Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Business owner Trent de With gives an update on Katherine for Beyond the Berrimah line

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Business owner Trent de With gives an update on Katherine for Beyond the Berrimah line · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now. Look, on a Thursday, we do try to head
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: beyond the bear of the line to find out what
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: is happening outside the Darwin bubble. And joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line this morning, I'm pleased to say, well, business
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  Speaker 1: owner in Catherine Trent with good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Morning. Kay, good to hear from your mate.
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  Speaker 1: We haven't spoken for a while.
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  Speaker 2: No, we've been keeping flying under the radar down here luckily.
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  Speaker 1: Well that's always a good thing. How are things cracking
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  Speaker 1: in Catherine at the moment?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Really good that the town is still absolutely bursting
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  Speaker 2: at the scenes with touristly Yeah, I mean a wooly's trip.
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  Speaker 2: It's not a five minute run in and grab some
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  Speaker 2: milk and bread, and it's a lineup for a Channel
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  Speaker 2: fifth day minute to get out of the check out
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  Speaker 2: these days. But that's what we love, and that this
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  Speaker 2: time a year and it'll all be over soon. So
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  Speaker 2: it's been a really good year. And yet there's still
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  Speaker 2: plenty of people around, which is great.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it may as well lap it up, hey while
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  Speaker 1: they are all in town.
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  Speaker 2: Now, okay, while the sunshine that's exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: Have you got many people you know sort of traveling
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  Speaker 1: to Catherine as well for their camping and fishing and
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  Speaker 1: that kind of thing. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. The weather at the moment has like we've just
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  Speaker 2: picked up this last little bit of the dry season here.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it was eleven degrees this morning. So there's
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  Speaker 2: nothing better than you know, being out with your family
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  Speaker 2: in a tent or a swag when you wake up
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  Speaker 2: and it's eleven degrees and you can actually sit around
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  Speaker 2: the fire with purpose. Yeah, in the NT you don't
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  Speaker 2: often get that. So you really know a lot of
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  Speaker 2: people traveling to Catherine just to sort of you know,
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  Speaker 2: explore the National Park and the waterfalls around the place
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  Speaker 2: untilus in the tent for a night or two. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Oh absolutely. And I understand that there has been a
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  Speaker 1: bit of a video released as well, a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a Big River's promo. Tell us about that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So, through the Big Rivers Regional Reconstruction Committee, I've
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  Speaker 2: been working on a video basically to get it out
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  Speaker 2: there and just show the liveability and what you can
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  Speaker 2: do here in the Catherine region, the Big Rivers region.
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  Speaker 2: I was lucky enough to do some filming on that,
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  Speaker 2: but I mean I did about an hour and a
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  Speaker 2: half way of filming and got three seconds of it
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  Speaker 2: Katie's obviously my talent's not up there.
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  Speaker 1: That's all right, mate, We're all used to being cush
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  Speaker 1: out of, out of you know.
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  Speaker 2: It's a fantastic video and it represents the regions so well.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it just shows all of the stuff that's
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  Speaker 2: out there, all of the people that are here, and
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  Speaker 2: what different industries and stuff there are in Catherine, and
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  Speaker 2: hey can become a part of it if you're looking
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  Speaker 2: to move to change, which.
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  Speaker 1: I reckon is a great thing to do. How are
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  Speaker 1: things going in Catherine when you talk about the workforce?
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  Speaker 1: You know, are you guys experiencing the same as what
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  Speaker 1: we are to some degree when it comes to a
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  Speaker 1: workforce shortage or things going?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, no, absolutely. I think that's an Australia wide
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  Speaker 2: or maybe even a worldwide problem with the shortage of
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  Speaker 2: the workforce. You know, every store in Catherine has a
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  Speaker 2: sign up that says, basically, the whole world's short starts.
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  Speaker 2: Be kind to those who showed up, because everywhere you
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  Speaker 2: go they're short starts. They're closing for three or four
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  Speaker 2: days of the week if they have to because they're
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: off with COVID, or they're sick, or their kids are
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  Speaker 2: sick and they just don't have people to fill the places.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is the thing, you know, you got
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  Speaker 1: you sort of understand that it is difficult. It's so
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  Speaker 1: difficult for a lot of businesses right now. So we've
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  Speaker 1: got to make sure that we are kind when you
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  Speaker 1: go in somewhere if something takes a little bit longer
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  Speaker 1: than usual, you know, don't be a.
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  Speaker 2: Brat about it exactly. And yeah, people have to realize
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  Speaker 2: and if they're in any sort of industry that relates
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  Speaker 2: to being short stuffed, they'll absolutely sympathize with it because
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  Speaker 2: they understand that there's just I don't know where they
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  Speaker 2: all are oka, but there's just no workers around.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it makes it really tough. And you know we're
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  Speaker 1: hearing that from Alice Springs up here in Darwin to
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  Speaker 1: you guys in Catherine's. There is that workforce shortage and
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  Speaker 1: like you've rightly pointed out right around Australia. So I
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  Speaker 1: don't know exactly what needs to happen, but I know
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  Speaker 1: the federal government's holding that. I think it's the skills
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  Speaker 1: and workforce event in a couple of weeks time, so
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  Speaker 1: hopefully we see some outcomes from that. Now Trent fuel
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  Speaker 1: prices made. It's something that we're keeping such a close
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  Speaker 1: eye on up here in Darwin. How's it going for
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  Speaker 1: you guys in Catherine? Is the fuel expensive?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's still I mean it's very similar prices to
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  Speaker 2: you guys up there. I think we're a few cents lower.
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  Speaker 2: But the one thing about Catherine we've got on the
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  Speaker 2: main street. You know, there's four or five fuel retailers,
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  Speaker 2: but in a very short space. But it only takes
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  Speaker 2: one of them to drop it slightly and then they
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  Speaker 2: all get into a bit of a race down. So
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  Speaker 2: it is a quick thing to change generally here because
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  Speaker 2: one of them will do it and they'll all move.
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  Speaker 2: But we're still paying far too much for fuel, as
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  Speaker 2: we all know.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and does that impact on you, like when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to your business, does that impact on you in
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  Speaker 1: terms of you know, your delivery costs, your transport costs
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  Speaker 1: and that kind of stuff.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, all of that definitely plays a huge factor. But
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  Speaker 2: not only that, Katie, Like, we're a shop that is
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  Speaker 2: like we think of ourselves as a disposable income shop.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, if you're going fishing or camping on
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  Speaker 2: the weekend, you may not need to get a new
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: lure or a new swag or whatever it might be.
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  Speaker 2: With the cost of living and the fuel price going
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  Speaker 2: through the roofs, and unfortunately we're the first door generally
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  Speaker 2: that gets dropped from their buying cycle. So we feel
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  Speaker 2: it not only through freight coming here, like everyone smashing
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  Speaker 2: us with freight prices at the moment. And then also
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  Speaker 2: you know, people aren't buying as much, which is understandable.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're all going through the cost of living problems, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: or pressures that are on us. But unfortunately, yeah, stores
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  Speaker 2: like ours we get hit pretty hard and sort of
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  Speaker 2: straight away because it's the first thing. We're not an
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  Speaker 2: essential item, so they drop us pretty quick. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's hope that we do see some change in
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  Speaker 1: the cost of living. I think that, you know, we've
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  Speaker 1: got to see some change at some point when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to these petrol prices. But we'll keep on to
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  Speaker 1: it now. Just lastly, Trent, I understand the mango trees
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  Speaker 1: are flowering in Catherine.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, So there's a really good one. When you're
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  Speaker 2: driv into Catherine. On the corner of one of our
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  Speaker 2: streets that go into a Kolano community, there's a nice
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  Speaker 2: mango tree there, and it's always a good time when
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  Speaker 2: you see that thing with white fluffy flowers all over it,
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  Speaker 2: because you know that one the season's changing, but to
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  Speaker 2: the season changes from our tour season to our fruit
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  Speaker 2: picking season, so we get a whole different trade of
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  Speaker 2: people come through the town. But it's pretty exciting and
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  Speaker 2: we also know that then unfortunately the build up is
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  Speaker 2: on the way, but you know, as we get through
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  Speaker 2: the build up we'll get a bit of rain as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's it, well, Trent. Lovely to speak to you
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  Speaker 1: this morning, mate. Great to head be on the bear
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  Speaker 1: of the line and we'll catch up with you hopefully
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  Speaker 1: again in a few weeks or so.
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  Speaker 2: Always a pleasure, Thanks Katie, Thank you,