Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Senator Sam McMahon about Howard Springs quarantine expansion

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Katie Woolf spoke with Senator Sam McMahon about Howard Springs quarantine expansion · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie wolf On Mixed one oh four
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  Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: There's been quite a few of you getting in contact
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  Speaker 2: with us this morning about your concerns around the Howard
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  Speaker 2: Springs facility, the increase in those numbers per fortnite, the
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  Speaker 2: fact that the management of it is going to go
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  Speaker 2: from being with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center,
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  Speaker 2: when you talk about the international arrivals to the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory Government and Northern Territory Health and Well having to
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  Speaker 2: recruit up to four hundred staff. We did catch up
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  Speaker 2: with the Union a little bit earlier this morning and
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  Speaker 2: they certainly outlined the concerns that they've got when it
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  Speaker 2: comes to recruiting those staff.
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  Speaker 1: I've got a message.
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  Speaker 2: I've got a lot of messages here, but one of
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  Speaker 2: them from Darren and it says before COVID, the Howard
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  Speaker 2: Springs facility was costing us money while sitting idle.
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  Speaker 1: It's now being expanded.
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  Speaker 2: Who pays the ongoing cost once it's no longer used
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  Speaker 2: as a quarantine station, as expanded facility means greater cost. Oh,
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  Speaker 2: I've got another one here and it says, Hi, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: my question is with all of the money that the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory government will be receiving from the federal government
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  Speaker 2: for taking care of the people in the quarantine facility
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  Speaker 2: here in Darwin, will they be putting a chunk of
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  Speaker 2: it aside to compensate our businesses that have to close
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  Speaker 2: if and when we have an outbreak linked to the facility.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it would be only fair. Right.
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  Speaker 2: That is a very interesting point and not something that
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  Speaker 2: I'd thought of before, But I know that a lot
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  Speaker 2: of business owners that I've spoken to are a bit
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  Speaker 2: concerned about this. If we do see some kind of spread,
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  Speaker 2: what's going to happen because you know, what we've seen
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  Speaker 2: around the nation is is premiers locking down and locking
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  Speaker 2: down hard, and that would have a massive impact on
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  Speaker 2: business around the territory. Now, it does all come down
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  Speaker 2: to us being able to contain any of those COVID
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  Speaker 2: nineteen arrivals. And we're not talking about there being nobody
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  Speaker 2: arriving at that facility with COVID nineteen because, as we've
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  Speaker 2: discussed throughout the week, there's been about sixty seven cases,
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  Speaker 2: if my memory serves me correctly, sixty seven cases that
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  Speaker 2: have come through that facility. So far with COVID that's
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  Speaker 2: been managed incredibly well under the ozmat team. We've seen
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  Speaker 2: no community transmission and some of those cases have been
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  Speaker 2: the highly infectious strain of the UK virus.
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  Speaker 1: Now, if you.
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  Speaker 2: Are a Territorian who's a bit worried about this situation
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  Speaker 2: and certainly hoping that we don't see any community transmission,
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  Speaker 2: you're not alone. Joining me on the line right now
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  Speaker 2: is the Senator for the Northern Territory, the COLP Senator
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  Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory, Sam McMahon.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning Tating, Good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Sam, you've penned a piece for the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: News today. I'm saying that this is madness on steroids,
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  Speaker 2: the Health Department and US taking over basically, you know,
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  Speaker 2: having this increased increased number of people being repatriated to
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  Speaker 2: Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 1: What are your biggest concerns, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: My biggest concern is the fact that the control and
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  Speaker 3: the running of the facility is being taken away from
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  Speaker 3: the NCCTRC and OSMAT managed by Professor and Nataris and
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  Speaker 3: a team of highly trained and highly specialized individuals, and
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  Speaker 3: that's being given to the Anti government under the Police Commissioner,
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  Speaker 3: and I'm just concerned that you're taking away a fantastically
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  Speaker 3: run and managed facility and you hit the nail on
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  Speaker 3: the head. You know, we've had a lot of cases
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  Speaker 3: in there and the way it's been managed has meant
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  Speaker 3: that there's been no transmission out of there into the community,
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  Speaker 3: unlike other jurisdictions. And we're taking away that specialized control
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  Speaker 3: and giving it to the antique government who quite frankly
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  Speaker 3: couldn't organize a pint in a pub, and expecting them
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  Speaker 3: to run and manage it. That concerns me greatly.
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  Speaker 1: Sam.
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  Speaker 2: You are obviously part of the federal government. Have you
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  Speaker 2: raised these concerns with the federal Health Minister Greg Hunt?
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  Speaker 3: Look, Katie, I haven't because I mean I sort of
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  Speaker 3: found out about it, as did everyone else when there
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  Speaker 3: was a press conference with the NTG and obviously Minister
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  Speaker 3: Hunt at the moment is in hospital. I have been
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  Speaker 3: communicating with him and I will raise it with him
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  Speaker 3: next week.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, from your understanding, did the federal government,
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  Speaker 2: did our leaders? Did Australia's leaders think that this center
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  Speaker 2: was going to continue to be managed by the ozmat team?
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  Speaker 3: Look, Cadi there was always always a plan that they
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  Speaker 3: would transition back to their day job, if you like.
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  Speaker 3: My concern is with the NTG potentially taking over. The
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  Speaker 3: NTG now has control to say to NCTRC and Ozmat, no,
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  Speaker 3: you know you can step aside. Now we're going to
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  Speaker 3: take this from here. Now, that's not the intention, but
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  Speaker 3: that's my concern is that that's what could happen.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon, there's got to be some really clear
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  Speaker 2: instruction here in terms of, you know, when the ozmat
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  Speaker 2: team's going to move out. But you know, from what
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  Speaker 2: we heard from Professor Len Nataras yesterday on the show,
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  Speaker 2: he'd said that they're sort of happy enough to stay
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  Speaker 2: until they've got all the procedures and the appropriate measures
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  Speaker 2: in place to ensure that we do not see any
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  Speaker 2: community transmission.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, And look one hundred percent back Professor Nataras,
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  Speaker 3: but that that is not going to be his decision
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  Speaker 3: from now on in. It's going to be the decision
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  Speaker 3: of the Police Commissioner and Michael Gunner. So I'm absolutely
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  Speaker 3: adamant that Professor Nataras and his team must remain in
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  Speaker 3: some capacity to have control over the biosecurity arrangements in
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  Speaker 3: that facility until well, from my point of view, until
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  Speaker 3: there's nobody left in there.
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  Speaker 2: Well, And Senator I guess you're you know, you're actually
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  Speaker 2: in a very unique position here where you do have
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  Speaker 2: the year of the Prime Minister and of the Federal
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  Speaker 2: Health Minister and are able to sort of voice those concerns.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you mentioned that you are going to raise them.
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  Speaker 2: Is it something that you get to raise with the
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  Speaker 2: Prime Minister as well?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie, Like I said, I have been. I have
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  Speaker 3: been communicating with Greg Hunt, the Federal Health Minister, yesterday
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  Speaker 3: and today. Even though he's in hospital. I'm not going
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  Speaker 3: to bother him greatly while he's trying to recover himself,
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  Speaker 3: but absolutely I will be talking to both him and
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  Speaker 3: the Prime Minister next week when I'm in Canberra.
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  Speaker 2: Senator, I guess if we believe exactly what the Chief
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  Speaker 2: Minister said on Friday when that press conference happened, he
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  Speaker 2: had said that you know that the Police Commissioner had
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  Speaker 2: always been overseeing the whole Howard Springs quarantine facility because
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  Speaker 2: that's his role as the I can't think of exactly
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  Speaker 2: what the word is.
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  Speaker 1: That's right, The.
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  Speaker 2: Territory Controller so really, I mean, is this going to
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  Speaker 2: be too much different? We're always looking at transitioning the
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  Speaker 2: ozmat team out anyway, is it going to be that different?
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  Speaker 3: I'm concerned that it could be. Yes. Look I watched
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  Speaker 3: that press conference and quite frankly, the Chief Minister seemed
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  Speaker 3: confused and didn't seem to know exactly what was going on.
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  Speaker 3: While yes, the Territory Controller is in charge of emergencies
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  Speaker 3: and disasters, this is a highly specialized situation. It's not
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  Speaker 3: really a disaster or an emergency. It is a quarantining situation.
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  Speaker 3: It's managing a disease outbreak, managing quarantine, managing bio security.
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  Speaker 3: And that all came undone the NCCTRC, managed by Professor Nataras,
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  Speaker 3: So he did seem a little confused to me as
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  Speaker 3: to what the actual situation was. And we are now
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  Speaker 3: handing over the management of how it springs to the
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  Speaker 3: Territory Controller. So that is a distinct difference.
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  Speaker 2: All right, So Senator, you're hoping to have a sit
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  Speaker 2: down with the Prime Minister and the Health Minister early
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  Speaker 2: next week to be able to voice these concerns. I
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  Speaker 2: reckon we might try and catch up with you after
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  Speaker 2: you've done that if possible.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'd be more than happy to Kadie. And obviously
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  Speaker 3: you know we put in federally a lot of money.
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  Speaker 3: We've put in over two hundred and forty million to
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  Speaker 3: the NTG so far, and we're going to be putting
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  Speaker 3: in a lot more with the more than doubling the
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  Speaker 3: capacity of this facility. So I am very concerned, and
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  Speaker 3: yes I will be speaking to them. In fact, they'll
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  Speaker 3: be speaking to the whole coalition party room and I
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  Speaker 3: am more than happy to keep you informed of what's
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  Speaker 3: going on.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon a lot of our listeners are very
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  Speaker 2: interested in this one. Senator Sam McMahon. Always good to
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  Speaker 2: catch up. Thanks so much for your time today.
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  Speaker 3: No worries, Katie. Thanks want me to talk as always,