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

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  Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty
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  Speaker 1: every One is Listening Mix one oh four point nine
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  Speaker 1: Hospitality NTCEEO. Alex Bruce, Good morning, Alex, Good morning Kety. Now, Alex,
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  Speaker 1: we've spoken over the last few days about the situation
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  Speaker 1: with the worker shortage here in the Northern Territory. Is
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  Speaker 1: there much of an update from your perspective, Look, there
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  Speaker 1: is a.
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  Speaker 2: Lot of work going on government industry, where other other
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  Speaker 2: industries we're all partnering together and trying to find in
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  Speaker 2: place workers where we can in our industry and agriculture
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  Speaker 2: and age care as well, they're having similar problems as
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  Speaker 2: we are. And we know manufacturing and the construction guys
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  Speaker 2: are crying out as well. So it's handfuls of jobs
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  Speaker 2: and handfuls of relationships being linked at a time.
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  Speaker 1: I'd say, and you described it last week as an
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  Speaker 1: acute situation where we really need to get it sorted
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  Speaker 1: sooner rather than later. I mean, how bad is this
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  Speaker 1: going to get if we're not able to actually get
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  Speaker 1: some workers here ahead of what we're all hoping is
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  Speaker 1: going to be a really busy dry season.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, so Central Australia was probably the test for us
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  Speaker 2: over Pachma and the schools holidays that have just gone,
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  Speaker 2: and we know within a month the kinds of difficulties
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  Speaker 2: delays that we're experienced down there will be part of
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  Speaker 2: what top End and Darlin's experiencing. So that's why there
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  Speaker 2: is this mad scramble to try and place people, to
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  Speaker 2: try and get locals, to try and get unemployed locals,
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  Speaker 2: to try and get the refugees, to try and get
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  Speaker 2: more indigenous involvement. We're looking in every avenue we can
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  Speaker 2: right now to try and place people in our businesses.
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  Speaker 1: And much movement, Alex, I mean, have you had much
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  Speaker 1: sort of positive movement in this space.
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  Speaker 2: I look, there's nice little stories like we've hit the
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  Speaker 2: gray nomads that are traveling around the country a lot
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  Speaker 2: harder than we have in previous years. And we're getting
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  Speaker 2: a lot of cvs coming through. You know Jack and
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  Speaker 2: Shout that are on UHF forty, they're in this from
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  Speaker 2: this date to this date. He's good at this and
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  Speaker 2: she's good at that. And you know walk about tavern
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  Speaker 2: Over and Nullen Boy. They've picked up some workers from it.
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  Speaker 2: So wouldn't it the greatest Darwen Cup this year was
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  Speaker 2: powered by gray power.
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  Speaker 1: You we'd love it. That'd be nice. And I'm guessing that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it's going to take more than just those
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  Speaker 1: sort of you know, those nice few stories. It's it's
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  Speaker 1: going to take some real manpower and woman power.
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  Speaker 2: Correct. There's more backpackers coming in at the moment though,
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  Speaker 2: so that might help, particularly the top end, but our
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  Speaker 2: skilled workers, our cooks, our chefs, the skilled positions in
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  Speaker 2: our management structures, we really need to be able to,
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  Speaker 2: like other jurisdictions already are doing, get some planes of
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  Speaker 2: properly targeted workers from COVID safe areas and get them
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  Speaker 2: landed in Darwin. We ultimately want to get quarantining happening
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  Speaker 2: in the top end for those workers. That's why the
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  Speaker 2: news today that maybe maybe India is going to be
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  Speaker 2: taken off off off the list for repatriation flights for
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  Speaker 2: a while. You know, there's a lot of people that
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  Speaker 2: are been coming from India Australians through Howard Springs, so
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  Speaker 2: we know that that will create a bit of an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity immediately and before they go further down the list
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  Speaker 2: of you know, some of these Australians we're hearing from
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  Speaker 2: some stories that you know, some of them haven't put
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  Speaker 2: a foot on home soil for over a decade or
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  Speaker 2: at all. We'll get to them at some point. That
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  Speaker 2: the NT has a work crisis right now across sectors.
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  Speaker 2: How come we can't out national Cabinet today push for
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of a ca If we're going to
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  Speaker 2: suspend immediate India effective immediately, how come you know we'd
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  Speaker 2: love Balley, we'd love Ballei right now there are workers
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  Speaker 2: there saying we're happy to come. We're COVID safe, we've
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  Speaker 2: been vaccinated. But if that's too difficult as the first step,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we could get wheels up on a plane
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  Speaker 2: Banawha TU or CG in a matter of days and
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  Speaker 2: and put some agricultural seasonal workers on it, some aged
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  Speaker 2: cared workers and some hospitality workers and tourism operate workers
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  Speaker 2: for US.
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  Speaker 1: Alex, do you reckon this is a real opportunity here
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  Speaker 1: where if they do cut back the number of flights
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  Speaker 1: from India, those repatriated Australians coming back from India, that
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  Speaker 1: realistically this is an opportunity for hospitality, tourism and NT
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  Speaker 1: farmers to potentially bring over some workers for these jobs
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  Speaker 1: that cannot currently be filled.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, absolutely, and why can't we put that case
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  Speaker 2: forward potentially ahead of Australian citizens that haven't had very
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  Speaker 2: much connection with the country for a long long time,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and it is bad that there is this
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  Speaker 2: mad scramble for positions in a limited quarantining environment.
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  Speaker 1: Alex, Have you put that to the government at this
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  Speaker 1: point or is it something that you're planning on doing.
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  Speaker 2: We've put it today to the government and we had
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  Speaker 2: heard throughout the week that potentially, with the extra cases
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  Speaker 2: that were coming from India and the concerns that were
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  Speaker 2: growing on India, whether we need to pause those flights
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  Speaker 2: for a while rather than just ticking up more flights
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  Speaker 2: of other Australians. And the other thing I'd say is,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we need more transparency about who is going
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  Speaker 2: through our facilities, not only in the territory but across
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  Speaker 2: the quarantining system in Australia. Less than half of them
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  Speaker 2: are Australian citizens at the moment. That's a national stat
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  Speaker 2: I've had it concern that that's the case in how
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  Speaker 2: it springs. So we know that the mining and gas
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  Speaker 2: industry has got a lot of non Australian five FO
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  Speaker 2: workers going through there, and that's absolutely appropriate. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we need that industry to be as good as it
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  Speaker 2: can be right now as well. But who ultimately makes
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  Speaker 2: the decisions and if it's the FEDS, well, can we
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  Speaker 2: get the territory government to go into bat for us
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  Speaker 2: a little bit harder? You know, like they've got a
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  Speaker 2: lot of money. I keep hearing they've got a lot
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  Speaker 2: of money for how it brings to you know, be
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  Speaker 2: the quarantine doormat for Australia. How can we maximize that
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  Speaker 2: to fix the acute skill shortages across the industries that
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  Speaker 2: we're facing in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Alex Bruce, we're about to catch up with the
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  Speaker 1: Senator for the Northern Territory, Sam McMahon, so we might
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  Speaker 1: ask a few of those questions to her. We really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. I know you are pressed
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  Speaker 1: for time, so we'll leave it there and we'll speak
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  Speaker 1: to you again in the very near future.
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  Speaker 2: Katie. Thanks all, good on you.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Alex. That is Hospitality nt CEO there. Alex Bruce,
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  Speaker 1: And i'd tell you what what do you reckon? I mean,
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  Speaker 1: do you think that we should actually be looking at
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  Speaker 1: bringing over some workers from those other countries that are
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  Speaker 1: safe to do so to try and help out those
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  Speaker 1: industries that are struggling at this point in time. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: you've just heard from Alex Bruce. They have they're trying
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  Speaker 1: to get workers here in Australia from a number of
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  Speaker 1: different areas, but there is a real shortage and they
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  Speaker 1: are concerned about that shortage that we're going to have
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  Speaker 1: heading into the dry season. So do we maybe need
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  Speaker 1: to look at if we're going to be reducing the
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  Speaker 1: number and it is a big ift still National Cabinet's
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  Speaker 1: not due to meet until later this afternoon as we
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  Speaker 1: understand it, but if we do see a reduction in
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  Speaker 1: the number of flights coming from the likes of EA India,
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  Speaker 1: do we maybe need to look at pumping up those
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  Speaker 1: numbers of workers coming across and filling jobs in industries where,
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  Speaker 1: by the sounds of it, we simply cannot fill those
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  Speaker 1: positions at this point in time.