Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Owner of This is Aboriginal Art Venita Poblocki say crime and anti-social behaviour has drastically reduced in Todd Mall since Lhere Artepe started doing patrols

Transcript

Owner of This is Aboriginal Art Venita Poblocki say crime and anti-social behaviour has drastically reduced in Todd Mall since Lhere Artepe started doing patrols · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We often talk about the issues of crime that we've
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: seen in Alice Springs and you know, some of the
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: real concerns that locals have had there. But we are
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: hearing at the moment about one of the solutions. You
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: might recall we caught up with the CEO of Tourism
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Central Australia, Daniel Rochford, last week and he'd mentioned the
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: fact that the patrols by Lura Tippa are having a
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: big impact. Now joining me on the line to tell
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: us a little bit more about the situation is well.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: One of the owners of.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: An Aboriginal art gallery there. It's in the Todd Mall.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Her name is Vanita Poblocki. Good morning to you, Vanita, Hi,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: good morning, lovely to have.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: You on the show. Vanita, firstly, can you tell us a.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Little bit about where exactly you are based in the
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: mall in Alice?
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  Speaker 3: So where based in the mall down the southern end,
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  Speaker 3: kind of diagonally opposite the epilogue bar.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Right, I do know exactly where that is. It's a
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: beautiful area of the mall. How have things been over
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the last couple of years for you guys?
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Firstly, last couple of years have been a little bit
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: up and down. Certainly over the most recent Christmas period
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: things were probably in one of the most one of
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: the worst states we had experienced in terms of incidents
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: in the mall. But I'm happy to say that in
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: our experience is someone who lived in the mall. I
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  Speaker 3: think as the only people who live in the mall
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: and work in the mall. So I am here twenty
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: four to seven, seven days a week. The last since
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: late February, things have been incredibly quiet in terms of incidents.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: So Anita, talk us through exactly what has really seen
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: that change, Because you know, we've spoken so much about
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the various issues in Central Australia and Dean Alice Springs.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: We've all seen a different vision emerge of massive groups
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  Speaker 1: of young people doing the wrong thing.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: So what's changed over that period of time.
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  Speaker 3: Look, what I put it down to is Luratippa is
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  Speaker 3: the luratip group. The toos coming out and patrolling have
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: made a massive difference. We have never experienced it so
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: quiet in the evenings and in the afternoons. It's not
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  Speaker 3: to say that every moment is going to be incident free,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: but it is radically different and we are surprised as well.
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: But these toos are doing a fantastic job patrolling them
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  Speaker 3: all and de escalating any situations that are erupting and
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  Speaker 3: deterring ones that are about to kick off.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that is so good to hear.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Like honestly, I think that, you know, for a lot
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: of people listening this morning, they're going to think that
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  Speaker 1: sounds fantastic. What kind of strategies are they using? And
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  Speaker 1: from what you've seen, Like you said, you're in a
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  Speaker 1: really unique situation where not only do you have a
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  Speaker 1: business in the mall, but you live in them all
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  Speaker 1: as well.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, try so. Look, you know, and I have no
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: affiliation with these guys by the way, just literally, you know,
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  Speaker 3: as a citizen of Alice Springs and what I see
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: in a business owner of Alice Springs. I see them
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  Speaker 3: patrol regularly up and down the mall, either by foot
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: or by car. I've seen them assist police when things
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: are when there is an issue. Essentially, I've seen them
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: assist police and their presence seems to take away a
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  Speaker 3: lot of the tension in that immediate situation that might
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: be happening. They talk in language to the offenders or
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: the alleged defenders, and it really has a completely different
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: feel about it. I've seen them independently outside of the
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  Speaker 3: police as well. For example, one evening, there was a
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  Speaker 3: looks to me like an intoxicated group of adults wanting
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: to come into the mall in the southern end. The
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: lriative of men literally stood in a line across the
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: mall and told them in language and in English to
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: go home and did not let these men into the mall.
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  Speaker 3: It was really quite phenomenal, and it was done not
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: an aggressive way, but in a way again that really
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  Speaker 3: is calming, that is on the same level and de
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: escalate a situation. So it has a different feel and
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  Speaker 3: a different impact perhaps than some previous interactions.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: And Vanita, tell me, you know, from your perspective talking
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  Speaker 1: to the other retailers, the other operators in the mall,
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  Speaker 1: what are people saying you know about some of these
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  Speaker 1: tactics and the total de escalation that you are seeing
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  Speaker 1: In some cases.
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  Speaker 3: I think we're all benefiting from it. It's been much
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  Speaker 3: easier to operate a business in many ways. I think
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  Speaker 3: we've all seen quite a change, but especially us in
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  Speaker 3: the evenings, we've seen a change in terms of the
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  Speaker 3: behavior So what we're really calling out for is for
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  Speaker 3: the other springs communit to come back to the mall,
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  Speaker 3: to engage in life in the all, to engage in community,
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  Speaker 3: to you know, support local business, because I'm pretty sure
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  Speaker 3: you're going to see quite a radical change when you're here, and.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: It must be tough, you know, in terms of tourism,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: not only with locals visiting them all, but in terms
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: of tourism, how have things been for you guys when
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: you talk about trade.
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  Speaker 3: Trade has been very low this year. It's disappointing. I
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: think everyone had a great year last year after COVID,
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: you know, consumer confidence was up across the board across Australia.
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  Speaker 3: This year, obviously, they're the confluence of impacting factors including
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: interest rates and so on, and negative press has certainly
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: resulted in cancelation booking, tourism booking cancelations, conference cancelations, things
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  Speaker 3: like that. So tourism is definitely down this year, which
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  Speaker 3: is sad to see because from my opinion, it's never
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: been from a crime perspective, it's never been safer in
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  Speaker 3: them all. And I've lived here since twenty and seventeen,
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  Speaker 3: so seen a lot of ups and down in that
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  Speaker 3: but never experienced it like this.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well that is really good to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Honestly, it's so pleasing to hear that you've got a
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: situation where these patrols are making a massive difference and
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: you know, look, honestly, who'd have thought that it would
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: make such a big difference.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, look, I know there's been previous patrols before,
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  Speaker 3: and look, you'd have to speak to and I know
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  Speaker 3: you did speak to the Lura typic guy. But whatever
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  Speaker 3: approach they're using so far, it's just, you know, it's
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  Speaker 3: just so pleasing to see, as you say, it's kind
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  Speaker 3: of the community coming together on both sides. They're working
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  Speaker 3: together to you know, to address a problem that impacts
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  Speaker 3: us all and so far, you know, it's been really successful.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: And Vanita, we did hear that there had been some
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: concerns from locals about this talk about opening Todd Mall
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: to traffic after plans were revealed in government documents.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Well, that it could actually happen, all while.
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  Speaker 1: The council said it would conduct public consultation first, Has
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: there been much talk on the ground about this and
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  Speaker 1: what are people are saying?
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, it's disappointing to see that that was gazetted.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: Extremely disappointing. I think most of the traders in the
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: mall are against the idea of the removal of the wall.
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: We certainly invite the revitalization of the mall, which I
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  Speaker 3: understand the funds were given for, but not turning it
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  Speaker 3: into a road. From our perspective, Look, the Todd Mall
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  Speaker 3: is the hardened soul of this community. It is the lifeblood.
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  Speaker 3: It is where people can gather safely with family and friends,
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  Speaker 3: both locals and tourists, not have to worry about speeding
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  Speaker 3: cars going by, not have to worry about ram raids
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  Speaker 3: at night, things like that, And you know it's every
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  Speaker 3: community deserves a central gathering space. We don't need an
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: road because we don't have traffic problems in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 3: Another road is not going to solve anything. It's simply
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  Speaker 3: going to take away the core that makes Alice Springs
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  Speaker 3: the community. And we need a sense of community. Now
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  Speaker 3: we've been fragmented for quite a while. There's a lot
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  Speaker 3: of issues we've all been battling against. But to see
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  Speaker 3: the mall on a weekend buzzing for the bike riders
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  Speaker 3: full of tourists, you know, families in a safe space
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  Speaker 3: without speeding traffic going by is really what Alice Springs
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  Speaker 3: is a major attraction of Alice Springs, and I think
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  Speaker 3: if you take away the mall, you are simply turning
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  Speaker 3: Alice Springs into a location rather than a destination. And
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  Speaker 3: it's really key that we remain a unique destination like
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  Speaker 3: we are and like people. You know, this is why
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  Speaker 3: people come to Alice Springs. It's a bit of an
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  Speaker 3: oasis in the mast desert. It's quirky, it's something unique
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  Speaker 3: and we should all be proud of that. And if
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  Speaker 3: we just have another road, it's not going to achieve anything.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: It seems bizarre to me, like I haven't been to
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  Speaker 1: Alis for a few years, but I used to work
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  Speaker 1: in the mall many many years ago, and you think, like,
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  Speaker 1: at different times there's been beautiful markets on a Sunday
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  Speaker 1: morning and various different activities to draw people into the mall.
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  Speaker 1: I understand that you know that you have been grappling
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  Speaker 1: with those issues of crime, but it doesn't I wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: have thought that that then sort of means that you
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  Speaker 1: want to put a road through the mall.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely not. It's totally counterintuitive and illogical. The more people
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  Speaker 3: that are in the gathering space, enjoying the weekends, enjoying
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  Speaker 3: the evenings, enduring the daytime, the less likely there are
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  Speaker 3: to be incidents. If you just turn it into a
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  Speaker 3: street like any other street, it's not going to attract people.
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  Speaker 3: We're not going to have that lifeblood or a sense
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  Speaker 3: of community, and it's certainly not going to resolve any
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  Speaker 3: issues with crime. As far as I'm concerned now, what
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  Speaker 3: is happening with Lura Tippa has been excellent, and we
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  Speaker 3: need to look at things for the community to come
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  Speaker 3: together and work together successfully and not tear up a
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  Speaker 3: central meeting place, our only meeting place in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 3: It's just ludicrous. And I'm really worried that this, you know, this,
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  Speaker 3: you know, could be the nail in the coffin for
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  Speaker 3: Alice Springs and we'll just be a service town like
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: anywhere else.
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  Speaker 1: So where have Where's it been left? You know, in
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: terms of this decision around them all?
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  Speaker 2: Where is it at?
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  Speaker 1: And you know, I'm assuming that you will all still
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: have your opportunity to have your voices heard.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: Well, look, I hope we do. We are told that
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: the tender was awarded to Jensen's plus, and we hope
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  Speaker 3: that they will be consulting with us and taking our
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: concerns very seriously. I know the mayor at this point
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  Speaker 3: is just saying, look, it's just one idea, but the
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  Speaker 3: fact that it was gazetted makes me think that things
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: have been progressed a lot further underhand, and it's just,
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: you know, it's really I guess when we found out
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  Speaker 3: this news shaken any confidence in any clear communication that's
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: happening with business owners at the moment. So we're all
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: a little bit shaken by that. I know the mayor
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: did write that you know, it shouldn't be there and
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: how to you know it shouldn't have been gazetted, but
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: at the same time, it obviously came from somewhere. Yeah, well,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: so it does make me lose confidence in their communication
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: with us and the fact that we might be being taken
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: seriously in our concerns, not just as business traders, but
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: the whole community. The whole community of Alice Spring should
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: be concerned about this. This is something that will affect
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: us all.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Nita, we will certainly see what more we
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: can find out about it. Thank you so much for
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: having a chat with us this morning. It's really good
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: to catch up with you and to hear a little
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: bit more about the patrols being conducted by Laura Tippa
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: and the impact that they are having.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: Okay, thank you so much for that.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Thank you