Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Tourism Central Australia CEO Danial Rochford says the NT Government needs to start treating crime like COVID and provide daily briefings on how the crisis is being addressed

Transcript

Tourism Central Australia CEO Danial Rochford says the NT Government needs to start treating crime like COVID and provide daily briefings on how the crisis is being addressed · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Obviously throughout this morning, on the week that was, and
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: also throughout the week we have been speaking about some
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of the issues that have well and truly been experienced
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: in Central Australia and Alice Springs. When it comes to crime, now,
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  Speaker 1: I think you'd have to say that it reached well
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  Speaker 1: fever Pitch. I suppose earlier in the week when we'd
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  Speaker 1: heard from the CEO of Tourism Central Australia, Daniel Rochford,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: about those issues and about the tourist who had allegedly
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: been assaulted unprovoked in the Tourism Information Center. Now joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line to give us a bit of
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  Speaker 1: an update on how the meetings have gone this week
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  Speaker 1: with the Northern Territory Government. Is the CEO of Tourism
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  Speaker 1: Central Australia, Daniel Rochford. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel, it's been an interesting week, no doubt. I understand
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  Speaker 1: you've met with the Tourism Minister, also the Deputy Chief Minister,
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  Speaker 1: Nicole Madison. You've also met with the police and Minister
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  Speaker 1: for Territory Families Kate Warden. How have those meetings gone.
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  Speaker 2: Look, they've been constructive Katie, and suddenly they've also been
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  Speaker 2: very frank conversations to both ministers. Very clearly Tourism Central
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  Speaker 2: Australia have been conveying our members' wishes to both ministers
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  Speaker 2: that we are in crisis here in our springs and
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  Speaker 2: the crime situation is really out of control and we
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  Speaker 2: need our government, to the Northern Territory government to step
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  Speaker 2: up to the plate. And certainly it was a very
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  Speaker 2: frank conversation on both situations.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel, are we going to see any immediate action here?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's obviously in the Government of Northern Territories hands
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  Speaker 2: were certainly calling upon the NTG to really prioritize this
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  Speaker 2: and look to put it into some context. Katie. What
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  Speaker 2: we said to both ministers is they need to treat
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  Speaker 2: this like the government treated the COVID nineteen pandemic, that
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  Speaker 2: level of intensity where we saw every day, you know,
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  Speaker 2: briefings of what was happening, you know, the things that
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  Speaker 2: were occurring, and to ensure that this was treated with
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  Speaker 2: the utmost important because we are in that situation now
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  Speaker 2: and it pains me that we have to do this,
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  Speaker 2: but it is a situation where we can't let this
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  Speaker 2: go on any longer, and we have had to make
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  Speaker 2: the difficult decision to call it out. And we're not
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  Speaker 2: doing it to sharpen a political acts or anything like that.
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  Speaker 2: You know, me, I wear my heart on my community's
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  Speaker 2: hard on my sleeve, and we're just sick of doing
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  Speaker 2: this dance every few months, of complaining about it and
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  Speaker 2: then having a short term surge and then you know,
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  Speaker 2: a few months later we complain about it again.
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  Speaker 1: Enough enough, Yeah, well this is the thing. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: I think the thing that really resonated with a lot
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  Speaker 1: of our listeners that you'd said earlier in the week, Daniel,
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  Speaker 1: is that you've got people in the community who are
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  Speaker 1: scared when they go to sleep at night. Nobody should
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  Speaker 1: feel like that. We all understand that there's always going
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  Speaker 1: to be a small element of crime no matter where
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  Speaker 1: you live around Australia. But what you're experiencing in Alice
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  Speaker 1: Springs at the moment is not a small amount of crime.
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  Speaker 1: It's unbelievable.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'm sure I speak on BAF of all my
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  Speaker 2: sort of community here that you know, people do go
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  Speaker 2: to sleep fearing like I go to sleep behind two
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  Speaker 2: padlocked gate and some pretty fierce deadlocks on wall on doors,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, I woke up at two o'clock last
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  Speaker 2: night hearing some noise on my back gate and I'm thinking, oh,
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  Speaker 2: what's happening. And that's the type of thing that we're
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  Speaker 2: living with, and you know, it has got to that
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  Speaker 2: stage where we do have to call it out. And look,
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  Speaker 2: we suddenly asked for two main things from Minister Warden yesterday,
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  Speaker 2: and that was there needs to be an urgent surge
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  Speaker 2: in the community. You know, we do fully support the
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  Speaker 2: work that's been done around the social order response and
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  Speaker 2: many of the things that both ministers put forward we
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  Speaker 2: one hundred percent indors and I think that's going to
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  Speaker 2: be very good. But the government even admits it's going
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  Speaker 2: to take time to spill up. And that's what we
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  Speaker 2: need from our government now is we need a surge
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  Speaker 2: to get control back on the streets and we need
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  Speaker 2: that now. And the second thing, and I think this
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  Speaker 2: is a really important point, is that jenet Ocur's time
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  Speaker 2: down here is coming to an end. The head of
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  Speaker 2: this task force or whatever the government comes up with
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  Speaker 2: the name, needs to be someone with gravitas. We need
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  Speaker 2: to treat like we need to treat this like the
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  Speaker 2: Chief Health Officer treated the pandemic. You've seen in other jurisdictions.
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  Speaker 2: You know, an ex military person come in to look
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  Speaker 2: after a flood reconstruction. That's the level of intensity we
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  Speaker 2: need to have down here, to have someone who can
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  Speaker 2: come down bang Head together deal with the cultures of
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  Speaker 2: all the agencies to get action and get action.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Daniel, do you think that we're going to see
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  Speaker 1: action over the you know, like realistically it sounds like
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  Speaker 1: there needs to be action over the coming weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, there needs to be action by today. Yeah, but
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  Speaker 2: you know, we we've said to you know, we we
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  Speaker 2: do appreciate the minister. You know, the government works in
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  Speaker 2: the cabinet environment. So you know, the Minister did talk
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  Speaker 2: about needing to take the plan to cabinet and we
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  Speaker 2: understand that there needs to be processed and it has
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  Speaker 2: to be a whole a government approach, so you know,
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  Speaker 2: we need to cut to some stack there. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think there's an expectation that's been built up and
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  Speaker 2: that you know the government needs to respond and they
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  Speaker 2: need to be responding next week.
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  Speaker 1: On this and if they don't.
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  Speaker 2: Well, ultimately our community is starting to get set up.
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  Speaker 2: So I would imagine the level of intensity of the
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  Speaker 2: advocacy that from our community will only grow. And I
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  Speaker 2: my feeling, and you have to ask this question but
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  Speaker 2: to the government, but you know, my feeling is everyone's
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  Speaker 2: getting sick of I'm having to deal with this, and
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  Speaker 2: I think the government you would like to get on
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  Speaker 2: top of it as well. And I think you know,
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  Speaker 2: you heard from the Chief the other day. You know,
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  Speaker 2: she sincerely wants to get on top of it. And
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  Speaker 2: she's a new Chief Minister and we need to also
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  Speaker 2: cartism's lack, but we need her to make to really
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  Speaker 2: stand up now and really make a difference in terms
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  Speaker 2: of rolling out these initiatives and rolling out a short
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  Speaker 2: term surge because we're sick of being on the merrygrove
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  Speaker 2: around Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: You spot on. You know, people are over it, and
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  Speaker 1: I know that what you're experiencing in Central Australia is horrendous.
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  Speaker 1: It's certainly not isolated to Central Australia in the sense
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  Speaker 1: that we've got, you know, a heck of a lot
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  Speaker 1: of anti social behavior and criminal behavior up here in
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  Speaker 1: the top end as well. They've got to get a
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  Speaker 1: grasp on this right around the territory. They need to
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  Speaker 1: get a grasp on it immediately in Alice spreads but
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  Speaker 1: right across the territory because you know, I've said it
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  Speaker 1: before to the Chief Minister, and I said it on Wednesday.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody that lives here loves the place. We love living here.
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  Speaker 1: We want to see the place succeed. But this issue
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  Speaker 1: of crime is strangling us.
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  Speaker 2: And look, you know it is very unprecedented that a
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  Speaker 2: tourism body comes out like we are. But we are
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  Speaker 2: doing this for the right reasons. You know, I see
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  Speaker 2: the conversations on tourism websites putting our town down because
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  Speaker 2: of crime and safety. If we do not get in
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  Speaker 2: control of this, this will have long term implications to
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  Speaker 2: our great industry and our great region. And I don't
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  Speaker 2: want to see that. No one wants to see that.
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  Speaker 2: So it is really beholden upon government to really up
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  Speaker 2: the ante on this. Look, I would have to say
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  Speaker 2: also that you know my comments around the government being
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  Speaker 2: out of control here will government not being in control. Look,
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  Speaker 2: there are elements that have in conversations over the last
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  Speaker 2: few days that enforced that feeling in my mind. But
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  Speaker 2: you know we have to take that on face value
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  Speaker 2: that the government is going to come back hopefully next
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  Speaker 2: week to be able to say to our community, this
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  Speaker 2: is what we're going to do to get back in control.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Daniel Rochford, I really appreciate all the time
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  Speaker 1: that you've given us throughout this week, and please keep
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  Speaker 1: us up to date and let us know how these
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  Speaker 1: changes sort of you know, come into play, whether we
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  Speaker 1: are going to see some immediate change. I mean, have
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  Speaker 1: you been sort of told if they're going to be
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  Speaker 1: looking at like up here in the top end. Obviously
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  Speaker 1: we've got the Public Order, you've response Unit, the security,
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  Speaker 1: private security and things like that, patrolling. Has the minister
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  Speaker 1: sort of committed to doing any of that.
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  Speaker 2: There's been no committals whatsoever apart from the understanding that
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  Speaker 2: the Social Order Response Plan is about to go to Cabinet,
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  Speaker 2: so we need the detail now and that's over to
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  Speaker 2: the government to make that call. But you know we
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  Speaker 2: need that sooner rather than later. Katie, and can I
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  Speaker 2: also just take this opportunity to thank you personally. I
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  Speaker 2: know it's been a big week with a lot of interviews,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, to be able to stand up for
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  Speaker 2: our region is really appreciated. And that's very much from
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  Speaker 2: the bottom of my heart. It is something that we
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  Speaker 2: have needed to call out and I don't it pains
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  Speaker 2: me to do it, but we have had to do it.
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  Speaker 1: You know, well, Daniel any time, But mate, I really
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  Speaker 1: respect the fact that Tourism Central Australia has actually, you know,
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  Speaker 1: has said enough's enough. And like I've said throughout the week,
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  Speaker 1: I know it's difficult when you are the group that
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  Speaker 1: is is tasked to, you know, to obviously try to
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  Speaker 1: get more people to the Northern Territory to travel here
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  Speaker 1: through tourism. But when you're at a point when you're
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  Speaker 1: having to really put your neck out and say this,
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  Speaker 1: I know it's hard. I know it's hard for everybody
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  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs at the moment. So we're more than
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  Speaker 1: happy to try our best to you know, to put
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  Speaker 1: the issue to the forefront and hopefully see some change.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, and that's what we want to see. No
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: one's here for political purposes. The government's here for another
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  Speaker 2: two and a half years. We categorically said we want
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  Speaker 2: to work with the government to get this, but the
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  Speaker 2: ball is in their court and they need to come
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  Speaker 2: back to our community with real action.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, spot on, Well, Tourism Central Australia CEO Daniel Rochford.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk again next week and hopefully we'll have a
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  Speaker 1: bit of movement.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you.