Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland speaks about what supports businesses are getting as they deal with crime, and the ongoing stress of Covid mandates

Transcript

Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland speaks about what supports businesses are getting as they deal with crime, and the ongoing stress of Covid mandates · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Twenty minutes after nine o'clock.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: Now. A little bit earlier this week, we caught up
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: with the Independent Member for Ara Lewin, Robin Lamley, and
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: spoke pretty extensively about some of the issues that they're
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: experiencing in Central Australia, indeed in Alice Springs when it
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: comes to commercial crime and also house break ins. But
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  Speaker 2: we also know that data from the Northern Territory Police
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Foreign Emergency Services, so they released their crime statistics on
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Friday last week and astonishingly it showed that in Central
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Australia those break ins increased by more than eighty percent.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: I think that you all probably heard me reading that
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  Speaker 2: out on the show on Monday, and the surprise even
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  Speaker 2: from me as I was reading it that those crime
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  Speaker 2: stats had seen such a massive increase when it comes
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: to those commercial premises and the impact that that is
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  Speaker 2: obviously having on businesses not only in Central Australia but
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  Speaker 2: also here in Darwin. Just yesterday we read out for
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: you that story which had emerged about premises in Palmerston
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  Speaker 2: will Two. Actually, I think that we're broken into it
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: is an ongoing issue and we see that calls are
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: now being made for the government to further support some
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: of those regional businesses as those stats show commercial break
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: ins are going up. Now joining me on the line
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  Speaker 2: right now is the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce,
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  Speaker 2: Greg Island.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Greg.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Greg.
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  Speaker 2: Crime around the territory, it does seem to be something
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  Speaker 2: that we talk about a lot on this show right
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  Speaker 2: around the place, but in Central Australia at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: in Alice Springs, it's having a real impact, isn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie. It's top of mind for pretty much every
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  Speaker 3: business and I think every citizen of Central Australia.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Now I understand that the Chamber has released a statement
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: that has really disagreed with recent comments made by the
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Chief Minister that finding jobs in Alice Springs is the
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  Speaker 2: biggest issue for the community. Greg, what would you say
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  Speaker 2: is the biggest issue right now?
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  Speaker 3: Katy has regional committees throughout the territory and they are
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: populated by our general membership and they help guide us
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: in our decision making. It's fair to say that pretty
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: much every conversation that we have with them at the
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: moment is around crime and the impacts of crime. Businesses
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: are seeing their excesses increase to ten thousand dollars being
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: broken into multiple times in a given period. They're losing sleep,
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: they're frustrated. It just doesn't really get any worse than this,
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  Speaker 3: and it is consuming a considerable amount of our time
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: which we would rather spend working on killing those job
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  Speaker 3: vacancies that are also there as well.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and you know this is the thing.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's a few issues you know that obviously
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: are being dealt with around the territory. But as you've
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: touched on, then if you're a small business, let's say,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: and you wind up with a ten thousand dollars excess
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: after your window gets broken again, it has a real impact.
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Absolutely. The physical cost is one aspet that it's the
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: loss of sleep. The fear of what you're going to
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  Speaker 3: find every day when you get up and go to
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  Speaker 3: work is playing on people's minds and it's doing a
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  Speaker 3: lot of damage emotionally, mentally and obviously to their bank balances.
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  Speaker 2: Greg what are those businesses firstly in Alice Springs and
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  Speaker 2: Central Australia saying right now.
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  Speaker 3: They are just very much at their limits of what
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  Speaker 3: they can cope with at this point in time. We're
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  Speaker 3: doing everything we can. We've formed working groups, We're working
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: closely with Minister Manison and her team, closely with the
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: senior police down there. It's just one of those issues
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  Speaker 3: that just doesn't seem to be making any headway. So
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  Speaker 3: frustration is probably top of the list, and.
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  Speaker 2: Then when you sort of move up to the top end,
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  Speaker 2: is crime. Is crime still something that's being raised with
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  Speaker 2: the Chamber as well from businesses up here.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely this week I've spoken with at least two members
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  Speaker 3: that have been recently impacted, very much the same feelings,
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  Speaker 3: but probably not quite the same volume up here at
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: this point in time, but comparatively, it's still very much
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: a problem, and I.
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  Speaker 2: Think we all understand, you know that it is a
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  Speaker 2: complex issue. There's no sort of easy solution to these things.
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  Speaker 2: But what would the Chamber like to see from the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory government at this point?
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  Speaker 3: I think participating in the conversation is our first point,
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  Speaker 3: and that has been occurring with our working group meetings,
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  Speaker 3: getting some regular dialogue with business about making sure that
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  Speaker 3: they really do understand what the impacts are. It is
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: a long term problem. We understand legislation changes are going
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: to take time. This will take an effort across many
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  Speaker 3: different levels of government. That's all complex, but let's just
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  Speaker 3: make sure we're talking about it and keeping everyone's viewpoints.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Greg, are they meeting with you guys? Are
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: they meeting with you to hear these concerns.
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  Speaker 3: We have a regular working group meetings and we form
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  Speaker 3: that working group in conjunction Minister Madison and her team
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  Speaker 3: is involved. Police are also involved in that process. But
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  Speaker 3: we would just like to see that stepped up a
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  Speaker 3: little bit and almost to a daily conversation at this
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  Speaker 3: point with all the concerns that are being raised with us.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, right, it's obviously reached quite a boiling point for
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  Speaker 2: some members if it's something that you're looking at trying
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  Speaker 2: to do daily.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we would just like to see police engaging directly
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  Speaker 3: with business, making sure everyone's clear on the options available
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  Speaker 3: to them, how the victims of crime support works and
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  Speaker 3: doesn't work, making sure that everybody understands what can be done,
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  Speaker 3: and collectively working towards a solution.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Now, Greg, Obviously, the other big topic that's been discussed
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  Speaker 2: throughout this week is masks. Are they going to be
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  Speaker 2: lifted and no longer needed inside various indoor venues around
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  Speaker 2: the territory. Also the check ins and how they impact
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  Speaker 2: various businesses. What is the chambers thoughts in this space?
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  Speaker 2: Is it time to get rid of them asks and
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  Speaker 2: stop checking in?
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  Speaker 3: Well, we've certainly heard the Hospitality NT very loudly on
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: this particular subject. It clearly is impacting on their members
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  Speaker 3: the most. We're supportive of that. It's all about the
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  Speaker 3: value and what it provides to the solution. If it's
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: not really adding any value any longer, we're seeing that
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  Speaker 3: being the case in Eastern States, we tend to lag
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: behind them by a few weeks. So let's hope that
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  Speaker 3: the practical side of check in and masks, if it's
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: no longer running value, it disappears as quickly as possible.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: What about the mandate for that third vaccination?
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  Speaker 2: How is that all being sort of managed by the
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: various businesses around the territory right now?
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  Speaker 3: Surprisingly, Katie, we're hearing very little from business about this
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  Speaker 3: particular issue. I think most people are vaccinated and I
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  Speaker 3: guess can continue with that level of protection for themselves.
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: What we are hearing from business is that the close
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: contact definitions and the requirement for seven days isolation is
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  Speaker 3: having a impact on workforce. So many people are now
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: taking that week off just so happens then that their
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: children come home with the virus and ultimately they have
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: to quarantine for even longer. So we're finding that extending
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: up to fourteen days, even three weeks, people being absent
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: from the workplace, and.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: What is that meaning for some businesses?
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  Speaker 3: It's a real struggle, particularly if it's your head chef
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: or a key staff member. You really are struggling with
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: a redundancy there to provide the service that you would
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: normally offer. So it is very much earning businesses. We're
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: not suggesting that people should come to work if are
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: seek but certainly we need to consider how that close
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: contact is working and what we can do about getting
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: people back to work soon as practically possible.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon there's been some real confusion around that
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: close contact stuff and people not being one hundred percentual what.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: They do and don't need to do.
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  Speaker 2: Have you had much clarification from the Chose Office in
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: that space.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: Our understanding is that definition hasn't changed recently at all.
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  Speaker 3: We're seeing it slightly shift, particularly overseas, and we're looking
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  Speaker 3: for National Cabinet to make some hopefully national changes around
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  Speaker 3: that definition. We think that it's an opportunity to get
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: people back to work sooner and that's what's really going
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  Speaker 3: to help business well.
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  Speaker 2: Greg Ireland, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce here
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory. We really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Talk to you again soon
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: My pleasure, Katie, thank you, thank you.