Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce on how opening the NT will increase vaccination rates

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Katie spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce on how opening the NT will increase vaccination rates · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Right now, though, we know that we've spoken a lot
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  Speaker 1: over the last couple of weeks about the opening plan
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory, and we've now got a bit
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  Speaker 1: more clarity when it comes to that opening date. January
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  Speaker 1: eighteen is the date that they're aiming for when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to reopening without quarantine. Now, Hospitality NT is calling
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  Speaker 1: for a hard date for that reopening to interstate travelers
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  Speaker 1: without quarantine, saying that it would drive up the take
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  Speaker 1: up of the COVID nineteen vaccine. And joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line right now is the CEO of Hospitality here
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  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory, Alex Bruce. Good morning, Good Katie. Alex.
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  Speaker 1: You and I have spoken about this on a few occasions. Now, mate,
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  Speaker 1: why do you reckon we need a freedom date?
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  Speaker 2: I look this week, every other state or territory except
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory in Western Australia, the Herman Kingdom of
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  Speaker 2: Western Australia have announced plans for double vaxed Australians to
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  Speaker 2: visit loved ones this Christmas without the need for quarante team.
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  Speaker 1: And this is the thing you know we're seeing obviously, Queensland,
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  Speaker 1: we saw on Friday last week Tasmania made that announcement
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  Speaker 1: as well. I know that the Chief Minister has flagged
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  Speaker 1: January eighteen, but there's quite a few variables still that
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  Speaker 1: need to kind of need to come into play before
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  Speaker 1: we reach that January eighteen. Do you think that this
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  Speaker 1: is good enough or do you think that we need
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  Speaker 1: to be in line with other states and territories with
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  Speaker 1: that date.
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  Speaker 2: I look where you've got the opportunity to meet with
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  Speaker 2: the Chief Minister along with other industry groups from right
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  Speaker 2: across the business community on Tuesday, and our message to
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  Speaker 2: him was twofold. The mandatory vas for the workforce is working,
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  Speaker 2: and we're seeing in our industry people that aren't necessarily
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  Speaker 2: vaccine hesitant or anti vax, but you know, you threaten
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  Speaker 2: their livelihoods and you give them a real end date.
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  Speaker 2: You know, twelve and November you had to have your
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  Speaker 2: homework Dubai and they're all going and getting vaccinated, or
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  Speaker 2: the vast majority of them are. So that's a positive.
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  Speaker 2: Our industry and others are responding to, you know, the
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  Speaker 2: challenge that the Chief set set set business and employees
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  Speaker 2: to adhere to. So that is driving up the VACS rates,
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  Speaker 2: which allows us to look at quarantine, free travel and
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  Speaker 2: everything else. So that's positive, But the overwhelming view from
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  Speaker 2: our industry is that we need to have our date
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  Speaker 2: known prior to Christmas. Of course, base it on health advice.
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  Speaker 2: You know, let them say whether eighteenth or January is
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  Speaker 2: appropriate or eighteenth of December. We'd always like sooner, of course,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, if it's eighteenth of January, put put it.
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  Speaker 2: Put a date on the flag and put that flag
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  Speaker 2: firmly in the ground. The advice that we're getting from
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  Speaker 2: our counterparts over in Queensland is since the Premiere of
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  Speaker 2: Queensland set a hard date for when they were going
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  Speaker 2: to allow vaccinated Australians just to cross that Queensland border
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  Speaker 2: from New South Wales and Victoria, they have seen a
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  Speaker 2: boot in the amount of all of the population going
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  Speaker 2: to get vaxed as a result, because it's giving you
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  Speaker 2: a firm date to work towards.
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  Speaker 1: And do you reckon the fact that you know that
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  Speaker 1: Queensland has actually said that they're going to be opening
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  Speaker 1: up on December seventeen, I mean, is that going to
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  Speaker 1: have an impact on us in the sense that tourists
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  Speaker 1: and people that are double vacks know that they're going
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  Speaker 1: to be able to go there. But for us, there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people that are still questioning if they're interstate.
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  Speaker 1: You know, if you've got loved ones that are into state,
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  Speaker 1: they're really not sure whether they're actually going to be
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  Speaker 1: able to get to the Northern Territory for Christmas.
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  Speaker 2: That's it. It's a double whammy for us. So we're
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  Speaker 2: currently left out of people's plans for Christmas. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we do accept at the top end it's traditionally our
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  Speaker 2: low season, but we're missing out on people that otherwise
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  Speaker 2: would have come up. But importantly as well, and I
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  Speaker 2: think we did touch on this last week Christmas Holidays,
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  Speaker 2: New Year's resolutions, looking at the year ahead, this is
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  Speaker 2: when people plan their trips, definitely plan their bucket list trips.
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  Speaker 2: And right now the Territory's got an asterisk against the
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  Speaker 2: eight enth of January and we'll get back to you,
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  Speaker 2: So we're not in that conversation with our customers where
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  Speaker 2: the rest of the country is. And with all the
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  Speaker 2: other states opening up before Christmas, excluding Wa, our real
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  Speaker 2: fear is that we'll see more and more red spots
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  Speaker 2: declared by the Territory government and we'll lose the markets
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  Speaker 2: that we currently already have and.
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  Speaker 1: That's a big worry, isn't it. And a lot of
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  Speaker 1: people sort of questioning how exactly this traffic light system
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  Speaker 1: is going to work and what impact it is going
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  Speaker 1: to have on us in terms of traveler is actually
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  Speaker 1: being able to get into the territory.
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  Speaker 2: That's it. And you know, the meeting was very respectful
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  Speaker 2: and we appreciate the time and the clarity that the
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  Speaker 2: government could could provide the business community collective, but they're
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  Speaker 2: not willing to give any metrics on what defines an
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  Speaker 2: orange zone or a red zone. They want to case
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  Speaker 2: by case make those assessments. In all of this, we
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  Speaker 2: have to back the health advice if that's what it is.
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  Speaker 2: But we just wonder where the health advice in the
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  Speaker 2: territory is different to the health advice in some of
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  Speaker 2: the other parts of the country. Why are those discrepancies.
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  Speaker 2: And you can't put it all just down to our
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  Speaker 2: demographic of vulnerability because you know, another media outlet is
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  Speaker 2: reporting today that far North Queensland's got about twenty seven
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  Speaker 2: percent in some of their vulnerable communities vaxed. Yes, they've
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  Speaker 2: got a clear date. There's a phenomenal. A lot of
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  Speaker 2: work going on by everyone in the health space, government
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  Speaker 2: and MNGO, and that hard date in Queensland is doubling
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  Speaker 2: and retripling their efforts.
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  Speaker 1: And so do you reckon Alex with that hard day
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  Speaker 1: that we would actually see more people go out and
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  Speaker 1: get the vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, just from our industry perspective in Queensland, but it's
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  Speaker 2: people you know, reporting that that's made their grandma go
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  Speaker 2: and do it up. And if you look at the
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  Speaker 2: territory right now, the workforce has a clear directive and
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  Speaker 2: that's driving the vaccray and in our space that's healthy
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  Speaker 2: young people. There is no incentive for an aged pensioner
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern suburb right now, and they're currently fifteen
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  Speaker 2: ten to fifteen percent lower VACST than the equivalent cohort
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  Speaker 2: in the other states. The other side of it is
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  Speaker 2: and you know, we are very appreciative of the eighteen
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  Speaker 2: months and the tricky juggling act that the government up
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  Speaker 2: here has been able to pull off. Absolutely and looking
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  Speaker 2: around the country, we are very fortunate and we like
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  Speaker 2: the way that they have struck the right balance where
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  Speaker 2: they can. Yep, we just fear that we're going to
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  Speaker 2: start falling a bit behind the pack and some of
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  Speaker 2: this hesitancy in the non workforce population. What's the incentive
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  Speaker 2: or what's the carrot or what's the sticks to drive
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  Speaker 2: their VA's rates up.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, Alex, last time we spoke, you had said that
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  Speaker 1: there was a you know, there was a percentage obviously
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  Speaker 1: of the hospitality workforce who were not keen to get
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  Speaker 1: the vaccine. I know that you were conducting a survey
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  Speaker 1: I believe around this time last week. Any update on
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  Speaker 1: that number.
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  Speaker 2: Look, more results rolling in, but the stats changing that much.
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  Speaker 2: So sixty five percent of our workforce that has been
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  Speaker 2: surveyed are saying they're double vaxed, twenty seven percent single vaxed,
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  Speaker 2: or have booked in they're on the pathway to meet
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  Speaker 2: the manded mandatory first JAB. By twelfth of November, it
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  Speaker 2: still sits at around eight percent that are saying take
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  Speaker 2: me off the roster or I'll quit now. And we're
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  Speaker 2: starting to get a few people leaving the businesses already. Tragically,
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  Speaker 2: I heard that one of the NGOs that we partner
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  Speaker 2: with to do the responsible gaming's lost their only person
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  Speaker 2: that goes into venues and helps make sure that we're
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  Speaker 2: fully trained and doing everything we can to make sure
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  Speaker 2: those responsible gambling issues are where they need to be. Look,
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  Speaker 2: there are going to be knock on effects that we
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  Speaker 2: don't even know about yet, right across industry and community. Well,
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  Speaker 2: and that's.
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  Speaker 1: Something that we are all going to have to sort
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  Speaker 1: of wait and see how it pans out, because it
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  Speaker 1: certainly doesn't seem as though the Chief Finess is going
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  Speaker 1: to take a backward step when it comes to the
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  Speaker 1: vaccine mandate.
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  Speaker 2: Alex, I do want you go sorry, We've still got
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  Speaker 2: that twelve percent vacancy rate in current jobs. So it's
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  Speaker 2: not as if every single one that is refusing to
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  Speaker 2: get vax vaccinated that leaves the business will be replaced
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  Speaker 2: by a double vaxed person. We've already got that shortage.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. And yeah, I mean when you're add
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  Speaker 1: those two figures up, obviously, looking at the twenty percent
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  Speaker 1: potentially twenty percent vacancy rate across the hospitality industry with
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  Speaker 1: those that are not keen to get vaxed and those
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  Speaker 1: that are currently well, those jobs that are currently not
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  Speaker 1: filled the twelve percent, how big an impact do you
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  Speaker 1: reckon the late opening of the borders might have as well.
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  Speaker 1: In terms of filling some of that workforce shortage.
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  Speaker 2: Well, well, that's the other part of it. We need
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  Speaker 2: the borders to normalize so that we can appropriately market
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  Speaker 2: and promote and take bookings from the rest of the country,
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  Speaker 2: and in time, international domestic borders are very much a
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  Speaker 2: stepping stone to international borders as well. So we will
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  Speaker 2: continue to have workforce shortages until both sets the borders
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  Speaker 2: are normalized and the sooner we can get there with
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  Speaker 2: high vax rates and safe protocols for better.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, Alex, before I let you go, I understand that
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  Speaker 1: the police are doing a bit of a blitz in
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  Speaker 1: Ela Springs when it comes to the sale of alcohol.
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  Speaker 1: What's it all about.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, Unfortunately, our venues down there have been reporting what
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  Speaker 2: the community is reporting, and our Springs is going through
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a tough time at the moment, and
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  Speaker 2: our venues have been targeted quite quite ferociously after hours
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  Speaker 2: for breaking enters to access alcohol. We actually think it's
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  Speaker 2: the younger cohort of offenders that are doing it, are
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  Speaker 2: using it to get the grog, but that becomes a
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  Speaker 2: commodity to sell to other elder cohort of vulnerable people
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  Speaker 2: in those communities. And then they're trading it to get ice.
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  Speaker 2: So you know the fact that our meta feather mean
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  Speaker 2: rates are popping up in the sewerage and are getting
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  Speaker 2: higher and high. We actually think there's an ice problem
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  Speaker 2: in Alice that's being marked by out the breaking and
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  Speaker 2: entering to access alcohol. But the police have indicated from
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  Speaker 2: the first November they're going to be doing a bit
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  Speaker 2: of a blitz down there on and off premise. They
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  Speaker 2: briefed industry on it yesterday. We support what they're doing,
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  Speaker 2: and we know that they've got a tough lot at it,
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  Speaker 2: but we do make the point back to them, you know,
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  Speaker 2: rather than sending through eight to twelve, you know, boys
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  Speaker 2: and girls in blue holding their firearms through the through
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  Speaker 2: through through the bars during the day and checking that
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  Speaker 2: anyone in the in the bar isn't on the BDR.
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  Speaker 2: We need the support at three am when the when
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  Speaker 2: the numb bats are breaking in.
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  Speaker 1: Alex Is there any like, is there any evidence to
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  Speaker 1: actually support that, you know, that claim that that they
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: are potentially stealing alcohol there and then using it to
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  Speaker 1: try to get their hands on ice.
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  Speaker 2: Oh look, that's that's how industry's suspicion. And we've we've
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  Speaker 2: ventilated that with government for a while. Now. We know
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  Speaker 2: looking historically, there's some watchhouse data that we pushed for
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: back in twenty fifteen up in Darwin and everyone that
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  Speaker 2: was going into the watchhouse. I think it was about
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  Speaker 2: sixty five percent. We're also on some other substance other
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  Speaker 2: than alcohol. The collection of that data promptly stopped, but
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  Speaker 2: we just know looking across the country and even in
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  Speaker 2: that sewerage results that are in the paper today. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: alcohol is a problem. It's the one you know on
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  Speaker 2: the pub with the lights on are often the focal point.
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  Speaker 2: But we think that there are other challenges that are
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  Speaker 2: going unmet.
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  Speaker 1: I mean it's a big call. It is a you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's a big call to say that. You know that
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  Speaker 1: they are sort of trying to get their hands on
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  Speaker 1: ice and that it's not actually alcohol that's the endgame
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: for them.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, but you look at the black market price for
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  Speaker 2: fly grog and you can see why it's a viable
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  Speaker 2: commodity to trade.
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  Speaker 1: Oh well, certainly something for us to try and have
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  Speaker 1: a bit further look into. I reckon Alex Bruce, the
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  Speaker 1: CEO of Hospitality here in the territory, always appreciate your time.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Thank you,