Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Top End Tourism GM Glen Hingley

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Katie Woolf spoke with Top End Tourism GM Glen Hingley · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com. You well, as we know,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: there has certainly been a worker shortage. I think we're
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: being you know, it's being experienced all around Australia, you'd
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: have to say, but we are particularly feeling it here
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in the Top End and in the Northern Territory more generally.
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  Speaker 1: We have read in the paper today that Tourism Central
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Australia has said that in some situations they are actually
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: well having to reduce the hotel occupancy to try and
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: cope with this forced worker shortage. Now joining us on
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  Speaker 1: the line to talk a little bit more about how
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: things are going here in the top end, we have
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: got Tourism Top End General Manager Glenn Hinley.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Glenn.
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  Speaker 3: Hey Katie Wolf, good morning. How are you?
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Oh very well.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of territorianess who are probably
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: struggling a little bit this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Glen. From going to the.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Hospitality Awards last night, it was a fantastic evening.
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  Speaker 3: They had such a great evening because their host was.
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  Speaker 2: It was just great, Oh thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Celebration of hospitality and tourism and to see so many
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  Speaker 3: workers who have struggled, people in our hospitality ranks have
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  Speaker 3: struggled throughout this last year, and to come together and
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  Speaker 3: celebrate great service, great businesses across the territory and all
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  Speaker 3: made it more special to have you comparing it to
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  Speaker 3: thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Well yeah, I you know, I totally agree with the
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  Speaker 1: sentiment that you've got there that you know when you
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  Speaker 1: talk at our talk about our hospitality and our tourism
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  Speaker 1: industry and the wonderful service you know you spot on.
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  Speaker 1: It was a fantastic night and fantastic to acknowledge all
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  Speaker 1: of that hard work.
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  Speaker 3: And hospitality and tea. Yeah, the job on the launch last.
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  Speaker 1: Night, absolutely, and Glenn, we know that you know that
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  Speaker 1: across all of these industries, particularly in tourism and hospitality,
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  Speaker 1: but also even for our farmers. We've got a real
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  Speaker 1: situation around all of Australia at the moment with this
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: worker shortage. I have noted in the paper today that
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  Speaker 1: in Central Australia it's certainly having a real impact. Daniel
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Rochford's told the NT News that due to a shortage
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: of important staff like cleaners and cooks, some hotels in
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  Speaker 1: the region had been forced to decrease their capacities. How
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  Speaker 1: are things going up here in the top end.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think we're moving forward a little bit better
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  Speaker 3: than the picture that's been painted down in other springs.
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  Speaker 3: But I think it's still very, very difficult, and it's
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  Speaker 3: difficult in different sectors of our hospitality and tourism sector.
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  Speaker 3: And there's a few different reasons for that. I think
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  Speaker 3: one of the key things, and what we collectively are
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  Speaker 3: doing as an industry and working collectively with other associations
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  Speaker 3: and working with government, is to find these solutions locally.
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  Speaker 3: Because one of the things we can see straight away,
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  Speaker 3: we've got a workstay play program similar to what other
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  Speaker 3: states have got, where there's fifteen hundred dollars relocation fee
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  Speaker 3: and the government's offering up to six hours. Federal government
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  Speaker 3: also relocation bonuses. But we've also got a very real challenge.
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  Speaker 3: And it's one thing to go on market and get
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  Speaker 3: people from other states to come here, and it's now
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  Speaker 3: very competitive workplace, but where are they going to stay?
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  Speaker 3: Rentals at an all time high, and so we the
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  Speaker 3: more work that we can be doing locally to get
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  Speaker 3: locals employed into tourism and hospitality, I think that's that's
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  Speaker 3: a real key for us that there are a lot
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  Speaker 3: of businesses here that are from last year. They ran
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  Speaker 3: with a small crew that were enabled to be stayed
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  Speaker 3: on by job Keeper and that was one of the
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  Speaker 3: great values of job Keeper from the get go. It
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  Speaker 3: wasn't just about supporting the businesses, but it was keeping
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  Speaker 3: businesses intact connected with their staff. There are lessons that
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  Speaker 3: we've seen in times gone by when when cyclones, for example,
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  Speaker 3: natural disasters have come through and we take cyclone Yassy
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  Speaker 3: in northern Quints and a few years ago it came
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  Speaker 3: to and decimated that the tourism industry closed a lot
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  Speaker 3: of it up and without the right supports schemes, those
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  Speaker 3: people who weren't locals and then went back to Sydney
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  Speaker 3: Melbourne weren't able to come back. And we're talking about
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  Speaker 3: chefs and waiters and waitresses and tour guides in these things.
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  Speaker 3: And so glad I think.
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  Speaker 1: From it from our perspective locally, I mean, I know
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  Speaker 1: I mentioned a little while ago in far North Queensland.
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  Speaker 1: At the moment they are the state government today in
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  Speaker 1: fact is announcing that scheme where they're offering fifteen hundred
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  Speaker 1: dollars to any worker that takes up a far North
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  Speaker 1: Queensland hospitality job. So I guess similar amount to what
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  Speaker 1: we're offering here in the territory in terms of luring
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  Speaker 1: workers across, but it is more so I think it's
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  Speaker 1: an effort to try to keep people there. They're sort
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  Speaker 1: of offering these bonuses when you've been there for three weeks,
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  Speaker 1: three months and then six months. But do you reckon
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  Speaker 1: for us at the moment, the reality is that we're
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  Speaker 1: better off trying to get locals to actually maybe take
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  Speaker 1: up a second job.
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  Speaker 3: With taking up a second job, so being able to
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  Speaker 3: reduce the tax threshold for a second job, I think
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  Speaker 3: that's really important and that's a message we want to
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  Speaker 3: get through to the federal government. The recent changes that
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  Speaker 3: were happened quickly around the changeob and you had the
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  Speaker 3: Prime Minister, you interviewed him recently and straight after a
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  Speaker 3: meeting with industry here where industry said to him tourism
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  Speaker 3: and hospitality. We've got student foreign students here and their
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  Speaker 3: visas limit them to forty hours a fortnight. If we
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  Speaker 3: could remove that cap, and it was done so and
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  Speaker 3: that was a great outcome. Four eight visas enabling people
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  Speaker 3: to move work in tourism, hospitality, agriculture, age care, health.
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  Speaker 3: So one of those things is those people who are already
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  Speaker 3: here being able to do that, And I think we
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  Speaker 3: also have to work to enable people who are already
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  Speaker 3: in the territory. So a second job. Absolutely, we know
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  Speaker 3: a lot of people work casual and to be able
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  Speaker 3: to create a tax system that enables them to be
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  Speaker 3: able to have a second job, work the hours they
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  Speaker 3: want and not be penalized for it. And the other one,
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  Speaker 3: which is and it's not for everybody, this one. But
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  Speaker 3: we also are blessed to have literally thousands and thousands
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  Speaker 3: of grain nomads up from down south, whether and some
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  Speaker 3: of them recently retired, who would love to do some
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  Speaker 3: extra work, who some of them are dedicated to being
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  Speaker 3: one hundred cent on holidays, and good luck to them.
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  Speaker 3: Others would love to be working in a kitchen, on
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  Speaker 3: a grill, on a check encounter, mowing the grass in
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  Speaker 3: the caravan and camping park. But of course they've got
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: means test challenges around their pensions and their allowances. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: there was a way that the federal government could temporarily
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  Speaker 3: lift that means testing and that any money earned could
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  Speaker 3: for example, go straight into their superannuation fund. That again
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  Speaker 3: frees up local workforce who are here in the territory
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  Speaker 3: right now for those who want to get out work
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  Speaker 3: but can't because they do not want to have any
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  Speaker 3: consequence on it.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's something that Senator Sam mcmahn raised with us
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  Speaker 1: as well recently, and I actually think that is a
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  Speaker 1: fabulous idea. I all so think that reducing the tax
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  Speaker 1: threshold for a second job is a fabulous idea as well,
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  Speaker 1: because it actually means that you know that we could
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  Speaker 1: be utilizing, like you've said, people that are already here
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  Speaker 1: and if we can make things a little bit easier
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  Speaker 1: if you are, you know, earning a bit more money,
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  Speaker 1: because we keep that money then in the territory too, absolutely, and.
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  Speaker 3: People get to stay stay at home and be with
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  Speaker 3: your families. And what a great Who wants to move
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  Speaker 3: away from the top end during the dry Nobody wants
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  Speaker 3: to great place. Let's keep the people working here, let's
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  Speaker 3: key to it. I also think we will be coming
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  Speaker 3: up with campaigns to yeah, we've got to stay competitive
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  Speaker 3: as a destination in a work in a workforce, and
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  Speaker 3: so there will be other activities that will be coming out,
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  Speaker 3: cooperative activities, between the associations and government too, to just
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  Speaker 3: to show our appreciation and value our workforce even more one.
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  Speaker 3: There are a few challenges, however, and there are opportunities.
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  Speaker 3: It's not just about restaurants and bars and housekeeping. For
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  Speaker 3: anyone out there who has previously had experience as a
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  Speaker 3: tour guide, this is one of the areas that is
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  Speaker 3: of most desperate need at the moment because unfortunately, when
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  Speaker 3: because we operate very seasonally here traditionally, and we had
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  Speaker 3: the wet and then we came out of the wet,
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  Speaker 3: there was bushfires down south and then we went into
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  Speaker 3: pandemic and then job Keeper came in at the end
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  Speaker 3: of March, and so most of our local family owned
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  Speaker 3: touring companies who were the backbone of our of our
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  Speaker 3: tourism industry here didn't have tour guides on their books.
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  Speaker 3: Traditionally they come and work for us six or seven
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  Speaker 3: months and then move away and then come back, and
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  Speaker 3: so they weren't picked up in job Keeper, and so
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  Speaker 3: we've lost those people and love those people are now
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  Speaker 3: driving trucks and mining companies and doing other work background Australia.
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  Speaker 3: So we're doing a big call out at the moment
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  Speaker 3: to anyone who's interested in being a tour guide, getting
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  Speaker 3: people out to Lichfield, out to Kakudo around Darwin. The
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  Speaker 3: training that's necessary to be able to help people where
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  Speaker 3: those gaps in knowledge are our experience. What can we
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  Speaker 3: do more because one of the big needs for us
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  Speaker 3: is a tour guides. We've got some amazing tour guides, but.
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  Speaker 1: We need more now, Glenn, a couple of just a
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  Speaker 1: couple of things that I'm keen to get through before
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  Speaker 1: we let you go this morning. We know that there
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  Speaker 1: are a lot of tourists around the top end right now,
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  Speaker 1: you guys see a lot of them coming through your
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  Speaker 1: doors at tourism top end.
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  Speaker 2: What are they telling you? Are they? I mean, where
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  Speaker 2: are they coming from?
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  Speaker 1: Is there is there a location where the majority are
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  Speaker 1: coming from? Are they all sort of young major event
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  Speaker 1: goers i e. Based in the grassgoers or have we
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  Speaker 1: got a real mix of people at the moment.
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  Speaker 3: So the last two will next year. We certainly threw
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  Speaker 3: in the streets that we had a lot of event
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  Speaker 3: goers and that was that was spectacular. But interestingly number
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  Speaker 3: one market at the moment besides still Territory and locals
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  Speaker 3: and is New South Wales Victoria queensme Wa. That's the
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  Speaker 3: order of what we're seeing through in the bookings at
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  Speaker 3: the moment and the feedback from our members. So that
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  Speaker 3: mix has changed almost overnight, where two months ago we
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  Speaker 3: were ninety five percent territories and visiting friends and relatives,
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: so we're seeing that. We are seeing also yet a
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  Speaker 3: lot of retirees who are taking that time that possibly
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: would have been on a cruise ship internationally at this
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  Speaker 3: time of the year, that they had the Top End
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  Speaker 3: on their agenda for a long time. And this is
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  Speaker 3: also why it's so important that we're doing everything we
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  Speaker 3: can to get it right. That we've got to move
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  Speaker 3: away from that once in a decade, once in a
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  Speaker 3: lifetime bucket list destination. People are coming up here and
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  Speaker 3: go with how long has this been going on? This
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: is awesome. This is completely not what we expected Darwin
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: and the Top End to be. And part of our
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: messaging to everybody that we come in contact with is
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  Speaker 3: we've got seven seasons here. Yes, this is one of
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: the most magnificent seasons, but there's a thing called the
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: wet that's also very spectacular. Yeah, there's reasons to come back,
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  Speaker 3: and so we've got to be able to do that.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, it's massive.
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  Speaker 2: And Gwen, do you reckon they're coming here?
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  Speaker 1: Do you reckon that they're coming here as a result
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: of those half price fares? Or are they are they
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: traveling by caravan and road?
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  Speaker 2: What are they? You know, what are they doing?
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  Speaker 3: I think it's a real mix on that, Katie. We
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  Speaker 3: also know that the game is running full every week
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  Speaker 3: bringing more visitors in the air fat absolutely made us
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  Speaker 3: substantial difference to us and again thanks to your great
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: efforts in with the minsiterterism that morning. But so the
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  Speaker 3: Airfa is great. The drive market yes, I think also
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  Speaker 3: just due to the manner in which we as territories
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  Speaker 3: worked hard to keep this a safe destination by caring
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  Speaker 3: for each other. The dividends are now that, now that
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  Speaker 3: it's safe or other Australians to visit here, we are
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  Speaker 3: a destination of choice in Australia. Yeah, it's really clean, clear,
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  Speaker 3: and it's really clear in the interaction that my team
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: have through the travel center here of people coming in
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  Speaker 3: and saying, you know, you were number one destination for
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: us to get here, whether they flew, drove or come
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: up on a train. And now we slowly get these
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: small expedition ships moving again, there's another reason for people
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: to be coming here. So yeah, it's a real broad mix, Katie, Well,
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  Speaker 3: that's good to hear.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Glenn, we are going to have to wrap up,
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  Speaker 1: but I do want to very quickly ask you there
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: is this proposal or this discussion happening nationally at the
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: moment as to whether we should have interstate vaccine passports
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: making it easier. Is I guess what the you know,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: the suggestion is making it easier for us to travel
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  Speaker 1: to you know, to other states.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, is this something that you reckon needs to happen.
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  Speaker 3: I think we still as the territory need to be
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  Speaker 3: very very careful. I think we haven't as all listeners
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  Speaker 3: and self and very aware, we haven't had to pick
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: up on the vaccines, so we're still largely unprotected. And
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  Speaker 3: from day one of the pandemic, our thoughts as all
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: territories was to one third of out territorians who are
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: considered vulnerable to this horrible virus. And I think we
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: need to be careful. We can't just open the floodgates
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: and say it's businesses normal and we forget the past
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: until we've got really good levels of herd community. I
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: think things like this can't help. I think these will
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: be good initiatives, and I think it also helps prepare
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: us KDI for how we start thinking about international rivals
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: as well, because you know, we know places many places
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  Speaker 3: now I have got very high vaccine rates around the
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: vaccines that we've got the be It fires or astrosenica here,
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: and they're fully vaccinated. I know in Bali alone there's
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: close to a million Barlainese now fully vaccinated with astrosenica.
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  Speaker 3: But still we don't see a time when they will
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: be able to travel back. So I think step by
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: step how we do this locally important and I think
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  Speaker 3: also this brings specially for a lot of our communities
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: around the top end with who still feel a degree
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: of concern and exposure. Anything that can help allay those
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: fears and know that the people coming in are safe,
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: especially to the elderly and those people with medical conditions
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: can only only be a good thing. Yeah.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: Well, Glenn Hindley Hinley, it's always good to catch up
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: with you. We really appreciate your time. Thank you so
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: much for coming on this morning and having a chat
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: with us.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie and Congratulations to all the winners last night
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: at Hospitality and t Awards. It's great to see and
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: thank you for your great comparison.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you. They did a phenomenal job. Thanks Glenn,
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: we'll talk to you again very soon. Glenn Henley there,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: who is indeed the tourism top end general Manager,