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Katie Woolf spoke with Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Lord Mayor of Darwin, convat Scarlet's Good morning Conn.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Good morning Kate, and start feeling already like Christmas. December
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: twenty five days to go, Gill.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: That's exactly right, con the first of December, and I
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: did want to talk to you about this. What's the
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: council got lined up for Christmas this year?
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Sixty three different events starting from this Friday with the
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: lighting of the Christmas Tree at the mall. Then of
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: course you'll continue with the Sunday Cave and on Sunday
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: we've got Carols by candlelight. And that's only the beginning
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: because we've got the event starting from Friday all the
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: way to the twenty fourth of December. So it is Christmas,
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: it feels like Christmas, and of course it's not happy
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Holidays or season greetings. Is Merry Christmas Toology and Conn.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: You've been so keen to make sure that we know
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: that you're certainly not going to be the Grench that
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: takes away Christmas.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Not of course. And not only that, but we are
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: on the twentieth of December we're launching the second of
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the second round of down with vouchers. So not only
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: we give you beautiful decoration, lighting, trees and everything else.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: But we give you some more money to spend in
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: our city and of course support yourself and the economy
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: and the local business.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: That is wonderful. I think it'll be great to have
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: those vouchers roll out again. Con was a decision made
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: about parking, whether there's still going to be that free
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: parking period over the Christmas bright.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Well, from previous experience, we find out that a free
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: parking not increased flaw in the city. But what we
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: know is you put the votus out and everybody is
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: in the city spending money in the local shops and
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: the local businesses, and that what's important at the other
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: end is people they park in the city, their money
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: will go to the vouchers and that would provide more
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: money for us to spend not only in December but
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: also in January.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Okay, so no free parking this year because that money
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: is actually going to go into the vouchers instead.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Well, we thought if we put free parking, there's no
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: guarantee that the money we're flow into the economy. But
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: putting the vouchers out, we know very well that's going
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: to flow in the economy because the previous experience.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, look I think sometimes you know, especially in
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the COVID year, we've got to make sure that that
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: money is being spent most appropriately. And if it has
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: been found that the best draw card is the vouchers,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: then it does sound like it's money probably better invested
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: than going the free parking rush.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: And also, not forget we had about nearly six months
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: of free parking, which actually it's a big one for
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: the council but also helping pick the local people. But
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: we found out that putting out money with my vouchers
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: is actually it's a better result to the local economy.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: And also many many people said it was a really
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: good idea because they save a lot of money in
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: restaurants and coffee shops and everywhere else.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Oh well, convat scarlets. It does sound as though though
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: the council is really putting it on for Christmas, no
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: doubt about it. When it's so those lights are they
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: already up in the mall.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: I want to see you six thirty in the afternoon.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: I'll be there in seven thirty. I will turn on
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: the lights of the Christmas tree. We've got two choirs
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: and we've got a lot of events happening, and of
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: course if you're and young kids, Saturday from lunch time
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: and Sunday will be the Santa's Cave quite open. Take
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: your kids visit there, have talked to the Santa, take
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: photos with Sunda. And then Sunday afternoon go to the
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Amphi Theater for Carl's Back kind of light.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Oh good stuff. Convat Scholars, Lord Mayor of Darwin, good
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: to speak with you. Thanks so much for your chat.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: This morning, and I'll talk to you about Christmas next week.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: More and more coming.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Sounds good mate. Thank you