Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Tourism industry worker Robert calls in to share the difficult situation he is in amid the Covid pandemic

Transcript

Tourism industry worker Robert calls in to share the difficult situation he is in amid the Covid pandemic · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now I think we've got Robert on the line right now.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Robert, Good morning. How are you good, mate?
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: What's on your mind today, Kattie?
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: You know, I've just been at my daughter's house, packing
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: up her home because she can't afford the ranch. He's
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: a tourism operator. I can't help her support her anymore
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: because I'm a tourism operator, and I'm really really disappointed
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: in some of the ways in which we've handled a
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: lot of the stuff. I know that some of it's
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: out of her hands, but I'm tired of hearing about
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: frontline workers and all the work they've done. There's a
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: lot of people out there that are really hit in
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: the wall, and they all get paid, and they all
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: get paid double time. They're all government workers. And the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: people that aren't getting paid, well, I don't know, Robert,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: than just rotten hell or something.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, mate, I don't know if you heard yesterday. We
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: obviously played the Chief Minister's press conference around eleven o'clock
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: or what it was yesterday, and I certainly noted what
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: he'd said at the end of that press conference where
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: he had said, like you've just pointed out, you know,
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: we wanted to thank all the public servants for the
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: work that they'd done over the last three days. And I,
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: you know, I certainly acknowledge that our frontline workers, those
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: you know conducting those tests, and our police officers and
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: others have done a phenomenal job.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: But I did point this.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: Out yesterday, as you are just telling me right now, Robert,
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: We've got private enterprise and people that work in the
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: private sector and in different industries who are seriously hurting
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: at the moment, and three days of lockdown is not
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: only detrimental in some situations, it's you know, it's a
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: nail in the coffin for some businesses. Yeah.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Look, you know, I'm probably lucky. You've been around in
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: the industry a long time, and I'm using my resources.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: But I'm watching my daughter use our only superannuation she
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: had every single thing. This is a twenty two year
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: old that is trying to get a start. I think
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: that it's time that our Chief Minister acknowledges the fact
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: that there's a lot of people out there, and I
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: really every one of those public servants will be claiming
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: double time and overtime. Every single one of them have
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: been paid forrading month. The last three years we've struggled
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: in our industry, and it will given a bone, a
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: little tiny bone oil will as a seven hundred and
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: fifty dollars. What's that going to do that? It's not
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: even going to pay two weeks rant you know, I
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: don't know. I'm not asking for a handout from the government,
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: but I'm actually asking them for him to have a
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: really good look, have a little bit of a social
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: think about what their ramifications are that are really just
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: running through the industry. I watched one of my colleagues
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: wash off one hundred thousand dollars worth of bookings. I
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: watched to do it again, and I watched probably my
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: business thirty thousand dollars worth of bookings. Now you know,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: then I've got the federal government hit me for bath
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: And who do I pay my staff super or do
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: I tell the federal government to go and buy that bum? Oh?
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Mate?
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: That is bloody heartbreaking. Robert, Are you you don't? I
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: mean it's up to you, you know, whether you identify
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: exactly what industry you work in or if you don't.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: But is you know I you in the tourism sector?
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: All absolutely right? Ups to my neck in it.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Mate, what about your daughter, you're twenty two year old.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Does she also work in the tourism sector.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, she works with me. So every time we close
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: down only and look ten days over the last month,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: yeahs tendos. She hasn't been paid. So you know the
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: people that of course rent are going up in the town.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: And of course what's happening is those people when she
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: can't make the rent, you know, then she's got the electricity.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: If you have a look at the water bills at
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: the moment, the whole the whole time, since this labor
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: government's been there, all I've watched is increases in every region.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: My water bill went up three hundred dollars, three hundred
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: dollars since the last bill. Yeah, okay, I don't know
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: what's going on, Katie. Look, I'm not crying for I'm
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: not crying, but you know, I'm just wanting to make
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: sure that this particular government gets its head out of
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: its bottom and starts to work out. But the industry
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: that brings in all this money, which is importing then
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: exporting that money out of the pockets and into the economy,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: this is not the same money going around and around.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: This is new money going around and around, and that's
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: what builds new houses and builds new businesses, and confidence
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: are not going to show it at the moment when
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: he doesn't acknowledge that there's a lot of people out
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: there using every single cent that they've got, and he
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: just looks after the public servants. Well, that's because it's
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: all about votes. And I'm afraid this man and this
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: man at the moment this is about votes. Well, he's
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: doing a good job to make sure he gets back in,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: but I'll tear what he won't be getting my vote.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Robert, iye, bloody, really, you know, honestly, what you're saying
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: this morning, I feel for you.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: And you know you are not.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: The first business person who has had a discussion like
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: this with me.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: I said it earlier this morning on air.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: You know, I had a prominent business woman get in
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: contact with me yesterday to say that it is you
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: know that what happens during a lockdown, and even the
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: impacts of obviously the other states going into lockdown.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: It is absolutely breaking.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Them, you know.
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: And I'm hearing that from your voice this morning, and
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: I you know, I am the first one to say
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: I've got no comprehension that because I've been able to
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: go to work. So I need people like you to
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: tell me what is going on so that I can
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: try my best to hold to you know, to make
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: sure that the government realizes the way that you guys
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: are hurting.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think that it's time we stopped
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: bringing in people that may have this problem sort out
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: and tied up our backyard because this is where it
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: all happens. I'm actually right in the line at the moment, Katie,
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: get my Fizer shot. All right. I'm actually standing there
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: now a waiting, which is good. And you know, it's
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: time all of Australians and all of you people started
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: to think about it. We've had that many shots in
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: our youth. We've had everything, triple engine, we've had totally
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: get the blusters shot, get on with our lives and
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: let's make it so that we can start doing what
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: we should be doing, and that's getting down to work.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: Robert, Mate, thank you so much for calling this morning.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: I think it is so incredibly important for everybody listening
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: this morning to know how our tourism operators, how our
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: business people are feeling throughout these lockdowns I'm really grateful
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: that you've called, but also thank you for pointing out,
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: you know, the struggle of some of our young people
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: as well, your daughter who's twenty two. We forget sometimes
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: that you know that people like your daughter are you know,
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: are out of work then for three days. That may
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: not seem like a huge amount to me or to
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: you know, to our politicians, but it is. It's backbreaking
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: for young people who are reliant on those wages to
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: be able to pay their rents.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: That's exactly right. So you look at it, Katie ten
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: days un Let's just say if she made two hundred
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: dollars days two thousand dollars, that's why she's getting hited
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: out because she hasn't got two thousand dollars to pay
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: the back rent. I just think that it's really time
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: he started looking at the Northern Territory as a whole whole.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: There's a whole lot of people out there. There's a
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: lot of things out there that really I don't think
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: he's in touch with, and you know, time to time
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: to be in touch. Very lucky the government has supported me.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: I'm not saying they haven't. They've supported me through a
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: rent decrease, but I still need customers at the door. Yeah,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: I don't have all the at least rents you want,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: but I still have to have customers at the door.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: So let's have a think about this a little bit
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: more widely. You put it out yesterday. Why did this
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: guy be able to walk away from a man tary
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: two weeks and then three days later gets done a positive?
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: Why isn't this the part and pass of why I'm
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: under this de strain? Why isn't it three weeks mandatory?
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: You know, I'm afraid that when you stop a whole
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: economy and look at Sydney Melbourne, they're in there two
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: hundredth day in Melbourne off lockdown. The psychological problems down there,
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: a spark grated than the desk crowded by this particular
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: people are committing more suicide now than they ever had
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: because what's happened is that they've forgotten they can't pay
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: their bills. You can't pay your bills, you can't live
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: there anymore.
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Robert mate, I look, I know it's not much,
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: but I would like to give you our territory and
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: of the week this week. I know that that's certainly
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: not why you've called. You know, you've called to make
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: sure that others know exactly the hardship that our business
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: people are going through, that some of our different industries
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: are going through.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: But regardless, I want.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: To give you that care package from perp Find Foods
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: put together by Neville there and and you know, like
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: I said, I know it's not going to change your
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: outlook when it comes to you know, the difficulties that
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: we're going through. But I think it's really important that
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: you've called through this morning. And it takes bravery to
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: let others know exactly what's going on, and we appreciate it.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie. All the listeners out there,
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: they're struggling, keep heart. Let's hope that things start again
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: and let's get on them with it.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: Robert, please stay on the line so we can get
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: your details so that we can make sure that you
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: get that beautiful care package from Neville at Perhap Find Foods.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Thank you, mate. I really appreciate your calling this morning.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: You have a great day you too, good weekend, Yeah
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: you too, mate, Thank you, and lots of love to
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: your daughter as well. Oh yeah, thank you big look
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: a big thanks to Robert for calling through and letting
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: us know you know how tough this is on some
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: of our different businesses and industries.