Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce questions why we still have the mask mandates and QR codes in place, which the hospitality industry now doing most of the policing for

Transcript

Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce questions why we still have the mask mandates and QR codes in place, which the hospitality industry now doing most of the policing for · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Obviously, yesterday we heard from the Chief Minister Michael Gunner
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: about the masks and well, we did really ask for
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: an actual timeline, a bit of a plan. Here's what
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: he had to say on the show yesterday.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: They have a day, but it's definitely sooner rather than later,
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: like very soon.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: The caseload is trending down.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: You can see the hospitalization rates trending down, so that
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: the trops to be confident that we're not going to
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: something splugg in. Obviously we believe they help contribute to
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: the downward trend. And if we were to pull the
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: mass mandate off, for example, I don't think we could
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: put it back on a couple days time. I think
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: I don't think the public will be won't do that.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: So we've got to be very careful it's done once
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: it's done.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: Right, So we're talking days or weeks.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: I think it's more days than weeks.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: But by this time next week.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: We guarantee is this one yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: say it may be staged, and it might be that
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: you do the checking app retreats to the vax pass
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: and then the mass mandate comes off or the mass
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: mandate comes off on the same day that you retreat
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: the checking app to the vas pass site.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: So that was the Chief Minister Michael Gunner on the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: show yesterday, and we know that the hospitality industry continue
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: used to wait for that clarity from the Northern Territory
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: government on when those masks are going to be lifted
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: off and when that check in system for venues is
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: going to be scrapped as has been done in other jurisdictions.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: I'm joined on the line right now by Hospitality NT
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: CEO Alex Bruce ged A.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: Alex, Good morning, Katie. Alex.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: The Chief Minister obviously said yesterday on the show it's
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: likely to be within days. It's still not really that
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: plan that you're after though, is that.
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: Now? It's not? And other states are able to you know,
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: pig pig flags in the sand. A week out, week
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: and a half out, give everyone enough time to understand
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: what the rule changes would be, allow our venues to
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: staff up, maybe you know, put on that extra live
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: music event or whatever that you know, those struggling artists
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: have continued to be thrown on the scrap heat. But
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: you know, the mass mandate should have already lifted. We've
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: got the lowest number of people in hospital for over
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: a month now forty six percent less than twenty a
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: days ago when it peaked. This is well and truly peaked.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: Why are we holding on?
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and Alex, I know that plenty of others in
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: the community you're asking the same thing. I still get
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: people messaging through saying Katie, I'm still going to wear
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: my mask. I don't feel comfortable taking it off.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: And look, that's that's.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: The decision of an individual if they want to keep
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: it on.
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: But I know that absolutely, Katie, and we're quite clear
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: on this. We want inclusive environments in our venues. If
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: anyone feels more comfortable wearing a mask as they come
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: into our venues and come around, that's fine. And you
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: people that don't want to wear masks, we don't want
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: to get into a situation where you know, there's a
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: cultural being played out in the front bath. Yeah, we
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: want to welcome unmasked and mask customers alike and get
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: back to that public health message in where they send
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: out advice. But you know, there's not a threat of
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: a mandate and a fine Alex, what.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Are venues saying to you at the moment? You know,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: what are those that are running bars, that are running pubs,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: that are running restaurants, saying to you at the moment
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: with the you know, with the masks and with the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: check ins.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: Probably since the last month, we're getting more and more
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: customers challenging staff asking them why they're still being asked
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: for check in for their vax paths. The masks we're getting. Thankfully,
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: we are starting to get a trickle of Southern tourists
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: up and they're starting to I'm getting reports along Mitchell
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: Street they're asking, I thought we got rid of masks,
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: what's this all about? And we have to say, well, no,
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: we're behind the times a little bit up here, but
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: you know, we're just after certainty. We just want the
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: government to make clear what their plans are for masks.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: But also importantly there's a bit of a confusion about
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: what's scrapping the check the QR code system. Looks like
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: the government's been pretty clear they intend to keep the
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: vax checking requirements on us for a little bit longer.
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: You know, we want them lifted, but leave that for
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: another day. But if we're going down the path of
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: removing the QR code out the front of woollies or
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: when you go to Bunnings. We want to take down
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: the QR code and the useless, redundant bok at the
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: front of the pub as well. At the same time,
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: even if it's still a requirement that we're only welcome
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: in vaccinated customers.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: At this stage, Alex, the government's obviously been teasing this
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: lifting of the masks and the scaling back of the
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: check in. How do you think that that is making
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: people feel when they do enter the venues. Do you
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: think that it's making them sort of more relaxing about
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: wearing a mask, thinking well, it's going to go in
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: days anyway.
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Well, we're not sure. And I think that's the tricky one, Cading,
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: because ultimately, you know, a lot of hard work has
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: gone on that we are in the position now where
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: we've crested the wave and we can start to talk
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: about what restrictions ease and when they received and you know,
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: how much notice we can provide. We do see a
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: big difference though, like why do we have to tune
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: into Facebook and get told three hours in advance what
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: our operating rules are? You know, this is the third
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: year of this. We really need to be a little
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: bit more strategic and plans than that by now would
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: have thought.
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: But I mean it's like realistic one.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Do you feel as the hospitality venues and your sector
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: are still wearing a lot of the burden of these
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: requirements for stopping the spread of COVID nineteen in the
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: territory when you know the reality is the horse has bolted.
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: Absolutely. I think more and more families in Darwin and
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: Parmeston are realizing. You know, it's like that old VB song.
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: You know, you can get it milking a cow, you
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: can get it killing us on a plow, you can
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: get it any Oh how matter of fact, I've got
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: omnicon now, you know, like it's spreading through schools, spreading
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: through workplaces. Do they trade construction sites or you know,
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: office blocks and the data just just not stack up
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: that somehow it's that quick trip to the pub for
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: a skewer with your mates, that there's somehow higher risk.
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: Have you just there's no start behind the k.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Have you been practicing that that line, Alex.
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: Broce, No, I haven't, But now I've got that jingle
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: stuck in my head for the rest of day.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Probably, Oh dear me, well, and look, I think at
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: the end of the day. It is a situation now
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: where everybody understood why the rules and regulations were in place,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: and you know those times are changing. As we've discussed
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: on numerous occasions. Alex, what is your message for the
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: government this morning.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: I know that you've really.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Been advocating for some time now on these mandates, but
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: what is your message for the government. With Gunner on
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: the show yesterday saying that the lifting of the mask
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: mandate and the scaling back of the APP is just
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: days away.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: Ah, look for us, in all of these things, government
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: needs to consider what is defensible, what makes sense, and
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: those decisions that no longer make sense really need to
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: be reviewed. That's our simple message. You know, by and
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: large the territory has done well. Let's just calm it
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: all down, settle it down and crack on into the
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: dry season.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Well, Alex Bruce, the see of Hospitality here in the
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory. We will talk to you again very soon,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: doubt d. Thank you,