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Speaker 1: Now we know that October is a busy time in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory with October Business Month well and truly underway.

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Speaker 1: And we've also seen the winners and runners up of

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Speaker 1: this year's Business Excellence Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements across a

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Speaker 1: variety of sectors recognized. Joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: the Chamber of Commerce's Chief Operating Officer, Nicole Walsh. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Nicole, good morning, thank you for having me on.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, lovely to have you on the show. Now, Nicole,

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Speaker 1: tell me a little bit more about the aim of

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Speaker 1: these awards.

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Speaker 2: So we've just finished our fifth round across the territory

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Speaker 2: of the Business Excellence Awards, So it's really about recognizing

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Speaker 2: business excellence. And also we've got three four categories in

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Speaker 2: Outstanding Customer Service, which is what they started as in

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Speaker 2: Central Australia about twelve years ago.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right now, I understand there's about sixteen categories now

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Speaker 1: to celebrate what were some of the highlights.

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Speaker 2: I looked at this highlights right across in dah when

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Speaker 2: we have we've got the Outstanding Customer Service, which is

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Speaker 2: a really special categories when its people are external to

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Speaker 2: your business nominating you or your staff. It's just fantastic

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Speaker 2: because it can be anyone from a small business or

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Speaker 2: a casual person at the local units, the Glasses thought,

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Speaker 2: or a really really big business. So they're the real

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Speaker 2: highlights we always get. It's about recognizing right across the board,

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Speaker 2: which is fantastic. Then we also increasingly seen that people

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Speaker 2: are using business Excellence awards and the great ones about

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Speaker 2: the chambers is again it's crossed right across different industries

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Speaker 2: across the board. Is people really taking the opportunity to

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Speaker 2: recognize the good work that they've done in the last

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Speaker 2: twelve months, to celebrate that and celebrate the staff as well.

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Speaker 2: So lots of different things like outstanding some new startup,

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Speaker 2: exceptional workplace events, manufacturing, Yeah, it's been great.

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Speaker 1: And Nicole, were there any like any that really stood

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Speaker 1: out for you? I know sometimes when imc different events,

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you know same for you when you're there,

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Speaker 1: You're going through all the different entries and you think,

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Speaker 1: oh goodness, me, that's amazing. You know I listened when

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Speaker 1: you listen to one particular story.

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Speaker 2: Oh look, it's so hard to I think. You know,

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Speaker 2: there's definitely a few when I saw some of it

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Speaker 2: in the outstanding Customers Service, small business some really local

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Speaker 2: businesses like Woodwicks and Wildflowers, bringing winning that one in

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Speaker 2: the top ends, you know, running up with Alabio Manali

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Speaker 2: as well. We you know, Hadventia come in. Really loved

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Speaker 2: seeing that for me. Also seeing the Social Corporate Social

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Speaker 2: Responsibility one as well, which is talking about how businesses

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Speaker 2: are working with community on projects that have some really

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Speaker 2: strong community outcomes, and that was Bentier. We've had some

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Speaker 2: really strong ones in the manufacturing too, so Australian Garments

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Speaker 2: anyone you've been out to see Australian garments and shoes manufacturing.

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Speaker 2: They are manufacturing soles of shoes in Darwin and I

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Speaker 2: went out there when I was in Darwin last week

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Speaker 2: and that was just the whole story. I've never seen

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Speaker 2: how you make the soles of shoes. I wouldn't know

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Speaker 2: there was thing, no neither, So that was sort of

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Speaker 2: really get those you didn't get the interest going on

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Speaker 2: different ones, you know, iron bar one as well, helping

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Speaker 2: people achieve so many different ones. It was just fantastic.

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Speaker 2: But the city of Darwin did again, there's with Australian

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Speaker 2: Darlett Issue manufacturing, so I think what we really I

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Speaker 2: personally always love it's such a variety every year and

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Speaker 2: that's what's really neat.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, that is wonderful and good to see so

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Speaker 1: many Northern Territory businesses recognized. I know it's a busy

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Speaker 1: time of the year for you guys at the moment

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Speaker 1: within here in the Northern Territory across the board with

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Speaker 1: October business months underway. Is the Chamber involved in quite

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Speaker 1: a few of the events of the events this year, I.

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Speaker 2: Look absolutely so. We had our business at Sunset last

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Speaker 2: week in Darwin, which was great, and we had mister

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Speaker 2: Kahla attend and talk to the crowd that we see

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Speaker 2: and of course Polly at Casarina Shopping Center, but definitely

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Speaker 2: a few in daw I've got loads of ones in

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Speaker 2: our springs at the moment this week and with support

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Speaker 2: in migrants in business and we've got Kathy Freeman here

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Speaker 2: and Alice Springs tonight. Of course a Qunjiatis who won

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Speaker 2: something at the Chief Minister. There's one export an anti

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Speaker 2: Export of the Year at the Chief Minister of the

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Speaker 2: awards on Friday, and just throughout the regions we've got

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Speaker 2: bucing businesses business at sunsets and of course about the

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Speaker 2: futures form at the end of October. Busy, busy time.

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Speaker 1: It certainly is. You mentioned just a moment ago one

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Speaker 1: of the events at Casuarina, and we had been discussing

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Speaker 1: a bit earlier. Today it's actually a story in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory News today about Territory business operators really being

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Speaker 1: asked to help to implement the new government's measures to

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Speaker 1: reduce juvenile crime and reoffending. Now my understanding is that

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Speaker 1: speaking at October Business Month, we know that the Business Minister,

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Speaker 1: Robin carl had said that the private sector would be

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Speaker 1: part of the solution to the territory's chronic crime problems

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Speaker 1: and had sort of said, you know, if there are

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Speaker 1: businesses out there that are prepared to take on a

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Speaker 1: youth and give them an opportunity and get them into

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Speaker 1: the workforce, is it a good step? Is that a

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Speaker 1: good move?

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Speaker 2: I look absolutely, And as we as that came up,

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Speaker 2: we actually as a Chamber of Commerce have some positions

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Speaker 2: in particularly to support that process as well, so the

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Speaker 2: engagement between the business community and young people around workforce

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Speaker 2: and engagement and all different things. I think it's good

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Speaker 2: not every business is you know, is one to going

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Speaker 2: to be involved in that. It has it been impacted

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Speaker 2: in in different ways of things that happen across the territory.

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Speaker 2: But I do think that we need to do things differently,

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Speaker 2: look at doing things differently. So it was you know, again,

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Speaker 2: this is something that we sort of presented to the

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Speaker 2: last government and had the opportunity for that to be resourced.

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Speaker 2: So having the Minister for Business stand up and make

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Speaker 2: that such a big, strong part of their strategy going

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Speaker 2: forward was great, really good.

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Speaker 1: Now I know this obviously since we last spoke, we

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Speaker 1: know there's been a change in government and new minister.

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Speaker 1: How has it all been received by your members? Oh?

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Speaker 2: Look, I think it's you know, people have welcomed the change,

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Speaker 2: that's for sure. So we saw that what happened with

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Speaker 2: the elections there was people were looking for a change.

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Speaker 2: So there's a sense of let's let's see what's coming,

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Speaker 2: let's see what can be delivered on what we've certainly

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Speaker 2: have seen the very very active in October business Lances

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Speaker 2: and I think people have had an opportunity to hear

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Speaker 2: some of the strategies, you know, some of the announcements

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Speaker 2: coming out that will have a direct impact on business.

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Speaker 2: You know, we've always spoken about payroll tax, We've spoken

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Speaker 2: about cents and training using exempt so all those kind

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Speaker 2: of things will be speaking about it. We'll have Minister

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Speaker 2: burg going speaking on Thursday and the hours business that's

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Speaker 2: unset about, so I think people are really keen to

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Speaker 2: see where we land with some particularly business safety and security.

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Speaker 1: Has there been much of a timeline when it comes

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Speaker 1: to the payroll tax at this stage.

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Speaker 2: No, actually, I'm probably not aware of that.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure will follow.

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Speaker 2: Being celebrated, I guess in that sense. And yeah, people

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Speaker 2: are really keen to see to see what lies ahead

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Speaker 2: because there's some challenges for businesses out there. Yeah, there

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Speaker 2: also lots of opportunities as well. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, Nicole Walsh always great to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for having a chat with me. Great.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, Thank you