Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Hospitality NT's Alex Bruce and Australian Hotels Association's Stephen Ferguson talk beer tax

Transcript

Hospitality NT's Alex Bruce and Australian Hotels Association's Stephen Ferguson talk beer tax · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: From yesterday, the Australian Taxation Office has increased the excise
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: dudy rates that pubs and clubs must play pay, i
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: should say, on the purchase of alcoholic beverages. So this
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: hike means said ozsies could end up paying reportedly fifteen
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: dollars for a pint of beer. Now joining me in
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  Speaker 1: the studio to tell us a little bit more about
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  Speaker 1: what this actually means is the National CEO of the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Australian Hotels Association, Stephen Ferguson.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Katie.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Lovely to have you in the studio. And we've also
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: got the CEO of Hospitality here in the Northern Territory,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Alex Bruce, good morning to you.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Now, honestly, does it get much worse than your beer
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  Speaker 1: getting more expensive?
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  Speaker 4: Oh look, Katie, you know, especially at this time of year,
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  Speaker 4: I suppose with Darwin Cup just gone and plenty of
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: people in town, you'll probably see that the pubs and
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: clubs and restaurants will be having to put up the
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: price of their beer. The difficulty is that the Tax
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: Office every first of February and every first of August
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: increases the beer tax by the mount of CPI. So
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: if you're a tax person, you're a treasury person, it's
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: a really great tax because it's a little bit that.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Goes up often.
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  Speaker 4: So it's sort of I wouldn't maybe not designed, but
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: it has the effect of nearly being can be unnoticed
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: because it's just that little bit all the time. But
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  Speaker 4: what we're saying is that it's really starting to bite
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  Speaker 4: now with the CPI rates of hitting six and seven percent,
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  Speaker 4: that really sort of hits this tax rate. We asked
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: the last come to do something about it. Unfortunately they
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: never never got around to it. We understand now that
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  Speaker 4: with rising cost of living on fuel, interest rates, leg
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: you know, let as eggs that you know, it's probably
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: not priority number one for the new government. But nevertheless,
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  Speaker 4: we just think that people should be aware, especially when
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  Speaker 4: they're going to order a beer over the next few days.
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  Speaker 4: Please don't blame the staff, mean, it's not their fault.
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  Speaker 4: It's just simply a cost that's having to be passed
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  Speaker 4: on from treasury.
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  Speaker 1: How much could people be paying here in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory for example, for a beer.
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  Speaker 4: Oh look, it depends where you go, but you know,
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  Speaker 4: that's what we're worried about it's sort of the price
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: of a fifth. Now it's a schooner in southern language,
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: you know, getting above ten dollars, you know, pint getting
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: up to near fifteen dollars, And we think that's sort
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: of a trigger Thatt'll say to people, Gee whiz, it's
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: too much to go out tonight.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: I'll stay at home.
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  Speaker 4: And the trouble with people staying at home is that
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  Speaker 4: the package beer is cheaper, but it means that there's
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: not the employment created, there's not the capacity for people
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: to socialize as much.
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  Speaker 2: And that's one of the great things. We want people
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: back out in the venues.
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  Speaker 4: When I was walking up Mitchell Street yesterday afternoon, it
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  Speaker 4: was fantastic just to see people out and about socializing,
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  Speaker 4: especially probably mostly from the South.
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  Speaker 2: But if we make it too expensive, they'll stay home.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and look, I understand that the argument from some
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: will be that you don't want people drinking too much,
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  Speaker 1: that there are obviously social issues and health issues associated
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: with consuming alcohol. But at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people do enjoy going to the pub,
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  Speaker 1: having a quiet beer or having a quiet wine with
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  Speaker 1: their lunch or their dinner. But then when the cost
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: is going up so astronomically it makes it tough. And
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  Speaker 1: as your point it out, if it then means that
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: you're having a beer at home, what's the impact on
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  Speaker 1: our pubs and clubs?
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  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 4: And also, I mean I think when you talk to
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  Speaker 4: most sort of society societal researchers, they'd say that they
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  Speaker 4: would much rather people be in a licensed premise, you know,
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  Speaker 4: where their supervision about to control levels of intoxication, rather
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: than rather than going home. It's all we're saying, is
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  Speaker 4: that about twenty percent of liquors sold in pubs, clubs,
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  Speaker 4: restaurants and cafes eighty percent sold for purchase at home
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  Speaker 4: or where else. We're just saying, let's have a conversation
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  Speaker 4: around there's twenty percent to say, Okay, how should it
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  Speaker 4: be treated differently?
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  Speaker 2: It should not be taxed the same as something that's
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  Speaker 2: going home.
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  Speaker 1: Now, if I mean, is it avoidable? If you've said that,
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  Speaker 1: it is still going to be something that impacts people
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  Speaker 1: if they get takeaway or if they're at the bottom shop,
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  Speaker 1: is it still like is it the same amount that
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  Speaker 1: it's going to go up?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it sort of goes up by CPI, but it's
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  Speaker 2: across everything.
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  Speaker 4: Beer wine wine stacks a little bit differently, but yeah,
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  Speaker 4: just up on everything and it's every six months.
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  Speaker 1: And then when you talk about the flow on effix
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  Speaker 1: obviously for industry, what you know, what impact is it
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  Speaker 1: going to have on some of our businesses.
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  Speaker 4: Well, if you thought about just a small country pubm
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  Speaker 4: which there's plenty in the territory, a pub that sells
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  Speaker 4: about ten kegs a week, cornerstyle country pub, that's about
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  Speaker 4: sort of two to three thousand dollars a year. Now
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  Speaker 4: that you know in Canberra that might not sound a
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  Speaker 4: lot of money, but let me tell you in the bush,
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  Speaker 4: two thousand dollars out of your.
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  Speaker 2: Bttom line, that's a stack of money.
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  Speaker 4: And those businesses also as the same as everyone else
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  Speaker 4: with a rising cost of living, their face with increased
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  Speaker 4: energy costs, you know, food costs and what have you.
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  Speaker 4: So someone's got to pay you. The business can absorb
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  Speaker 4: it for a while, but ultimately it's got to get
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  Speaker 4: passed on to the consumer.
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  Speaker 2: We know. The new government's got to know has inherited
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  Speaker 2: a lot of problems.
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  Speaker 4: They've got a trillion dollars in debt and they're trying
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  Speaker 4: to stay on top of it. You know, We're not
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  Speaker 4: being unreasonable and asking for the world. We're just saying that, look,
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  Speaker 4: along with all those other rising cost of living issues,
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: this is one may not be top order issue for them,
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  Speaker 4: but we just want to promise.
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  Speaker 1: Something that's alex. What are local business is saying to
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  Speaker 1: you at this point in time, what's the industry saying.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, look like households in the territory, costs are just
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  Speaker 3: going up across the board. Wage costs are starting to grow,
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  Speaker 3: which you know, we understand, and at the moment we
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: can't get enough workers anyway. Is still is still the challenge.
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  Speaker 3: But energy costs, fuel costs, the trucking company is starting
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  Speaker 3: to put on surcharges for everything and because their costs
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  Speaker 3: are going up, so everything's being squeezed at the moment.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: So yeah, unfortunately, we are seeing some menu price rises.
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  Speaker 3: Beer price is going up. So I'm sure our loyal
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: customers that you know, particularly the territories that were with
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: us for the last two years when we couldn't have
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  Speaker 3: the tourists, they're feeling it. It is good.
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  Speaker 2: There's too many events going on in the dry season.
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  Speaker 3: You are having to pick and choose at the moment,
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  Speaker 3: but it is great to see Darwin as positive as
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  Speaker 3: it is, so a lot of smiles in our industry
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  Speaker 3: at the moment.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, which is a wonderful thing because it's been
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: a tough couple of years, you know, right across the board,
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  Speaker 1: following on from COVID. So it is a great thing.
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  Speaker 1: But I know that that cost of living is having
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  Speaker 1: a big impact on a lot of people. So at
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  Speaker 1: this point in time, I mean when you talk about
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: this spear tax or this tax, is the industry sort
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  Speaker 1: of calling for an intervention or some kind of intervention here.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, look, we were very active with the last government.
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  Speaker 4: We've missed that opportunity. It was in that it was
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  Speaker 4: in their last budget. Then they took it out for
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  Speaker 4: some unknown reason where I realized that the new governments
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: come in with Anthony Albanezi and Jim Charmers, they've got
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  Speaker 4: a whole heap of issues on their plate. We're not
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  Speaker 4: seeking to drive the mad on this. We just want
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  Speaker 4: it to be there just so they're aware of it,
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  Speaker 4: which they are and you know, but we do want
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  Speaker 4: to try and sort of get even if it's just
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  Speaker 4: a freeze for the next year or so, just to
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  Speaker 4: try and take a bit of the heat out of it.
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  Speaker 4: But we also recognize that we're in a very long
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  Speaker 4: queue with every other rising cost of living, insurance, fuel, energy,
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  Speaker 4: everything else.
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  Speaker 1: Tough going for people at the moment, particularly you know,
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  Speaker 1: we bang on about it almost daily here in the
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  Speaker 1: territory about those fuel costs. But then it has an
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  Speaker 1: impact on every industry. You know, your petrol prices and
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  Speaker 1: those different living expenses and costs that are going up.
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  Speaker 1: I do just will get ready to wrap up, but Alex,
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  Speaker 1: I do want to ask you. We know it was
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  Speaker 1: a massive weekend last weekend with the Darwin Cup. How
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  Speaker 1: busy are some of our venues?
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  Speaker 3: Some customers might think too busy? He is the answer, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: Please bear with us. We are running under understaffed almost
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  Speaker 3: in every part of our industry at the moment. But look,
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  Speaker 3: it is great. Right down the track is chockers. You
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  Speaker 3: don't want to be on the highway at the moment.
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  Speaker 3: You'll get stuck behind caravan after caravan after caravan. But
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  Speaker 3: how good is it after a couple of years that
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  Speaker 3: we're back at that and we are working with both
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  Speaker 3: levels of government nationally through some of the visa stuff
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  Speaker 3: that we're pushing for but also the territory government. You know,
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  Speaker 3: they are aware of our workforce shortages. It is national
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  Speaker 3: that is across industries and next year will be even
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: bigger and better than this one.
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  Speaker 1: Now, one of the downsides I guess so that some
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: people are reporting is that they're saying that some hotels
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  Speaker 1: are charging really high rates for a room. Are they
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  Speaker 1: being fair or what's going on?
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  Speaker 3: Look, there are a lot of bookings from last year
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  Speaker 3: for Sydney and Melbourne, people that went into their long lockdown,
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  Speaker 3: they held the credits. They're up here this year having
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: that long sought after holiday with us, which is fantastic.
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  Speaker 3: They are at a lot lower rates, but it is
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  Speaker 3: fair to say you look at the spot rates for
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: what's left and there isn't much left. They're quite high.
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  Speaker 3: But it's not right to take that rate and say
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  Speaker 3: that hotel is running one hundred percent At that rate,
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  Speaker 3: they're making a MOTSA. There's a lot of bookings from
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  Speaker 3: last year on credit that are still in the system,
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  Speaker 3: and yeah, we look at it, and to be honest,
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  Speaker 3: I think the accommodation hotels they do take a longer
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  Speaker 3: term view. We won't want to address this, but it
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: is the Airbnb and those short term letters. We are
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: hearing horror stories of people being canceled, kicked out and
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: then the site gets relissed it five times ten times
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: of value. So there are territorians participating in that market.
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: They know who they are, they know that they're charging
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: a motza at the moment for their Airbnb product. They
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: need to be part of the conversation too, if we
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: want to look at it.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: So I mean, fundamentally, I suppose we want to make
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: sure that we've got as many tourists flowing into the
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory as possible. We want to make sure that
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: you know that we are making ensuring that their experience
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  Speaker 1: is a positive one. You know, from what you've said
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  Speaker 1: there there are some concerns with some people with their
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: Airbnbs or other kind of rentals, holiday rentals. But do
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: you feel as though the you know, from the hotels perspective,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: that they are getting that fair treatment.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: It's been such a topsy turvy period.
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: You know, you've seen stall development projects and proposals for
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: new hotels down at the waterfront and left, right and center,
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: little mindle all the rest of it. None of it
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: seems to get off the ground. So I do think
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: we are at a capacity constraint when we're at peak season,
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: and we do need more certainty from this government if
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: we're actually going to see more product brought in and
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: more capacity.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Hey, just very quickly before I let you go, because
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: there's been a lot of discussion over the last week
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: or so about this two kilometer rule when it comes
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: to anti social behavior and one of the ways that
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: we can try and deal with her. You and I
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: have spoken about We were talking about this back in May,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: and it's sort of back on the agenda.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Is it something that you think would help with the
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: anti social behavior from the hospitality industry perspective.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, we think it's a no brainer. We don't think
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: this targets people. We don't think this is about criminalizing
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: alcoholism that should be treated as a health response or
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: we respect all of that. This is about setting a
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: standard of behavior in Darwin particularly, and all visitors, no
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: matter where they come from, need to adhere to that
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: higher standard. We should not be turning a blind eye
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: to some of the antisocial behavior that as a community
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: we have to cop and put up with every day.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Well, we're going to be catching up with the Lord
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: Mayor of Dao and Combat scarleus in just a couple
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: of moments, but very big thank you Alex Bruce, the
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: sea of hospitality here in the northern Tira and the
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: National CEO of the Australian Hotels Association, Stephen Ferguson, thank
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: you both so much for your time.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you