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Katie Woolf spoke with Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The opposition leader, Lea Finocchio. Good morning, Good morning, Katie.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Into your listeners now, Leah, obviously the Prime Minister is
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: in town. He's announcing seven hundred and forty seven million
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: dollars on four of the Northern Territory's ADF training sites.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: They're going to be overhauled.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Leah, do you have much further detail about today's announcement.
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  Speaker 3: Look, what we do know is this is just further
• 0:22
  Speaker 3: proof of the federal government's commitment to the Northern Territory.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: And I have to say, Katie, in terms of investment
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  Speaker 3: and economic activity, the federal government is the only game
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  Speaker 3: in town we know, with their investments into gas and
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  Speaker 3: the Beaterloo, the eight billion dollar commitment into defense, and
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  Speaker 3: of course this big announcement of nearly a billion dollars
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  Speaker 3: today that the Prime Minister is in town to obviously
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  Speaker 3: explain in greater detail. It really shows that any economic
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: activity happening in the moment is as a result of
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  Speaker 3: those that federal government commitment and not as a result
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  Speaker 3: of anything that the Gunner government is doing. And I
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  Speaker 3: think the COMSEC report the other day showed that very clearly, Lea,
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: is this just.
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  Speaker 2: A funding re announcement though, I mean I was of
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  Speaker 2: the understanding that we did know there was going to
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  Speaker 2: be a substantial amount of money coming in in the
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  Speaker 2: defense area through that white paper, the Defense white paper.
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  Speaker 3: So is it just a re announcement, No, this is
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  Speaker 3: this is new information. Of course, we know that there's
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  Speaker 3: eight billion dollars over ten years, and we've got significant
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  Speaker 3: investment currently underway at Tinder as we speak, and that
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  Speaker 3: is creating a lot of flow on jobs, you know,
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  Speaker 3: right down to your trading level, which is terrific. And
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  Speaker 3: a lot of hard work was put into ensuring that
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  Speaker 3: those defense packages are made smaller so that they're more
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  Speaker 3: consumable and more accessible to local tradees. And that's exactly
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  Speaker 3: what we want. So this seven hundred million dollar announcement
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  Speaker 3: is just the news everyone wanted to hear. It's important
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  Speaker 3: works right across a vast spread in the territory. It
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  Speaker 3: means that even more local businesses will have access and capability.
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  Speaker 3: It's a wide range from construction to civil works and
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  Speaker 3: other more highly specialized areas. So it means again that
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  Speaker 3: that work is going to trickle down, it's going to
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  Speaker 3: get where it needs to go. And you know, I
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  Speaker 3: can't say it enough, Katie. Honest to goodness, the federal
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  Speaker 3: government is the owner game in town.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Leah, look, we are going to try and catch
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  Speaker 2: up hopefully with the Prime Minister at some point while
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  Speaker 2: he is put done.
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  Speaker 1: A good word Katie, thank you, and.
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  Speaker 2: We are also going to catch up with Master Builders
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  Speaker 2: to find out a little bit more about how this
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  Speaker 2: money is going to benefit our local contractors and what
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  Speaker 2: it will mean for our building and construction industry.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Lea.
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  Speaker 2: We do know though the increased tensions between China and
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  Speaker 2: the West have been widely reported. Do you think that
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  Speaker 2: today's announcement puts the Northern Territory at a greater risk?
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: No, absolutely not.
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  Speaker 3: And in fact, what it is is the federal government
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  Speaker 3: re recognizing how important we are in terms of strategic
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  Speaker 3: positioning for our nation. And it's something territorians have always known.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, ultimately we recognize that it's the territory that
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  Speaker 3: was bombed during the Second World War, you know, and
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  Speaker 3: since then we've always had a great military presence. It's
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: always been part of our society as much as anything else,
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  Speaker 3: you know, with Robertson Barracks coming on, you know, thirty
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  Speaker 3: odd years ago, and now the Marines. It's important to
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  Speaker 3: the territory this defense spend. It just practically makes sense,
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  Speaker 3: and you know it's important for population growth and economic drivers.
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  Speaker 3: So I don't see it as a negative thing at all.
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  Speaker 3: I think it's fantastic and it's long overdue.
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  Speaker 2: Leah.
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  Speaker 1: Are you going to be meeting with the Prime Minister?
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  Speaker 1: I certainly will.
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  Speaker 3: I'm looking forward to it. I caught up with him
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  Speaker 3: probably nearly a month or two ago now and of
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  Speaker 3: course raised particularly issues around crime domestic violence, and those
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  Speaker 3: issues are the most critical, and there'll be the issues
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: that I'll be raising again with the Prime Minister today.
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  Speaker 2: So that will be on your agenda, crime and domestic violence.
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  Speaker 2: Is there anything else you came to talk to them?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely absolutely. I mean, of course, increase in federal spending
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  Speaker 3: into the territory. But I really have to say, you know,
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  Speaker 3: with the between home Builder, the investment out into gas
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  Speaker 3: and the defense spend, is the only money coming into
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  Speaker 3: the territory, and the Gunner government really are riding on
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  Speaker 3: the coattails of this significant investment and hard work that
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  Speaker 3: the federal government's doing. And you know, it's terrific because
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  Speaker 3: it means our economy is slowly ticking over, but it
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  Speaker 3: really begs a question about what is the Gunner government's
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  Speaker 3: plan for the territory. You know, when these other projects
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  Speaker 3: come to their end.
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  Speaker 2: Well, and I guess next week we're going to get
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  Speaker 2: a much fairer and clearer idea, hopefully of how exactly
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: the territory is placed when the budget is handed down.
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  Speaker 2: I'll talk to you a bit further about that in
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  Speaker 2: a moment. I do just want to ask Yesterday there
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  Speaker 2: was a lot of discussion about those rising numbers of
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: positive COVID cases out at Howard Springs fifty three cases
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  Speaker 2: on the last count. That is the most that we've
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  Speaker 2: ever had home in the Northern Territory. Of course, they
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  Speaker 2: are all in the Howard Springs facility being cared for
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  Speaker 2: by the OZMAT team. The Prime Minister has announced the
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  Speaker 2: halting off those flights from India temporarily.
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  Speaker 1: Does that go far enough?
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  Speaker 3: Look, I think that's certainly obviously evidence Lennin and the
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  Speaker 3: right thing to do. We are talking about Australians though,
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  Speaker 3: and we do have a role to play in repatriating Australians.
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  Speaker 3: But the evolving situation, the tragic situation in India, and
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  Speaker 3: you know it needs to be looked at. We're really
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  Speaker 3: concerned at the timing of all of this. Have caused
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  Speaker 3: those fifty plus cases at Howard Springs and I believe
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  Speaker 3: I thought I read in the paper that two were
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  Speaker 3: in hospital, you know, put significant pressure on the system. Now,
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  Speaker 3: we have been fortunate for the whole entire pandemic to
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  Speaker 3: have had the ozmat team out there, you know, holding
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  Speaker 3: that very high standard of quarantine in that facility, and
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  Speaker 3: as a result we have been heralded as the gold standards.
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  Speaker 2: So do you do you think that this handover of
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  Speaker 2: the facility should still happen next week? Do you think
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  Speaker 2: that the management so you think that the ozmat team
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  Speaker 2: needs to stay in there.
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  Speaker 1: Is this something you're going to raise with the.
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  Speaker 3: Prime Minister, certainly, and it's something I raised with him
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  Speaker 3: last time, Katie, And that was a couple of months ago.
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  Speaker 3: I was already raising it directly with the Prime Minister.
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  Speaker 3: So we don't think that Ozmat should be forced to go.
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  Speaker 3: We don't think the territory is able to run that facility,
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  Speaker 3: not through any fault of the hard working people. It's
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  Speaker 3: just the skill level and capability and experience of Ozmat
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  Speaker 3: is unrivaled, and that's exactly why they're the Ozmat team.
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  Speaker 3: And we can't see how the territory government, at this
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  Speaker 3: time of greatest pressure, can all of a sudden take
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  Speaker 3: over that facility. We know a week ago we only
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  Speaker 3: had seventy of the four hundred staff needed to safely
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  Speaker 3: run that facility, and staff are hard to come by
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  Speaker 3: you ask anyone in any industry, and these people don't
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  Speaker 3: disappear magically out of nowhere. So there's significant concerns. We've
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  Speaker 3: obviously had the two PPE breaches last week, so now
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  Speaker 3: is not the time to be playing, you know, Russian
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  Speaker 3: roulette with the quarantine facility.
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  Speaker 1: Go far enough?
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  Speaker 2: I mean the Health Minister's been at pains to say
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  Speaker 2: that obviously the Ozmat team are not going to move
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  Speaker 2: out until it is appropriate for them to do so.
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  Speaker 2: They're going to be using all the same PPE, the
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  Speaker 2: same procedures and protocols she told us on the show yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: Does that not go far enough?
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  Speaker 3: I don't think so, and of course we just have
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  Speaker 3: to take her word for it. I mean, we don't
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  Speaker 3: know what deal has been done. I suspect a large
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  Speaker 3: check has been signed off by Canberra and the Territory
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  Speaker 3: government are taking that glease only reckon.
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  Speaker 2: That's why they want to take over the management here
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  Speaker 2: is for that funding rather than any other reason.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think there's obviously going to be funding attached
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  Speaker 3: to it, and that at a time when our budget
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  Speaker 3: is eight point four billion dollars debt, I think the
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  Speaker 3: Territory government must be looking at that and going we
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  Speaker 3: can't walk past that check. But in the meantime it
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: possibly puts public safety at risk. I mean, we know
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  Speaker 3: that the single biggest risk of getting COVID into our
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  Speaker 3: community is through quarantine when our facility has been exemplary,
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  Speaker 3: and that's with the Department of Health and OSMAT working together.
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  Speaker 3: So I just don't know why, at our most critical point,
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  Speaker 3: that that heightened point of COVID cases, we would then
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  Speaker 3: want to completely change the formula. You know, it just
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  Speaker 3: makes no sense to me, It makes no sense to
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  Speaker 3: anyone I speak to Katie now Lea.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously, as I mentioned before the budget, it is going
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  Speaker 2: to be handed down next week. Next Tuesday is the
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  Speaker 2: day that the Chief Minister, who is now the Treasurer
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  Speaker 2: as well, is going to be handing down that budget.
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  Speaker 2: What level of detail are you hoping to see given
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  Speaker 2: the fact that last year it was a COVID year
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  Speaker 2: and some of those numbers that came out were very fluid,
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  Speaker 2: So what level of detail are you hoping for here?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the good thing about this year is we'll be
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  Speaker 3: able to compare it to last year. So last year
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  Speaker 3: we had some machinery changes and everything was all a
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  Speaker 3: bit tricky if you ask me, Katie. So we'll at
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  Speaker 3: least be able to make some strong comparisons and understand
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  Speaker 3: where government is tracking. So that's what we will be
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  Speaker 3: looking at. Of course, the government has had a bit
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: of a windfall with some extra GSTRE it wasn't expecting,
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  Speaker 3: and we certainly think they will be holding that up
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  Speaker 3: as some sort of pinnacle of budget restraint, even though
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  Speaker 3: it's not. It's just more GST that they weren't factoring in.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, today we've had the Chief Minister announce another
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  Speaker 3: type of commissioner, another highly paid public servant in the
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  Speaker 3: Infrastructure commissioner that takes our brand new commissioners, and not
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: much more detail than that. So if the Gunner government
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: continue to break its own you know, pay freeze and
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  Speaker 3: hiring freeze by continuing to employ a high level public
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  Speaker 3: servants to do the government's job for them. I can't
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  Speaker 3: see how our budget is going to be in any
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  Speaker 3: shape that Territorian's expected to be in by next week.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we'll all be keeping a very close eye on
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: that budget and checking out that level of detail when
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: it comes through. So next Wednesday or next Tuesday, obviously
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  Speaker 2: the Chief Minister hands down his when do you hand
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: down your budget?
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  Speaker 1: Reply?
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: I think mine's the next day, Katie, So I get
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: twenty four hours to digest that.
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  Speaker 1: Ye large leads.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a very busy week next week
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  Speaker 2: because not only is the Center for National Resilience changing
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: overhands from the Ozmat team to int Health, the budget
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: is being handed down, that legislation is willing to christ.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: We haven't seen it yet. It's going to be so
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: still haven't seen it.
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  Speaker 3: I haven't seen it, and I haven't heard any commitment
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: from Chief Minister that his crime legislation is going to
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: actually be dealt with this sittings. Remember maybe two or
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: three weeks ago, Katie, he was on your show and
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: he said, oh, we haven't decided that yet. Well, how
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: long does it take to decide whether you're going to
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: deal with this issue next week on.
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  Speaker 2: Aleia, what are you saying you actually don't think that
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: they're going to introduce this legislation next week.
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: I think they'll introduce it, but are we going to
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: debate it and pass it next week? I mean, it's
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: a very straightforward question.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Yes or no.
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  Speaker 3: You've had weeks and weeks and weeks to work it out.
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  Speaker 3: You cannot tell me that the Chief Minister doesn't know
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: today whether or not that legislation is going to be
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: going through and being implemented next week. It's entirely the
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: ball is entirely in his court. Our legislation is also
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: up for debate, and I certainly hope that we'll be
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: seeing the Chief Minister and his team back what we propose.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: Well, it's something that, no doubt we'll discuss on the
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: week that was this Friday. Leaf and oki Aa. Always
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: good to catch up with you. Thanks so much for
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: your time.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Take care