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Katie Woolf spoke with candidate for Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But joining us in the studio right now is the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Lord Mayor of Darwin. Well, well, he's the I should
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: rephrase that the candidate for Lord Mayor of Darwin, conbat Scarlets.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Good morning kid, Con.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: That was a bit of a habit there. Obviously, usually
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: you do come into the studio previously. Now, how this
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: is going to work is you're each going to have
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: five minutes to answer following questions which you've all been sent.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: An alarm will go off once your five minutes is up. Now, Corn,
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  Speaker 1: are you ready to get started?
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  Speaker 2: Let's go.
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  Speaker 1: Let's go. Firstly, Conn, what job were you in before
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: putting your hand up for the.
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  Speaker 2: Election, As you correctly said, I was a Lord Mayor
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: of Darwich.
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  Speaker 1: Now, how long have you lived in Darwin?
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  Speaker 2: I came here ninety three for two years and I'm
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: still here, so it's nearly thirty years now.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Now why did you decide to put your hand up
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: for run? To run for the mayor's job, Katie?
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  Speaker 2: Four years ago I put my hand up to be
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  Speaker 2: electors and mayor first time. And I have to say
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  Speaker 2: that the city you see today is different what was
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: four years ago. However, there are a lot of things
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: still to be done. We've got age infrastructure, We've got
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: facilities that need to be upgraded. We need to provide
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: access to kids and people with disability. We have to
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  Speaker 2: look after the oldest and we have to look our
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  Speaker 2: community and our businesses, especially during these difficult times with
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: COVID nineteen and the pandemic. Look what happened around Australia.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Look how people are affected and business are affected. I
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: want to be mayor for next four years to provide stability,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: to provide leadership in this city, to change the city
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: even more, to make it a real tropical city, a
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  Speaker 2: destination for tourists and Australians alike, and make this place
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  Speaker 2: a place that you want to live, you want to
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  Speaker 2: bring up your family and you want to work.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Colin, what do you say as paying the big issues
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: in daw And right now?
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  Speaker 2: The big issues at the moment is actually the uncertainy
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: with the pandemic. Another issue is youth and some of
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: the problem got with youth. I can address the pandemic
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  Speaker 2: from the point of City Council and I've done it
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: already and will continue to do it even as we speak.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Next on Thursday and the weekend the Madame and vaj
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  Speaker 2: are coming back into effect to help by businesses and
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  Speaker 2: in my program for the next four years, I've got
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: a plan to address some of the youth issues, creating
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: a youth army like the Green Army before utilizing our
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: system and the libraries and our youth services to get
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: kids and teach them some skills and suddenly work very
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: closely with the government and police to support a youth
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: center somewhere in the Northern suburbs.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Now taking those issues into account, why do you feel
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: that you're the best place person to work with the
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: community in an effort to try to fix them.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I have a long history of working with community
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  Speaker 2: in my private life as a public seven in the
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  Speaker 2: Health Department, also in l Kimia Foundation, as a member
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  Speaker 2: of Parliament and as a mayor. I'm always out there.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: People pick up the phone and talk to me directly.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Doesn't happen anywhere else in Australia. People see me in
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  Speaker 2: the street and stop me in the supermarket and I
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  Speaker 2: respond to the community. I'm known as a can do person.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: I don't find problems, I find solutions. If you want
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: to know why I'm the best person, just take a
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  Speaker 2: driver out down and see what has happened or has
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  Speaker 2: happened in down the part few years from the Dale
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  Speaker 2: Street to Bradshaw Terrors to Leappoint Road, to the sport
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  Speaker 2: infrastructure upgraded in Tiwi malak and coconut growth and some
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: other things that actually were never happened before. You remember
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: lights at the ovals. How long previous council took to decide?
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: It took a few months to go in and make
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: a decision. I can work very well with my team
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: of elected councils, irrespective the political background or affiliations or opinion.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Now con why should people VTE for you?
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Well, if they want to continue changing the city, I'll
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: be the person if they want the people to see
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  Speaker 2: a green coal city. I already planted fifteen thousand trees
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: and I promised for the first year next year to
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: plant another eight thousand trees. I declare the first console
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: in Australia climatic emergency and we're progressing with this one
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  Speaker 2: our teap. Now, since we did that one, we have
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: extend its life by another thirty years by improving and recycling,
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: improving the operations. Everything around you has changed a lot
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  Speaker 2: for the best the trees, the cities, the landscape, public heart.
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  Speaker 2: First time after many years, we're going to see public
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  Speaker 2: hert in the esplanet. Access for people with disability in
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  Speaker 2: the middle Bitch. They talked and talked and talked. I
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  Speaker 2: made it happen, playgrounds for kids with disabilities. There was
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: a lot to talk about it. It's happening. In hours
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: we speak. All these things happen. It's not because just
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  Speaker 2: a peer and thin air. Is because I provide the
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: leadership necessary to make people agree and to see what
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: the people want for our city. I'm very good at
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  Speaker 2: getting people together. I'm very good at listening to the community,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: and I'm very good translating what I hear from the
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: community and what people think into reality.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Con You've got about thirty seconds left. Is there anything
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  Speaker 1: else that you'd like to add?
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  Speaker 2: Well, my records are there for you to see it.
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  Speaker 2: It's not promises in a piece of paper on Facebook.
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  Speaker 2: Just take a drive around down and have a look yourself.
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  Speaker 2: What I have done for this city in the pust
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  Speaker 2: four years, and that'll give you an idea what I'll
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  Speaker 2: do for the city in the next four years.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Conn, I don't even have to play the buzzer
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  Speaker 1: because that is time and you've still got about twenty
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: seconds left. But we will leave it there. Conbat scarlas
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: one of the candidates, one of the people who've put
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: your hand up for the mayor's role.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: All the best and thank you very much to all
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: the people in Darwin for their support.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Thanks Con Combat Scarlets there who has indeed put his
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: hand up for the mayoral position.