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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, as you've heard all throughout the morning, the Deputy
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Michael Cormack joined us on the show earlier
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: this morning, and well, he said that he would guarantee
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: these two seats in Parliament. If you miss that interview,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: take a listen and there will be there will be.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Here's the assurance, two seats for the Northern territory going forward.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: So you are guaranteeing that we will have those two
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: House of Reps seats. We will maintain those underline it
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: and put a couple of exclamation marks after it if
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: you like. Excellent, I will be doing that. So joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now is Senator Sam McMahon.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Senator.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: How are you? Yeah, really well, Senator. How exactly is
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: this going to work?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? Exciting news, Katie, really exciting news. This is something
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: I've been working them for a very long time. You
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: can probably hear in the background. I've got the bills ringing.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: I'm going to have to go very shortly. Yes. Basically,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: as you know, we've had the build which was co
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: sponsored by myself, some of the mats and labor as
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: a private Senator's bill to ensure two seats. Now, as
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I've said several times, there are reasons why that was
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: never going to be successful, and one of those reasons
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: is that it's the way it was drafted, it would
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: be very susceptible to legal challenge. What I've managed to
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: do is convince the government, and I met with Mattias
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Corman yesterday and also Michael McCormack. We've convinced the governments
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: that the government will put forward their own legislation, and
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: this will be after the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: which is handing up its report into this issue next week.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: All details of that report will be considered and then
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: the Government will provide its own legislation which will be
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: introduced into firstly the House of Reps and then come
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: through there, be voted on and come through into the Senate.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: But it will guarantee that we keep those two seats
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  Speaker 1: in Parliament now and into the future.
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  Speaker 2: I have had one hundred percent guarantees from the government
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  Speaker 2: that that's what will happen.
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  Speaker 1: You must be feeling pretty relieved.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Very very relieved, and you know, very very grateful to
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  Speaker 2: all my colleagues that have helped with this, all my
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Senate colleagues and Barnaby Joyce in the House have been
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: fantastic in championing this cause. And I'm just over the
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: moon that we've finally got this happening, and it's going
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: to happen well.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Senator Sam McMahon, no doubt you and I will speak
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: again in the coming days, but just to really reiterate
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: this for Territorians listening right now, this is guaranteed we
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: are going to maintain those two seats and the government
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: will support it, yep.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And we probably have some other exciting announcements to
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: come out next week after the Joint Standing Committee finalizes
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: its report as well, Katie, and I'll be happy to
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: talk to you about them when that's done.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: That'd be great. Senator Sam McMahon, I can hear those
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: bells ringing, but I just want to say that you
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: and Melanderie McCarthy and the other representatives, but particularly your Melanderie,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: I think it's been really great to see the way
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: that politics has been put aside in this situation. You
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: guys have worked together in a bipartisan approach and Territorians
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: appreciate it absolutely.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: And I fully appreciate her support and her help on
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: this matter as well. She's been fantastic too.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Good on your senator, thanks so much for your time today.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: That is Senator Sam McMahon there and really just explaining
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: to us how it's going to work. She said, she
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: is one hundred percent confident that this is going to happen,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: and the government is going to be drafting their own legislation,
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: but it will be guaranteed that we will have those
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: two seats in parliament.