Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland expects an increase in award wages will have little impact on Territory businesses as they traditional pay above the award level

Transcript

NT Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland expects an increase in award wages will have little impact on Territory businesses as they traditional pay above the award level · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: cash rate by another quarter of a percentage point for
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: a second month in a row. The official interest rate
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: is now sitting at four point one percent. It's a
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: level which has not been seen since twenty twelve.
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  Speaker 2: The RBA Board.
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  Speaker 1: Is concerned that it's taking too long to get inflation
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  Speaker 1: under control, with further rate hikes likely.
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  Speaker 2: Unfortunately, so there's no doubt that it.
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  Speaker 1: Does have a big impact in so many ways right
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  Speaker 1: across the nation.
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  Speaker 2: But indeed here in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is the CEO of
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  Speaker 1: the NT Chamber of Commerce, Greg Island.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Greg.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. It seems like it's groundhold day in
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  Speaker 3: we're telling about the same subject in this month.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, and this is the thing.
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  Speaker 1: It's just it's a kick in the guts for so
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  Speaker 1: many Australians, but for a lot of Territorians who are
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: going to be finding it tough with yet another rate rise.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it looks certainly, Katie, it's one that's going to
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  Speaker 3: continue to plague us for a little while to come.
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  Speaker 3: It would seem based on the sentiment that we heard yesterday,
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  Speaker 3: so I think we can expect some more before I
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  Speaker 3: feel that they've got on top of this inflation issue.
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  Speaker 1: Now how business is going at the moment, because there's
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  Speaker 1: no doubt that you know, there's been that discussion about
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  Speaker 1: as those rates rise that obviously you're spending contracts.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look at that's exactly what the RBA is intending,
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  Speaker 3: that that spending is reduced, and that will happen, no doubt.
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  Speaker 3: It does take some time for those rate rises to
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  Speaker 3: be reflected in people's hip pockets, but it's certainly going
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  Speaker 3: to be coming and people will be doing a tougher
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  Speaker 3: From a business perspective, I think many businesses out there
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  Speaker 3: are running on a fairly empty tank at the moment,
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  Speaker 3: and this is certainly not going to help with the
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  Speaker 3: additional increases in the cost of doing business for a
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  Speaker 3: transport be it electricity, and internally wages with the recent
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  Speaker 3: award increases across the board. So it's going to continue
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  Speaker 3: to be a tough time for business, and we've got
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  Speaker 3: to really look forward to some of these projects that
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  Speaker 3: are being touted. There's a thing that's going to underpin
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  Speaker 3: our economy for the next decade or so.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we are all certainly hoping that we do see
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  Speaker 1: a bit of a turnaround. Hey, on those award wage increases,
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  Speaker 1: what are business is telling you locally? Is that going
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  Speaker 1: to have a bit of a pinch on those businesses?
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  Speaker 1: I know it's always a great thing for those working
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  Speaker 1: and set to receive that pay rise, but it can
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  Speaker 1: have a big impact for those trying to run a business.
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  Speaker 3: It can, and I think to a certain extent, Hey,
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  Speaker 3: there are sectors of our business community that are insulated
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  Speaker 3: from this because these increases only impact on the very
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  Speaker 3: base rates in certain sectors in the territory. It's got
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  Speaker 3: a history of paying above award wages in a lot
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  Speaker 3: of cases. But there will certainly be some of the
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  Speaker 3: some sectors that are impacted by it, and those costs
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  Speaker 3: will get past from the consumers and that will certainly
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: help drive that inflation rate up as well. So that
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  Speaker 3: itself is a bit of a circular issue.
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  Speaker 1: Greg there has been national discussion that we could be
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  Speaker 1: heading for a recession.
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  Speaker 2: Are you concerned that you.
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  Speaker 1: Know, as these interest rates continue to rise, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: with what's happening on that national scale, that that could
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  Speaker 1: be the situation that we're headed for.
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  Speaker 3: Look, I'm not hearing that that's a major risk at
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  Speaker 3: this point. I think we will still see some increases,
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  Speaker 3: But we also are fortunate enough that this seems to
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  Speaker 3: be considerable amount of activity continuing in the business community.
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  Speaker 3: So let's hope that they balance each other out and
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  Speaker 3: we don't fall into a recession. But I think we're
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  Speaker 3: interested some challenging year or two while we work for
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  Speaker 3: some of these activities to really ramp up.
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  Speaker 1: How are our unemployment rates going here in the territory.
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  Speaker 3: We're still running in very low unemployment rates. Participation is
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  Speaker 3: the key. The more people participating in the current workforce,
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  Speaker 3: the better, and that really does mean accessing those that
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  Speaker 3: aren't necessarily fully participating, and that many many women out
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  Speaker 3: there could certainly increase their activities in the workforce and
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  Speaker 3: were strongly encouraging business to do that. Indigenous Australinians are
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  Speaker 3: very much on that list of getting into the workforce
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  Speaker 3: and staying there, so that would really help the local
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  Speaker 3: economy and also, I guess socially impact on us as well.
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  Speaker 1: You mentioned then, women, Why is it that we're trying
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  Speaker 1: to do We not have enough women in the workforce
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  Speaker 1: at the moment in the territory or are we what's
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  Speaker 1: going on there?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Look, it's one of those perennial issues where females
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  Speaker 3: absolutely have a place in the workforce, and I think
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  Speaker 3: in the chamber here we lead by example having something
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  Speaker 3: like sixty or seventy percent female in our ol woman
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  Speaker 3: based So it's certainly one that we are fully supportive
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  Speaker 3: of and really encouraging people to participate while they can.
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  Speaker 3: It's obviously voluntary with some respects to those decisions, and
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  Speaker 3: then businesses certainly keen to include everybody where possible.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, before I let you go, we had been talking
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  Speaker 1: earlier in the week about the hotel occupancy rates being
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  Speaker 1: down on pre pandemic times.
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  Speaker 2: How are we looking at how are.
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  Speaker 1: We gearing up as we've hit the dry season?
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  Speaker 3: Now, Yeah, it's an interesting time, Katie. Hotel occupancy has
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  Speaker 3: still had its challenges, but I'm hearing that there are
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  Speaker 3: some solid bookings coming up into the future, so I
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  Speaker 3: think people are really looking for some of those major
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  Speaker 3: event activities to be coming to the territory, So looking
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  Speaker 3: forward to the VH Supercars, the dar and Cup Carnival
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  Speaker 3: and all those type of activities. So it looks like
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  Speaker 3: this season's been delayed somewhat, but still looks like it
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  Speaker 3: will be pretty solid.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think everybody's hoping, so that is for sure,
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  Speaker 1: particularly you know, some of those those working in the
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  Speaker 1: hotel industry. I know we'd caught up a little earlier
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  Speaker 1: in the week with the national body who had said
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  Speaker 1: that there'd been some real worries, but a lot of
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  Speaker 1: that was also related to flights.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I think flights are still a challenge. We've
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  Speaker 3: got some rehabilitation works happening at the airport with the
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: runway reconstruction, and that'll have some impacts. But what we're
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  Speaker 3: also seeing is a lot more stock in hotel rooms
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  Speaker 3: available because the workforce is now there to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that we've got one hundred percent capability with the hotels.
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  Speaker 3: So when we can do the comparison that it certainly
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  Speaker 3: does look compared to last year, the numbers are down,
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  Speaker 3: but there is also more availability, so hopefully that drives
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  Speaker 3: a better picture in terms of the value proposition for
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  Speaker 3: people taking those rooms.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, so you reckon there is just as many
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  Speaker 1: people traveling here, but it just doesn't look as though
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  Speaker 1: that's the case because there's more rooms open, there's.
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: Certainly more opportunity for people to get accommodation. Whether the
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  Speaker 3: numbers are exactly where they comparable to last year is debatable,
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  Speaker 3: but it sounds to me like they're coming just a
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  Speaker 3: little bit later.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Greg Ireland, the NT Chamber of Commerce CEO, good
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  Speaker 1: to speak with you this morning. Always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 3: No problem at all, Katie, Thank you.