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Katie Woolf spoke with Shadow Minster for Tourism Marie-Clare Boothby · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now is the opposition
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: spokesperson for Tourism, Mary Claire booth Be Good morning to you.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, and good morning to everyone tuning in.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming in this morning, Marie Claire,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: what is the concern here?
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: So, Katie, we've heard from several sources that there have
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: been job cuts out of the Territory Wildlife Park. As
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: an example, two of the technical stream positions have been scrapped,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: and we know that three staff members have left in
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: the past two months. We have also heard from credible
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: sources that the Monsoon Forest will be permanently closed. Emis
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: have been removed, and dingos and buffaloes will be removed.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: And what we have now heard from not only the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Chief minutes earlier this morning, but as you mentioned, the
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Minister for Tourism, is that they cannot rule that out.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: They have not answered your questions, which is code for whoops,
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: we've been sprung.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Do you reckon though?
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Do you think that maybe the Wildlife Park has had
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: to make some sort of cutbacks due to the COVID situation?
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Could it just be that, Katie, this is what nine
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: billion dollars worth of debt looks like it means that
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: when we have something that needs our support, this wonderful
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: tourism attraction and something that families love so much here
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: in the territory, and we need to put money into it,
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: it means it can't.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: It's not there.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: It's not in the cupboard when we go to find
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: that money.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Have you had the opportunity to talk to any of
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: the staff out there. I know that some of them
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: obviously wouldn't be overly keen to, you know, to talk
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: to the opposition about it, because they'd be worried about
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: about their job security.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: And that kind of thing.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: But have you had the opportunity to talk to anyone
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: and what have they sort of been saying, Katie.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: The staff out there, in some cases are being forced
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: to lie about the exhibits that have been closed down.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: So we are not going to be able to throw
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: any of those people under the bus. These are people
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: who are locals that are working there, that rely on
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: their jobs and it's up to the government to come
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: clean and give them certainty about their roles out there
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: and ensure that to territorians that these are is it
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: an attraction that's not going to be closed and it's
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: not going to be moved into Darwin.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: So, Mary Claire, why think they're lying?
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Why do you think they're being forced to lie about
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: their jobs or could it be a situation where they're
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: actually telling the truth.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Well, that's what we want the government to come clean
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: on is why are these people who are working so
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: hard for the Territory Wildlife Park and the Territorians being
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: forced to not be able to say anything. I mean,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: the government shouldn't put anybody in that position.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: So what's your big concern here? Are you really worried
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: that they're sort of making plans they're cutting things back
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: because you are concerned that they're really going.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: To close the Wildlife Park.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: I mean it seems like it would be an absurd
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: thing to do.
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: It's a real territory icon.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, Katie, and so was Windows on the Wetlands and
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: that closed down too because this government was unable to
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: run a park of its nature. So what sort of
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: confidence have we got in the government to be able
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: to continue to run the Territory Wildlife Park.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Well, Paul from Humpty Doo just called through as well
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: and said Window on the Wetland, I mean, are you
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: doing anything in that space to try to make sure
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: that the government makes some moves window on the wetland
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: to ensure that it does get to being back to
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: operational again.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: We asked about windows in the wetlands in Parliament, Katie,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: and that was some months ago, and so far we
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: have had absolute crickets.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Now I just want to ask, I mean, is this
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: do you really think that this is a situation with
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: the Wildlife Park where they are planning to shut it
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: down the government or is this just a matter of
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: political game playing before a by election?
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: And that's all we want the government to come clean on.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: You know, it is such an important icon here in
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory and we can't have people in the
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: community and staff of the Territory, Wilife Park and other
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: separate sources saying that there's going to be closed and
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: that things are changing there. There's job cuts, there's the
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Monsoon forest that's going to be closing. Emis have been
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: removed in gooes and buffaloes have been removed. We can't
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: have this kind of uncertainty and we need the government
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: to come out and put back the certainty for territorians.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, the Minister for Tourism did say this morning
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: that they've got no plans to close it down.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: I mean, is that enough.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: No, she bobbed it off to the Minister for Parks.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: So no, that's not enough. We need the Chief Minister
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: and the Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Parks
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: to come out and clearly say what are the plans
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: for the future. The future at the moment is uncertain
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: and we need them to be absolutely clear because what
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: we've seen in the past is they say one thing
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: and they do something else.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Well, Murray claar Boothby, there is no doubt that it
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: is a location that a lot of Territorians really love.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: I know that the school students go out there for
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: school camp and that kind of thing. So it is
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: something that we will certainly keep an eye on and
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: continue to ask about. We'll see if we're able to
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: get the Minister for Parks on the show and find
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: out a bit more.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much for your time this morning.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: That's Murray claar Boothby there, who is indeed the Shadow
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Minister for Tourism.