Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce on the London Flight, and fundraising for a young worker who passed away last week

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Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce on the London Flight, and fundraising for a young worker who passed away last week · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Wanting us on the line right now though, to talk
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: about this and plenty more hospitality int CEO Alex Bruce,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Alex.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Katie.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Sorry mate, we're having some issues with our phone line earlier,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: so glad we've got you back on the line.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Alex.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure whether you heard the Chief Minister Michael
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Gunner on the show just a short time ago, but
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of us were very excited when
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: we heard that this direct London flight was going to
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: be happening. But it seems that even if you are
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: able to get across to London, you're still going to
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: have to quarantine in Howard Springs for two weeks when
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: you return at this point. And then any traveler it's
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: looking to come from the UK to the Northern Territory,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: well they are going to have to quarantine and Howard
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Springs for two weeks at this point in time.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we probably have a look at this from
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: a couple of different perspectives. Firstly, it is good news
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: and credit to the government, Connice and NTI Airports that
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: worked hard to get this. The two immediate benefits are
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: residents can quarantine free, jump on a plane and wake
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: up in London. That's pretty phenomenal and exciting. The benefit
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: for our industry is as a departureport for backpackers and
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: longer stay travelers. If we can really cement Darwin's reputation
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: as a port to leave once you've done your travels
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  Speaker 2: around Australia like we used to be twenty thirty years
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: ago and sadly we dropped away, we think we'll see
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: more backpackers not just going up the East Coast and
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: departing out of Cans, but potentially coming in working in
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: our roadhouses, working throughout our tourism and accommoination providers and hospitality.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: So we see those two benefits of the gateway out.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Listening to Tom Danley from NTY Airport's talk this morning,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: the gate back in is very difficult. You won't be
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: able to go London to Darwin. You have to go
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: to Sydney quarantine for two weeks in hotel quarantine, and
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: then because you're in a declared hot spot, from Sydney
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: to Darwin for another two weeks. So local residents might
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: find a free door out, but four weeks quarantining on
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: the way back in well, and I think it's important
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: though yeah, it is. I agree with you.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: It is certainly an important thing. But then when you
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: talk about it from a tourism perspective or the on
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: flow obviously to hospitality and some of our tourism businesses,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: it's certainly not going to be as simple as you know.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: The Chief Minister had said this morning that he did
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: think there was direct flights back from London to Darwin,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: but yeah, the airport is obviously saying the contrary that
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you've got to either go via Sydney or Melbourne. And
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  Speaker 1: that was, you know, what we'd found when we jumped
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: online and tried to book. But then when you even
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: look at this from a tourism perspective, at this point
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: in time, while there are still those two weeks of
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: quarantine at Howard Springs, it really doesn't seem like it's
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: going to be too different unless you are a long
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: term traveler wanting to come to the territory and maybe
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: work or something.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: That's it. And I suppose we were hardened to hear
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: the Chief indicating that you know that November or early
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: December plan really won't solve that issue either, and buy
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: about February next year, you know, sooner the better but
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: by Sebruary, we really need to move beyond the next
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: stage and really shorten those quarantining times. The reality is
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: we're not going to get a bona fide tourist to
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: warm themselves up for fourteen days in one of our
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: hotels around town. We really need to shorten that for
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: safe double vacks international and domestic travelers.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on. You know it's not only the
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: international travelers. But then when we even talk about domestic
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: travelers over the Christmas break, I know, like you said, November,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: he's hoping that we'll reach that eighty percent vax rate
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: or early December. From the hospitalities perspective, how important is
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: it that we've really tried to make some inroads when
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: we talk about that quarantining for the Christmas break.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we think the November plan that's been announced
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: but not yet put in places realistically probably as good
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: as it gets before Christmas, and that will allow a
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: lot of territoriums that have been cooped up that can't
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: see their family and loved ones down south, the reprieve
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: and the respite, knowing that if they do come back
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  Speaker 2: and they're still in a red zone being red zone
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: at worse, they've got a couple of weeks home quarantine,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: but again that will limit travelers tourists from those areas
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: coming up for us. So before the next dry season,
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: we need to get to the next stage and the
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: one after it. And that's our message that we've been
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: working with the government team on what a February stage
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: of less quarantine restrictions look like. And that's why the
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: vaccination stuff, Katie, is just so important but also unfortunately
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: so devastating some of those Lovak's stats that are coming out. Now.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree with you, and I think it's a
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: really tough situation that we're in, you know, for every territorium.
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  Speaker 1: But then when you look at it from that real
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: business perspective and the impact that it is having, I
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: know that your industry and others are feeling it very much.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: So yeah, and again we agree with the Chief. It's
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: not an indigenous versus no Indigenous issue, lo and behold
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: who knew, of course, but Indigenous people have a whole
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  Speaker 2: range of views, just like non Indigenous people, and they're
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: not a homogeneous group. So there is a remote rural
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: issue that's coming through in our stats. We are coming
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  Speaker 2: dead last now across the country for sixteen and above rollout.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: We really shouldn't have been in this situation. Partly it's
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: our remoteness, but if you look at the seventies and above,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: which is really where the mortality and the really sick
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: effects cluster on all of this. I'm not a doctor,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: I don't have a PhD. Of Google, but you know
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  Speaker 2: they all say seventy and above the most at risk group,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: and even our non indigenous seventy and above the laggards
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: in the nation. So you really have to wonder why,
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  Speaker 2: And I do think it is when even some of
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: the messaging from the chief on the show just previously reconfirmed,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: you know, the hesitancy. Well, he's going to keep keeping
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: COVID out where the reality is COVID's coming. If that concerned,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: you go and get vaccinated.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Hey, Alex. Before I let you go, I
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: do just want to touch on the fact that I
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: know hot To Mali, one of the hospitality one of
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: our hospitality favorites, have lost a very much loved young employee.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: He passed away last week in that terrible crash, that
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: tragic accident. Mate I go fund b page. I believe
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: has been set up in order to try and to
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: try and support his family. And is there somewhere where
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: people can go to actually find it.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, just jump on the hot to Marley facebook page
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: and that's the best link through to that. It was
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: very tragic last week and our thoughts are for everyone
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: in the Nepalese community, the international student community, and our
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: hospitality family that the people that unfortunately had to take
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: the calls. Credit to the frontline responders to you know,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: professional as always and they do deal with humanity in
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: the most tragic circumstances. But by all accounts, you know
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  Speaker 2: they did. It's all proud the Nepalese community last last
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: week in two hours, raised over twenty five thousand dollars
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: recent Creation flight so that you know, this poor soul
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: can go back to his family and loved ones in
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: the poor and Robbo down at Hot Tamali and Analyse.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: They've launched this go fund me page with the support
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: of the family that's to help pay off the apparently
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: have over twenty thousand dollars in our student loan debts
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: to come here to study in the first place. And
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: you know, was a contributor to that family back there.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, we're asking people if they can to obviously
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: support that in any way they can. Unfortunately, it was
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  Speaker 2: just such a tragic outcome for a budding young chef
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: in our industry, and you know how critical those hard
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  Speaker 2: workers are for us and they're all valued. Yeah.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, so much love to his family, his friends, all
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: of that crew there at Hot Tamali and if you
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  Speaker 1: jump on their Facebook page you'll be able to follow
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: those links and be able to help them out. Alex
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Bruce Mate always appreciate your time. Thank you very much
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: for having a chat with us this morning.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Katie, thank you