: you know, as per as per for everybody in the

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Speaker 2: in the whole world. Infrastructure resources is the problem. If

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Speaker 2: we could get more resources thrown at us, we'd certainly

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Speaker 2: be doing it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Doug Barton, the Litchfield Council mayor, really appreciate

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Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thanks so much for coming on

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Speaker 1: and having a chat with me.

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Speaker 2: No problem, Thank you, Katie, thank you, Thank you for listeners.

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Speaker 2: Thank you,