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Katie Woolf spoke with Senator Sam McMahon · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We have been discussing throughout the morning the calls by
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  Speaker 1: Senator Sam McMahon to use the Bladon Village Workers Camp
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  Speaker 1: on Wickam Point near Darwin to repatriate even more Aussi
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  Speaker 1: stranded overseas. Senator Sam McMahon joins me on the line
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  Speaker 1: right now. Good morning, Senator.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Tady, Good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, why would you like to see this other facility
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  Speaker 1: utilized as well?
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  Speaker 2: Well, look at the facility that we've got sitting there
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  Speaker 2: that's not being currently utilized. And if it can be,
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  Speaker 2: and if we can get more Aussies back home reunited
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  Speaker 2: with their families, then that's a really good thing.
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  Speaker 1: So have you spoken to your federal colleagues about it,
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  Speaker 1: because we asked the Health Minister about it this morning.
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  Speaker 1: She said, Look, the decision about how many repatriations we
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  Speaker 1: can have into the territory is a decision for the
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  Speaker 1: Prime minister. So have you spoken to your federal colleagues
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  Speaker 1: about it?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look I have. And that's not entirely true what
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  Speaker 2: she said because quarantine, and I've said this all along,
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  Speaker 2: quarantine is a function of the states and territories. So
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  Speaker 2: it's up to the Anti government to say how many
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  Speaker 2: people they can accept on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly
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  Speaker 2: basis based on their availability for their quarantine. So it's
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  Speaker 2: very much up to the Anti government to say, yes,
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  Speaker 2: we will take we have a capacity to take two hundred,
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  Speaker 2: four hundred, five hundred or whatever that is, and the
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  Speaker 2: federal government will approve that.
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  Speaker 1: But the reality is that the additional staff that will
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  Speaker 1: be required, I you know, obviously those from the National
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  Speaker 1: Critical Care and Trauma Response Center, the additional staff that
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  Speaker 1: will be used to repatriate the Aussies out at Howard
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  Speaker 1: Springs would be required as well as at Bladon Point,
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  Speaker 1: and that would obviously be resourcing that would need to
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  Speaker 1: be funded by the federal government.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, there's various funding options. And yes, I have
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  Speaker 2: spoken to Minister Mary's Pain about this and she's quite
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  Speaker 2: interested and I've provided information to her office and they're
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  Speaker 2: looking into that. At the moment. Yes, there's obviously resources
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  Speaker 2: that would be needed, but there are different models that
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  Speaker 2: could be looked at for funding. Now, whether the federal government,
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  Speaker 2: I mean we've already kicked in fifty million, you know,
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  Speaker 2: could that be split across the two facilities? Possibly, could
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  Speaker 2: it be a fee for service where people that are
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  Speaker 2: prepared to pay and able to pay can access it.
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  Speaker 2: You know, there's quite a few different options for looking
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  Speaker 2: at how it's going to be funded.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess my big concern is, you know, with
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  Speaker 1: any facility that we utilize, whether it's Howard Springs all
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  Speaker 1: the one at Bladin point is that we've got the
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  Speaker 1: staff to be able to man it adequately, and we've
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  Speaker 1: got the resources that we need to be able to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that we don't end up in a situation
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  Speaker 1: like we ended up in you know, in Victoria for example.
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  Speaker 1: No matter what facility you utilize, you just want to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that it's done to an exceptional standard so
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  Speaker 1: that Territorians aren't put at risk.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely that that always needs to be the highest priority.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, we certainly don't want mister Gunner to
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  Speaker 2: be going down the path of following his mate Jim
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  Speaker 2: and Dan down in Victoria. We want things to be
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  Speaker 2: done properly. And I mean, so far, with a bit
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  Speaker 2: of an exception out Howard Springs, so far it seems
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  Speaker 2: to have all worked well. So we would definitely want
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  Speaker 2: to maintain a very very high standard, as you say.
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  Speaker 1: And so in terms of that fifty million dollars, you're
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  Speaker 1: saying that what you would like to see is that
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  Speaker 1: actually split so that it's then utilized at Howard Springs
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  Speaker 1: and also at Bladon Point. Would we then be able
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  Speaker 1: to I mean, would that be enough money really to
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  Speaker 1: make this happen at two facilities.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I'm just saying that's one possibility. I mean, I
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  Speaker 2: obviously don't know the government's cost basis for running Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 2: I mean they're charging people, you know, two and a
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  Speaker 2: half thousand dollars each at the moment, and they're saying
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  Speaker 2: that's not covering costs. Well, you know what actually are
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  Speaker 2: the costs? You know, if they're happy to provide the
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  Speaker 2: costs for providing that service, you know, it can be
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  Speaker 2: calculated what the cost is versus what they're charging people,
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  Speaker 2: and what the difference is that the government's covering. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, without knowing that cost, I couldn't give you
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  Speaker 2: an accurate figure.
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  Speaker 1: So you sort of I mean, do you think that
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  Speaker 1: maybe they could be doing things on the expensive side,
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  Speaker 1: you reckon they could be doing things a bit cheaper.
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  Speaker 2: Well, well no, but they need to look at that
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  Speaker 2: their actual costs versus what they're charging people, and that's
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  Speaker 2: something that they won't come clean on at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they're charging people two and a half thousand,
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  Speaker 2: what's the actual cost? Is it three thousand? Is it
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  Speaker 2: five thousand? If they can provide that figure, then it
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  Speaker 2: can easily be worked out what the difference is and
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  Speaker 2: what that fifty million can cover. And you know, maybe
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  Speaker 2: it could be looked at. If we we go and
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  Speaker 2: look at Wickam Point, maybe that could be charged. If
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  Speaker 2: there is a higher cost in the two and a
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  Speaker 2: half thousand currently, maybe they could offer that facility at
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  Speaker 2: that higher cost to people who are willing and able
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  Speaker 2: to pay that. There's all sorts of possibilities. I just
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  Speaker 2: want them to consider it.
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  Speaker 1: With Bayden Point. Have you had the opportunity, I know
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  Speaker 1: that it is privately owned, Have you had the opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to talk to the owner and find out sort of
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  Speaker 1: whether they're keen for it to happen.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I have. I've had a comprehensive briefing from
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  Speaker 2: the owner and they are extremely keen for it to
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  Speaker 2: be used. Obviously, being privately owned, it's a commercial decision
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  Speaker 2: that would need to be worked out between themselves and
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  Speaker 2: the government. But they are extremely keen to see the
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  Speaker 2: facility be used for this purpose.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So at this stage, though you've obviously had
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  Speaker 1: discussions with the owner, you've also had discussion with Maurice Payne.
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  Speaker 1: So I suppose at this point you know, what would
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  Speaker 1: you see as being the next step.
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  Speaker 2: Well, at this stage, you know, Michael Gunner and Natasha
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  Speaker 2: Files need to step up and have conversations with the
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  Speaker 2: owners and see what can be negotiated with them and
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  Speaker 2: what the government's appetite is for that. And as I said,
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  Speaker 2: you know, look, it's a pretty simple sum. If the
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  Speaker 2: labor government can just provide what their actual costs are
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  Speaker 2: for quarantining people, you know, it would take me two
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  Speaker 2: minutes to work out how far that fifty million is
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  Speaker 2: going to go, how many people it's going to cover,
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  Speaker 2: and could it be spread across the two facilities or not.
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  Speaker 2: So and need to provide they come clean with their
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  Speaker 2: costs and have that discussion with the owners to see
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  Speaker 2: if this can be progressed.
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  Speaker 1: And you're confident then that the federal government would increase
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  Speaker 1: those numbers, those repatriation numbers from the five hundred to
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  Speaker 1: fortnite that we're currently looking at. Too much more.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, certainly. Obviously it would depend on what the NT
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  Speaker 2: government requires. Now, if they're going to put their hand
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  Speaker 2: out for another fifty million dollars, then the answer may
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  Speaker 2: not be a straightforward yes. But as they said to
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  Speaker 2: the federal government tomorrow, we have a capacity to take
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  Speaker 2: an extra five hundred people per fortnite. This is how
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  Speaker 2: we're going to do it. This is where we're going
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  Speaker 2: to do it. We don't need anything from you guys.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely the federal government would be in favor of that.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just trying to wrap my head around it because
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I guess I'm thinking to myself that fifty
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  Speaker 1: million dollars, it's obviously being used to be able to well,
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  Speaker 1: my guess would be to be able to staff the
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  Speaker 1: facility with our police resourcing, our health resourcing, the resourcing
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  Speaker 1: that's required out there to make sure that everybody stays
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  Speaker 1: safe and that cleaning procedures and food are provided. So
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  Speaker 1: I'm just sort of I guess I'm trying to wrap
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  Speaker 1: my head around how then you'd be able to still
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  Speaker 1: get the same bang for your buck out of that
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  Speaker 1: fifty million, with you know, potentially double the amount of
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  Speaker 1: people in another facility.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean the things take into account is
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  Speaker 2: the fact that they are charging people two and a
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  Speaker 2: half thousand dollars. So obviously that is covering a big
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  Speaker 2: chunk of those costs. So that fifty million dollars is
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  Speaker 2: above and beyond whatever the actual cost per person is.
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  Speaker 2: And that's the thing that we don't know. Is it
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  Speaker 2: two and a half thousand, is it two thy eight hundred,
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  Speaker 2: is it three thousand? That's what we don't know. So
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  Speaker 2: the federal government's fifty million dollars is covering costs above
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  Speaker 2: and beyond what people are paying themselves. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: that's what I said, there is a capacity if people
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  Speaker 2: are you know, if it's three thousand or four thousand,
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  Speaker 2: if people are willing and have the capacity to pay
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  Speaker 2: that money and want to come and utilize that facility,
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  Speaker 2: then we should be allowing them to do so if
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  Speaker 2: it means getting more ousie families reunited before Christmas.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So really, if you know, if people are prepared
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  Speaker 1: to pay a bit more money, that's the way that
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  Speaker 1: you reckon it should happen.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's certainly one model. Yep.
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  Speaker 1: Then in terms of you know, the management then of
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  Speaker 1: the facility, given that it is a private one, would
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  Speaker 1: it be you know, would you envisage that it would
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  Speaker 1: be a same situation as what we've got out of
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  Speaker 1: Howard Springs, where the Territory Police are obviously overseeing it.
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  Speaker 2: Again, that would be something that would need to be
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  Speaker 2: negotiated between the owners and the Northern Territory Government. Now,
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  Speaker 2: whether they wanted to have it fully privately managed or
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  Speaker 2: whether they want to just lease the facility and then
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  Speaker 2: the NT government run it that they're options that would
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  Speaker 2: need to be discussed with the owners.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, I think it's an you know, like, I
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  Speaker 1: think it's an interesting idea. I'm not opposed to it.
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  Speaker 1: I just think we've got to make sure that we've
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  Speaker 1: got the resources that are required out there, whether we've
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  Speaker 1: got one facility or two, to be able to ensure
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  Speaker 1: that everybody stays safe and that the Darwin community and
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  Speaker 1: the Territory community stays safe.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, I soon agree, and I'm just saying, let's let's
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  Speaker 2: sit down and investigate it, let's do MTG talk to
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  Speaker 2: the owners, let's see if it can be utilized in
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  Speaker 2: this fashion at least, let's at least let's have an
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  Speaker 2: investigation and a discussion about it.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Senator Sam McMahon. Always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate you taking the time to have a chat
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  Speaker 1: with me today. I know it's been a busy morning
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  Speaker 1: for you.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, no worries, Thanks Katie. Always a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. That is Senator Sam McMahon.
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  Speaker 2: There.
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  Speaker 1: If you would like to call through eight nine four
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: one one oh four nine is the number. You can
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: also send us a text message zero four one eight
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: nine five seven three six nine and yeah, what do
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  Speaker 1: you think you know? Do you think that we should
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  Speaker 1: be using or utilizing two facilities? Obviously it would be
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  Speaker 1: a different sort of scenario by the sounds of things
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  Speaker 1: out at Bladon Point, given the fact that it is
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  Speaker 1: privately owned, But I guess the model you would have
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  Speaker 1: to imagine would be fairly similar. I would suspect that
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  Speaker 1: you know that it would be the same situation where
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  Speaker 1: the police are overseeing and that there would then be
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  Speaker 1: private security, as we had heard from the Chief Minister
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  Speaker 1: Michael Gunner yesterday, Because at the forefront, the concern from
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  Speaker 1: each and every territory and that I speak to is
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  Speaker 1: just ensuring that territorians stay safe no matter where they're housed,
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  Speaker 1: so any expats obviously coming into the Northern Territory that
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  Speaker 1: they're then sort of you know that we're able to
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  Speaker 1: keep those expats as safe as possible as well and
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  Speaker 1: COVID free so that the whole community stays COVID free.
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  Speaker 1: Eight nine four one one four nine is the number
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  Speaker 1: if you'd like to call through. But like I said,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I actually think that it is a good
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  Speaker 1: thing for us as the Northern Territory, whether people are
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  Speaker 1: housed at the facility that's currently running at Howard Springs
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  Speaker 1: or whether it is at a second facility at Bladon Point,
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  Speaker 1: that it is a good thing to be able to
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  Speaker 1: bring assi's that want to get back to their families,
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  Speaker 1: to be able to bring them home so long as
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  Speaker 1: all those procedures and protocols are in place