Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with NT Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan

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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me live in the studio is the Northern Territory
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Selectoral Commissioner.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: I Logan. I thank good morning to you.
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: How are you good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, obviously we are going to the polls this weekend
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  Speaker 1: for our council election, our local council elections. Have we
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: had a good voter turnout so far when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to early voting.
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  Speaker 3: I think Katie, we had the lockdown last week and
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  Speaker 3: certainly lost three days and four days in Catherine, but
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  Speaker 3: the data is telling us in terms of the urban
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  Speaker 3: areas that really hasn't made too much of a difference.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we've had over close to thirty thousand votes
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  Speaker 3: taken and if you compare that to twenty seventeen where
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  Speaker 3: Palmerston wasn't included in that election because it was done separately,
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  Speaker 3: you know we're ahead. Okay, yeah, But I think the
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  Speaker 3: message that I want to get out to everybody is
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  Speaker 3: don't forget to vote. And on Saturday you need to
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  Speaker 3: vote within your council area. So if you're in Palmerston
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  Speaker 3: and going to the markets, don't vote at prapp vote
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  Speaker 3: at home before you before you go to the markets.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, if that's inconvenient at all the early
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  Speaker 3: voting centers. You can vote anywhere, So if you preferred
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  Speaker 3: to do that and then just make some time to
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  Speaker 3: vote either today or tomorrow, knowing that those early voting
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  Speaker 3: centers are open till six pm.
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  Speaker 1: Now, where can we vote? I know you probably can't
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  Speaker 1: run through every single location. I know there'll be plenty
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  Speaker 1: of them. But where are some of those key areas
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  Speaker 1: where we can vote.
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  Speaker 3: You can vote at the Darwin Entertainment Center. You can
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  Speaker 3: vote at Casuarina Library, you can vote at Gateway and
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  Speaker 3: Palmston Shopping Center. You can vote at Koler Linga and
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  Speaker 3: you can vote at the Catherine Shopping Center. They're the
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  Speaker 3: early voting centers for the election day voting centers. Please
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  Speaker 3: just go to our website, the NTC website, and that'll
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  Speaker 3: list all the voting centers. We'll also have those on
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  Speaker 3: the paper on Saturday.
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  Speaker 2: Now, how did that lockdown impact things? In? Did it
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  Speaker 2: make much of a difference?
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  Speaker 3: Look, it certainly made a difference in terms of the
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  Speaker 3: remote areas where there were ten communities that we were
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  Speaker 3: going to poll in that first week and we've had
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  Speaker 3: to reschedule, so you know, we'll have to look at
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  Speaker 3: that data eventually and see what impact that that has had.
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  Speaker 3: But in terms of early voting in urban areas, you know,
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  Speaker 3: the data is telling us there hasn't been too much
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  Speaker 3: of an impact. And fortunately for us it was in
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  Speaker 3: the first week of early voting rather than the second week,
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  Speaker 3: because it certainly would have been more problematic if it.
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  Speaker 2: Was this week.
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  Speaker 1: Now some people getting in contact with us about those
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  Speaker 1: unincorporated areas wondering, you know, I know we've discussed this before,
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  Speaker 1: but wondering about voting in those unincorporated areas.
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  Speaker 3: So if you're in an unincorporated area which includes the Waterfront,
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  Speaker 3: includes North Crest, includes Dundee, then you're not in a
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  Speaker 3: local government area and you do not vote at the
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  Speaker 3: election on the weekend. But let me say to those
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  Speaker 3: electors out at Dundee that they will vote at the
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  Speaker 3: upcoming daily by election. So again, if they go to
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  Speaker 3: the NTC website, you'll see those details and we'll have
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  Speaker 3: early voting services for the daily by election that'll start
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  Speaker 3: on Monday. We have the declaration of nominations today at one.
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  Speaker 1: Pm, okay, so we'll know exactly who's running at one
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  Speaker 1: pm today for the daily by election.
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  Speaker 2: That's great, Casey.
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  Speaker 1: Not to be confused obviously with the local council elections,
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  Speaker 1: which I know, like you know, like we've just discussed.
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  Speaker 1: Are those people, some of those people that live in
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  Speaker 1: the likes of Dundee possibly a little bit confused about
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  Speaker 1: whether they do need to vote and whether they don't.
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  Speaker 1: But they don't need to for the local council election,
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  Speaker 1: but for the by election they definitely do.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct, Okay. Could I just say to electors that
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  Speaker 3: are confused, the best way to get information from us
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  Speaker 3: is if we've got your mobile number or if we've
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  Speaker 3: got your email, then we'll send you the direct information
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  Speaker 3: to you in regard to how it impacts you. So
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  Speaker 3: if you're not getting that data from us, it means
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  Speaker 3: that that information isn't on the electoral role. So if
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  Speaker 3: you go to our website and just update your enrollment
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  Speaker 3: and just include those details, then at future elections you'll
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  Speaker 3: get that information from the Electoral Commission.
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  Speaker 1: Now, we had someone get in contact with us this
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  Speaker 1: morning who lives in Palmerston. They haven't lived here for
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  Speaker 1: a huge amount of time. They have changed their license
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  Speaker 1: over but they haven't put themselves on the electoral role yet.
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  Speaker 1: That means that they can't vote in these council elections,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't it or can they?
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  Speaker 3: So, Katie, how that would work is that you have
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  Speaker 3: to be enrolled in your address for a month before
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  Speaker 3: you're entitled to you have lived in your dress for
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  Speaker 3: a month before you're entitled to enroll there. In terms
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  Speaker 3: of updating your license, that's a process that's automatic enrollment,
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  Speaker 3: but it will take for a few months. In terms
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  Speaker 3: of that elector, the best thing they could do is
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  Speaker 3: just our call the NTC and they will clarify it.
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  Speaker 3: But just on what you've said there, it seems likely
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  Speaker 3: that they're not on the roll. But if they have
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  Speaker 3: lived an address for a month, they can go to
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  Speaker 3: a voting center and they can do a provisional vote
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  Speaker 3: and if it's a valid enrollment, then that vote will
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  Speaker 3: be admitted to the count. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and I just think it's so important that we
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  Speaker 1: do all go and vote. I know sometimes you can think, oh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm so busy today, I don't have time to go
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  Speaker 1: and vote. But you need to go and vote. And
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  Speaker 1: a lot of us winge about various different things. But
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  Speaker 1: this is the opportunity for you to have you say,
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  Speaker 1: and we know in the Northern Territory that in a
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  Speaker 1: lot of cases it really is a handful of votes
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  Speaker 1: which determine things.
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  Speaker 3: Look, you just had to look at the last territory
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  Speaker 3: election where you know it was five or six votes
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  Speaker 3: in Berkeley that determined the final result. Look again, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I totally agree with the message you're saying. It's important
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  Speaker 3: the Territorians vote. We're trying to place these voting centers
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  Speaker 3: in convenient locations, particularly the early voting centers. You know
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  Speaker 3: a lot of them are at shopping centers, so that
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  Speaker 3: you know people are there, so whilst you're there, just
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  Speaker 3: vote and then it's done, so you're not having to
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  Speaker 3: make a special trip.
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  Speaker 1: Now, what about on Saturday? What hours are the vot
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: voting centers opened if they're not able to get there
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  Speaker 1: until Saturday.
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  Speaker 3: So on Saturday, all voting centers will be open from
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  Speaker 3: eight to six pm.
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  Speaker 1: Eight until six pm. And when are you anticipating that
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  Speaker 1: you'll have an outcome for some of those different different
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  Speaker 1: mayoral positions and the aldermen.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: It's going to be a long count Katie, just in
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  Speaker 3: the sense that with so many people early voting, I
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  Speaker 3: think you've been at our counting centers before when we're
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: doing this just to unfold and sort before you can count.
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  Speaker 3: When we think that in places like Palmerston there'll be
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  Speaker 3: ten thousand ballot papers, it's going to take some time.
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  Speaker 3: So you get some indicative results from the election day
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: voting centers and they'll come in sometime between eight nine.
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  Speaker 3: But in terms of the early voting centers, it's going
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  Speaker 3: to be a long count. So we'll do the mayorll
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  Speaker 3: counts first and then we'll do the Alderman count. But
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  Speaker 3: you just have to look at our website and wait.
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  Speaker 3: So we'll count all ballot papers that aren't in an
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  Speaker 3: envelope on the Saturday night, and then on the Monday
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  Speaker 3: we'll start counting some additional votes.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we'll be keeping a very close eye on things,
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  Speaker 1: and no doubt, well hopefully by Monday, I'm assuming we'll
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  Speaker 1: have a pretty good idea for some of those seats
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  Speaker 1: or some of those.
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  Speaker 3: Areas, Katie, you'll have a decent number of votes count
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  Speaker 3: if but if they're close, then obviously you're just going
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  Speaker 3: to have to wait until all votes are counted.
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  Speaker 2: All right, We'll be keeping a close eye on it.
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  Speaker 1: Ian Logan Nathan the Northern Territories Electoral Commissioner. Always good
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  Speaker 1: to catch up with you. We appreciate your time this morning.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katin. Good luck for a busy weekend.