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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Farmers CEO Paul Burke · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, yesterday we learned at about midday an NTI farmer
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Charter's flight will It arrived from Vanuatu touchdown just after midday,
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  Speaker 1: and it was delivering one hundred and sixty desperately needed
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  Speaker 1: seasonal workers for this year's mango harvest. Joining us on
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  Speaker 1: the line to tell us a bit more. Nt Farmers
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  Speaker 1: CEO Paul Burke, Good morning to you, Paul.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Good day, Katie, gooday listeners. Great news yesterday.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, wasn't it just how desperately did our mango farmers
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  Speaker 1: require these workers to arrive.
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  Speaker 2: It's been a really challenging period. A lot of our
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  Speaker 2: workforce that we had secured, and I've been on the
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  Speaker 2: show a lot talking about trying to get workers were
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  Speaker 2: coming out of New South Wales and Victoria, so it's
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  Speaker 2: been very challenging moving those people around. And to have
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  Speaker 2: one hundred and sixty people arrived from Vaniwaiu yesterday certainly
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  Speaker 2: was a shot in the arm for industry and gives
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  Speaker 2: us a little bit of light at the end of
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  Speaker 2: the tunnel.
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  Speaker 1: How did it work, Paul? Did you guys have to
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  Speaker 1: have to pay for and charted the flight yourself or
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  Speaker 1: how did the logistics sort of work in that sense.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so both the charter flight and quarantine chargers in
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  Speaker 2: teeth armers pay upfront and then we work with growers
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  Speaker 2: to pay their component back as their workers and as
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  Speaker 2: their cash flow allows.
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  Speaker 1: And Paul, I'm assuming that our farmers must have been
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  Speaker 1: so happy when these workers arrived yesterday. But from that
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  Speaker 1: vision I saw on nine News Darwin last night, looked
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  Speaker 1: like those workers were very happy to get here as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean that's a great story of one of
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  Speaker 2: the ladies that's been here about eighteen months is going
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  Speaker 2: home to buy a house and a car, So you know,
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  Speaker 2: what a life changing experience for her, and I think
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  Speaker 2: that's something we should be celebrating with our Pacific neighbors.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Now, how soon are they going to be able to
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  Speaker 1: get out there and start working. I understand they've got
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  Speaker 1: to go through quarantine first, is that right?
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  Speaker 2: That's right. So they've got four days mandatory quarantine at
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Howard Springs and then they'll be tested again at day seventeen.
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  Speaker 2: I guess to reshure all of our territorians, Vanowatu has
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  Speaker 2: no COVID at the moment, so coming from a very
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  Speaker 2: safe place and we've always put the Health and Safety
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: of territoriums front and foremost of our discussions.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you have worked so hard on being
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  Speaker 1: able to do this. I know that our mango farmers
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  Speaker 1: have needed this. It's a real shot in the arm,
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  Speaker 1: as you've put it just a moment ago. In terms
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: of our mango season for this year, how are those
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  Speaker 1: crops looking?
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  Speaker 2: So we're forecasting at the moment around two point eight
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  Speaker 2: million trays of the Darwin region, which is similar to
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  Speaker 2: last year. But certainly some varieties aren't coming on as
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: quick as we thought. So our traditional KP market looks
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  Speaker 2: a little softer or a little patchy, but Calypso and
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  Speaker 2: honey gold are looking very very strong, good start. We're
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: in for a big year. Melin Trees puts a mango
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  Speaker 2: in every Australian's hand.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Paul, It's always lovely to talk to you,
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  Speaker 1: but I'm really glad that it's with good news this morning. Mate,
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having a chat with us.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, Thanks listeners and enjoy your day.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Thank you. And that's nt Farmer's CEO there, Paul Burke