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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Major Events CEO Tim Watsford · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Follow Katie Wolf and three sixty online at Mix one
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  Speaker 1: o four nine dot com dot AU.
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  Speaker 2: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine that
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  Speaker 2: number if you'd like to call through eight nine four
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  Speaker 2: one one oh four nine. But we had heard yesterday
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  Speaker 2: al We certainly had seen reported that the situation in
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  Speaker 2: Alice Springs. Well, we know that Pachama is obviously taking
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  Speaker 2: place there a little later this year, and unfortunately no
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  Speaker 2: events happening in the mall now it was reported that
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  Speaker 2: that was due to safety concerns. Joining us in the
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  Speaker 2: studio right now from NT Major Events, it is Tim Watsford.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Tim, Morning Katie. How are you going?
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  Speaker 2: Not too bad? Tim? What is the situation? Did you
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  Speaker 2: have to move things out of the mall due to
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  Speaker 2: safety concerns?
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  Speaker 1: No?
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  Speaker 3: No, Look, I think what happened yesterday from a I
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  Speaker 3: guess an incorrect reporting perspective a little bit there. So
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  Speaker 3: what's happening is we're activating them all in a really
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  Speaker 3: big way. We're having fifteen large installations mannequin style to
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  Speaker 3: celebrate indigenous culture and that's the direction that we wanted
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  Speaker 3: to take. I guess what was reported yes day around
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  Speaker 3: public programming not being in Todd Mall.
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  Speaker 1: That is correct, but that's a desert park. That's for
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  Speaker 1: a variety of reasons.
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  Speaker 3: One was COVID last year we learned that we moved
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  Speaker 3: some events from Todd Mall to Desert Park based on capacities.
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  Speaker 3: We've got electric fields, we've got Casey Donovan. They're big
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  Speaker 3: drawing crowds. Todd Moore simply can't hold those people. So
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  Speaker 3: we've looked at it, looked at a really good way
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  Speaker 3: to try and activate them all this way and it's
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  Speaker 3: through annequans and it's through insulation so it'd.
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  Speaker 1: Be very light.
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  Speaker 2: So there's still going to be plenty on in the mall.
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  Speaker 2: By the sounds of things, it's not a situation we've
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  Speaker 2: just moved everything out because you're worried that you know
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  Speaker 2: that there's going to be anti social behavior.
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  Speaker 1: No, absolutely not.
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  Speaker 3: Look, there's challenges, but from an activation perspective in the
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  Speaker 3: mall fifteen over two or three meter large style anakins
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  Speaker 3: celebrating indigenous textiles and fashion, we're excited and if those
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  Speaker 3: that have been departure before, we moved some programming into
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  Speaker 3: the mall in twenty nineteen to try something a little
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  Speaker 3: bit different. Those that have been there before that we've
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  Speaker 3: actually had installations there before, Caterpillars, Moths. It's similar to
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  Speaker 3: what we've done in the past. We've also got some
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  Speaker 3: quite large light projectors in the mall as well that
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  Speaker 3: we activate them all through light, sound and music. That's
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  Speaker 3: the intent of of the event, but absolutely not. We're
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  Speaker 3: trying to get those retailers in the mall every dollar
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  Speaker 3: they can possibly get from a traveling audience, and we're
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  Speaker 3: doing that through.
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  Speaker 1: Manicas this year.
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  Speaker 2: Last year there was a car there was an incident,
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  Speaker 2: though it wasn't there last year in the mall, and
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  Speaker 2: so that sort of prompted a change. In addition to COVID,
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  Speaker 2: was that the case.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the COVID stuff was definitely a part of it.
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  Speaker 3: We had were receiving one hundred and fifty people to
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  Speaker 3: talks that could really only take sixty or seventy, so
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  Speaker 3: that was the first part. When the night had finished
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  Speaker 3: on the Saturday evening. Last year, there was some anti
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  Speaker 3: social behavior in the wall. I'm not going to shy
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  Speaker 3: away from that, but from a capacity perspective, that was
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  Speaker 3: kind of the prime reason. So we want to make
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  Speaker 3: sure obviously that they're every unsafe and sound and what
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  Speaker 3: we want to do and we think we can do
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  Speaker 3: that through activating them all this year in American stuff.
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  Speaker 2: And so then out at the Alis Desert Park, you're
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  Speaker 2: going to have who did you say is going to
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  Speaker 2: be performing?
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  Speaker 3: We've got Casey Donovan, which wich to be amazing, and
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  Speaker 3: we've also we got Electric Fields and electric Fields are
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  Speaker 3: doing a little bit more. They're actually curating the soundtrack
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  Speaker 3: to the Light that will be portrayed on the McDonald Rangers.
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  Speaker 1: They're good. So they're going to draw a really really
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  Speaker 1: big crowd physically can't hold them into more.
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  Speaker 2: And so how many people are you expecting to rock up?
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  Speaker 2: It sounds like it'll be pretty awesome.
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  Speaker 3: It's Okatie, we're expecting a record crowd, to be honest,
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  Speaker 3: touch wood, I'm going to say that. And we're seeing
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  Speaker 3: some really good responses from events in Darwin, particular, Base
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  Speaker 3: in the Grass selling out in December at fourteen thousand.
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  Speaker 3: We've got supercars that are selling like hotcakes. We've opened
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  Speaker 3: our registrations on Monday for Parchma and we're already seeing
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  Speaker 3: a really really strong take up. People want to get out,
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  Speaker 3: and that's not just from a local perspective that's from
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  Speaker 3: across the country. So I'm expecting hopefully in excess of
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  Speaker 3: twenty five thousand people coming through Parchment this year.
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  Speaker 1: Do you reckon?
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  Speaker 2: You're going to get more people from interstate than what
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  Speaker 2: you've seen in previews years due to the situation we've
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  Speaker 2: got with COVID where people aren't traveling overseas one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 3: Now we're only going off what bas is telling us
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  Speaker 3: at the moment. Based on the Grass and Darwin, we've had
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  Speaker 3: almost fifty five percent of those being in the state audience.
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  Speaker 3: So that's almost eight thousand people coming to the Grass
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  Speaker 3: from in a state. Now, Wow, I'm going to full
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  Speaker 3: credit to our marketing team. The guys are doing an
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  Speaker 3: amazing job and really and really marketing to a specific
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  Speaker 3: demographic what we're doing with Pachama. But yeah, cod COVID
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  Speaker 3: are telling people to holiday in the backyard and we're
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  Speaker 3: going to see an influx of people coming through our
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  Speaker 3: springs for Pachama.
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  Speaker 2: Goodness May, So you're expecting that we could actually end
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  Speaker 2: up with a record crowd at Parchma.
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  Speaker 1: I'm saying it here first in the year of the in.
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  Speaker 2: The year of well, the year after COVID, I guess
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  Speaker 2: you'd call it now. Look, I think it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be fantastic, and I know that it's not the only
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  Speaker 2: thing that NT major events are obviously planning for the year.
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  Speaker 2: This is the first time we've spoken to you this year.
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  Speaker 2: No doubt there's plenty lined up for twenty twenty one.
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  Speaker 3: There is so Like I said, Based in the Grass
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  Speaker 3: has sold out literally five months ahead of where it
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  Speaker 3: usually does at a bigger crowd. There's a weightless guys,
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  Speaker 3: if you haven't got your tickets, jump on the wait list.
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  Speaker 3: Anything that's returned or refunded ju to hotspot breaking out
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  Speaker 3: touch woard.
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  Speaker 1: We don't want that to happen.
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  Speaker 3: There's going to be opportunities for tickets become available for
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  Speaker 3: that supercause once again we're well ahead in terms of
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  Speaker 3: our sales from previous years and miles in front and
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  Speaker 3: to be honest, so we're expecting a really, really large crowd.
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  Speaker 3: I'm going to try and say record with the supercars
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  Speaker 3: as well, over it's twenty three year history, that's how
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  Speaker 3: strong it's going.
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  Speaker 1: And then Red Center NTS as well.
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  Speaker 3: We've got over four hundred entries to Red Center NATS,
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  Speaker 3: which is in September, which is once again beyond kind
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  Speaker 3: of where we were this time last year. So people
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  Speaker 3: are coming.
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  Speaker 2: It's a bit crazy, isn't it, the way that you know,
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  Speaker 2: like COVID had obviously been such a terrible thing for
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  Speaker 2: all of us, but now Aussie's are kind of going,
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  Speaker 2: all right, well, I can only travel within Australia. Let's
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  Speaker 2: go and see all the things that I've maybe wanted
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  Speaker 2: to see or wanted to be part of, you know,
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  Speaker 2: throughout my life.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, and I think where if you look at kind
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  Speaker 3: of where we are last year to this year, we're safe,
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  Speaker 3: and I think people looking at us as a trusting
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  Speaker 3: source of a holiday. I went through New South Wales
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  Speaker 3: over Christmas and we couldn't get to Queensland, or couldn't
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  Speaker 3: get to Mebourne.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever it is.
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  Speaker 3: It's changing and there's skeptomism around where you can travel.
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  Speaker 3: All the territory is open for business. So we're trying
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  Speaker 3: to shout that from the rooftops as best we can,
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  Speaker 3: and we're saying that with people coming to make sure
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  Speaker 3: they've got a holiday to come to. So it's full
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  Speaker 3: testament to a we did last year and what we
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  Speaker 3: put in place this year this is going to be
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  Speaker 3: a great year for the territory.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, we're all hoping, so I am hoping that
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  Speaker 2: it's going to be fantas fantastic year for all of us,
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  Speaker 2: particularly with some of our some of our major events
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  Speaker 2: that you guys have got on. Anything else coming up
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  Speaker 2: throughout the towards the end of the year or later
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  Speaker 2: in the year that we can find out about it
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  Speaker 2: not at the moment.
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  Speaker 3: We need to catch some fish in million dollar Fish.
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  Speaker 3: They've gone a bit quiet, haven't they. So we've got
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  Speaker 3: fifty forty nine days to run on that until the
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  Speaker 3: end of March. So once again we've had our strongest
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  Speaker 3: registrations to date in terms of that competition.
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  Speaker 1: So that's a buck list item. Catch a barre.
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  Speaker 3: So back to the point on people holiday in their
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  Speaker 3: own backyard, we're seeing some influx in that, but watch
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  Speaker 3: this space. We're looking at new Staff. We've always got
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  Speaker 3: an our l coming down the pipe on Anzac Day
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  Speaker 3: that's going to be really strong with Brisbane being the opponent.
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  Speaker 3: Two really strong AFL events in the middle of the
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  Speaker 3: year with Sir Doug Nicholas round and then obviously our
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  Speaker 3: majors so look, we're expecting a bump a year for
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  Speaker 3: us and we're busy already. You probably see it in
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  Speaker 3: my eyes. So it's February and we're kind of already awigh,
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  Speaker 3: but you watch this space. We're happy to keep you
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  Speaker 3: in the leap on everything that's come down good stuff.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Tim wats for good to catch up with you
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  Speaker 2: this morning, and no doubt we'll be talking again over
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  Speaker 2: coming months.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: That's Tim wat's Ford there from NTY Major Events