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Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Three point sixty with Katie Wolf. Everyone is listening to
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine one hundred percent.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Joining us live on the line from Hospitality NT the
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: CEO Alex Bruce. Good morning to you, Alex, Good morning Kurtie.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Now Alex. Unfortunately we've seen over the last couple of days, well,
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: yesterday we've reported on a number of establishments being broken into.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Today we're going to be catching up with two restaurants
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: who are broken into overnight. We've got a problem here.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: How are you? How is the hospitality industry feeling about it? Oh?
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Look, another bad couple of nights and unfortunately too common
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: an occurrence for restaurants and hospitality venues right across the territory.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: So it is a bit of soul shuttering for those
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: operators and their staff when this happens time and time again.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: It is it's you know, especially during a what we've
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: seen as a COVID year last year. We're all hoping
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: that this year gets better, but it's a bit of
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: a kick in the garts. As one of those put
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: it to me yesterday, when you turn up and you
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: see that you've been broken into.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Absolutely and I hear it commonly in our industry. It
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: proves time and again the prohibition and further restrictions without
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: dealing with the real root social causes is not helping
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: or fixing.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: The situation well, which takes us, I guess to the
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: BDR and Alex. We caught up with the Health Minister
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: who's also the Minister for Hospitality, Natasha Files, yesterday and
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: spoke about some of the concerns that have been raised
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: with us on the show about the BDR. I mean, look,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: I'm very supportive of the government introducing measures that hopefully
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: makes the change when it comes to the abuse of
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: alcohol in the territory, but it does seem as though
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: at the moment, you know, we've still got those concerns
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: and people are still getting their hands on alcohol despite
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: the BDR.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and we support the police and all the work
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: they're doing and they are stretched incredibly. Then we know
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: that there morale unfortunately isn't where it needs to be
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: either because they are overworked and they are dealing with
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: the same people time and time and again as well.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: So we are in unison with the police on many
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: issues and we do hope part of the solution, you know,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: isn't necessarily extending the BDR, but in the Darwin CBD,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: now that the border works for the police is lifted,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: we really want to see that watchhouse turned back on again.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: We wrote to the Police Minister at the very beginning
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: of December and flags that we were seeing increasing delays
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and non attendance that CBD locations and unfortunately, you know
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: then we did have those COVID hotspots where their ugly
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: head again. So the police haven't been able to completely
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: meet the need I don't believe in the city, but
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: he's hoping going forward they can.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: So Alex Hospitality Into has written to the Territory Police
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: asking for that watch house to be turned on again.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: We wrote very respectfully to the Police Minister at the
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: beginning of December and we did make clear that we
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: understood that COVID was a significant resource impact. We're not
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: here to throw stones at the police and we do
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: appreciate the work they do on behalf of all of
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: us in the community. But yeah, something's got a change.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: And the idea that Darwin Council area doesn't have an
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: open watchhouse right now, I wonder how long that can continue.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, and I guess we all sort of understand
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: that our police have been stretched so thin, certainly when
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: they're on the borders. But yeah, you do wonder now
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: that those border restrictions have been lifted or not lifted,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: but we no longer have our police on those borders.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Whether it will make a bit of a change and
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: we will see the watchhouse reopen. I guess time will tell.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: We hope so. And we were happy to work with
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the government on a range of measures which we believe
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: would assist. We think there's got to be better focus
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: on grol running. We think that the high repeat offender rates,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: the revolving door of justice does need to be looked at.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: But you know, we're not exploits in that, whether it's
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: bail laws or ankle bracelets. We leave that to others.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: And we do as a society got to have to
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: have a look at the failure to address under it
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: some of these underlying issues that are causing this continual crime.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Lo and behold, it's not just alcohol.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Well and look, Alex, there'll be some people listening this
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: morning who will say that there are some in the
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: community selling alcohol who maybe aren't doing it as responsibly
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: as they could be. What would you say to those listeners, throw.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: The absolute book at anyone in our industry that's not
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: doing the right thing. And that's the message that we
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: conveyed to the government on Bojangles as an example down
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs all of last year. If they find
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: ab horrent behavior that isn't where we as an industry
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: needs to be, we will never defend that and the
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: full arm of a law should be brought to bear
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: on those individuals.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Now, Alex, the other thing that you and I have
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: spoken about on a couple of occasions is the band
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Drinker Register and those hearings that took place in Tenant Creek. Now,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: we spoke to the Health Ministry yes today and she
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: said that there are no plans to roll out the
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: b DR in other locations. Do you accept that.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: No? And we've we've we've had further correspondence with the
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: minister and to a credit, she's engaging with us in
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: a collaborative process. At the moment, they've confirmed that the
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: government doesn't have a position one way or the other,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: and we are keen for them to state for the
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: community and the industry whether they do support the further
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: rollout of BDR into pubs and clubs across the territory.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: There's just been enough reports written on it showing that
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: that's the way a certain part of the community wants
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: it to go. So we do need the government and
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: the opposition to state very clearly what their views on
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: this topic are.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: So, I mean, is the concern here you guys worried that,
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: you know, because it's something that they're that they're looking
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: at potentially doing in Tenant Creek, that that you know,
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: we'll just sort of go, well, let's roll it out
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: everywhere if if it's worked there or oh you know that,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: because there's nothing sort of stopping them from doing it.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Well, yes, and at the same time, you know, you look,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: the BDR in takeaway is everywhere right now across the territory.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: It's been fully rolled out, and yet we're still talking
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: about absolute spikes in crime, property crime, smashes and enters,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: breaking into businesses and houses and cars to access alcohol illegally.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: We know grog running is tip of the iceberg stuff,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: and there hasn't been enough resource and to focus on
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: it because of COVID and other resource constraints. So we
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: just honestly look at it and we say, you know what,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: make the BDR work better before you want to expand
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: it into everyday territory and life any further than it
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: already is.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Well, Alex Bruce, we are going to have to leave
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: it there. Sea of Hospitality. Int good to speak with
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: you this morning. We appreciate your time.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Thanks very much, Katie all best.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Thank you,