Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce says as tourism season ramps up, we need to nip the harsh vaccine mandates for venues in the bud

Transcript

Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce says as tourism season ramps up, we need to nip the harsh vaccine mandates for venues in the bud · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know the territory's hospitality industry is appealing to
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government to end the requirement to vaccine
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: check at all licensed venues. So, under these Chief Health
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Officer directions, operators of licensed premises, casinos, cinemas and gatherings
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: with more than five hundred people they're required to check
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the vaccination status of every patron. Joining me on the
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: line is the CEO of Hospitality here in the Northern Territory,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Alex Bruce. Good morning to you, Alex.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Good morning Kati. Alex.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you just heard the Chief Minister
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: on the show, but he indicated that there is going
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: to be a change in this space where it will
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: no longer be required when you're walking in the door
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: but having to check the vaccine status at the bar.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Did you hear that and have you had any update
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: on that.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: I didn't hear that interview. We've just come from a
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: meeting with the Chief Health Officer, doctor Hugh Hegy and
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: his deputy, doctor Charles Paine. They definitely didn't indicate anything
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: of that nature, but we were raising the three issues
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: that are burning for our membership, being this vas checking
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: the vaccine passport for our customers, the VACS mandate, and
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: ultimately this two year legislation to keep the problems in
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: the nightmare it is happening for the next two years.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: So look, it was a very respectful meeting and we
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: definitely appreciate that we do get the opportunity to strongly
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: put our industries used to both the show and the
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Deputy show. We are after an end date, so anything
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: that the Chief Minister is saying that you can actually
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: put a flag in the sand and call it. We
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: are getting tourists to trickle. It's going to be a
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: flood within a month. If they're coming from jurisdictions like
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: New South Wales that you know, they've chosen freedom, Katie.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: They're moving on with their lives, they're happy, they're up
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: here for a holiday, and they're starting to push back.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: We are getting reports that, you know, some of those
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: customers are challenging staff, why are you still doing this?
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Why is this even required? So you know, let's just
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: nip it in the bud now before it's a bigger problem.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he indicated that there was going to be some changes,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: but really didn't provide any sort of further clarifications. So
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: at this point in time, Alex, it doesn't seem like
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: it's going away in a hurry. What kind of impact
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: does that have on hospitality venues around the territory?
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Look, unfortunately, our staff bearing the brunt of it. So
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: you know, since they made the border changes so you
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: can come in unvaxed, it's our roadhouses and wayside inns
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: that are now getting the emails from Jack and Shad's
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: UHF forty and Old Jack's unvaxed and can they come
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: to our venue or not? So why we suddenly the
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: frontline COVID cops when the government themselves have run away
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: from enforcing this. And similarly, people are jumping on planes
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: and they're coming up. So the first time anyone's saying
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: anything about vaccine status to them is when they're coming
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: for a beer or a meal in one of our
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: venues in Darwin. Why are we doing this, Katie.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Well, I think that's a big question, Alex. Why are
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: we doing it? And I think that this is part
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: of the reason and why a lot of people want
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: to see more regular reporting from the Chief Health Officer.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: But instead it's appearing as though we're moving away from that.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: We're extending powers for two years and we're not going
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: to see an in depth report until after the next election.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the Chief Health Officer did touch on this with
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: us because we did share some of those concerns. And
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: apparently there will be a report at the end of
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: this ninety day extension tabled or produced and published. But then, yes,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: the next one wouldn't be until two years is finished,
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: and that Matt Cunningham on the weekend quite rightly pointed
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: out that that lands conveniently just after the next election,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: so that your listeners form their own views on that. Look.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: At the end of last year, we got told that
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: this vax checking requirement on us would only be when
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: we were in lockout conditions. You know how many rule
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: changes have there been in the last couple of months,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: but you know that was only going to be in
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: lockout conditions. It was going to be temporary and nature,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: you know, a week at a time, had to do
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: it at the same time. Then we got to seventh
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: of January and they slapped this on us. And yes,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: cinemas and groups above five hundred, but predominantly just hospitality
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: copped the head on this one. And we got told
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: that this was about cresting the wave or passing the peak.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: You know, the Chief Minister gave lots of commentary at
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: the time about these measures were in place, including masks.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: It's got to be said, and we're happy that we've
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: said sina to them. You know, the hospitalizations peaked forty
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: eight days ago. In cases peaked fifty two days ago, Katie,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: So you know, where are we going with this stuff?
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: There were better road maps produced last year. How come
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: the government at the moment is giving less certainty to
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: business in the community than they were able to achieve
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: earlier in the pandemic, when arguably they know more now
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: than they've ever been able to know in the last
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: two years.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Oh, Alex, look, I just think that a lot of
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: people are very confused by all of this, and you know,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister wants to appear as though they're very
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: open and transparent, but the public are feeling like it's
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: anything but, and they're feeling confused by a lot of
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: these decisions.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Alex.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: I know that there's plenty going on, and certainly plenty
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: of concerns around COVID and the fact that this check
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: in remains in place at this point. You know, to
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: anybody out there listening this morning that's thinking to themselves,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: come on, it's just a check in to you know,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: to let people know that you've vaccinated. We want people
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to be vaccinated. What would you say to them in
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: terms of the hindrance that it is on business and
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: you know, at a time when everybody else seems to
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: be scaling back.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Look, and this is one of the points we put
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: to the Chief help Officer. Those people that are choosing
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: not to be vaxed, Now, come hell or high water,
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: they're not going to get vaxed. So can we just
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: drop the fallacy that by depriving them the opportunity to
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: freely move around somehow we're all keeping each other safe
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: and patting each other on the backs. We had a
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: very aggressive event occur in one of our venues and
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: the staff will quite shook up about it and it
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: was a nerve that was pushing back, you know. So
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: there are people right across the community that are saying
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: enough is enough. They're looking at the lack of compliance.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: When the police Minister, her first day out, you know,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: breaks the rules. The Chief Minister three days before the
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: masked mandating door mass mandate lifted broke the rules. It's
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: very hard for there to ever be any compliance and
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: enforcement going on when the government's not even playing by
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: the rules themselves. So you know, we're seeing less and
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: less customers. It is a shared responsibility. We see less
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: and less of them coming up and showing their vac status,
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: it's fair to say. And I'm sure your listeners have
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: seen this. There's probably less of it going on across
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: our networks now as well, and so you've got the
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: venues that are doing the right thing going well, hold
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: on a minute, what's this about? How quickly can we
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: get rid of it?
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Well, Alex Bruce, I tell you Wash I think that
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: there's going to be plenty of room for more discussion
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: about this throughout the week. We really appreciate your time,
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: as I wish I had a little bit more because
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: I'd speak to you about a few other things, including
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: what those were what won our Springs business. I might
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: just ask you very quickly that Alice Springs business last
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: week subjected to an assault and alleged assault with a
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: star picket mate. Are you pretty concerned about some of
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: these violent offenses that we are seeing around the place
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: right now?
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And we were down in Alice Springs and we
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: caught up with Derek from Club east Side at an
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: event later that afternoon, and he was absolutely shook up,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: and he was talking about the impact that it was
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: having on his staff. And I know that you've spoken
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: to him, but you know they're talking about building panic
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: rooms into hospitality venues down in Alice Springs. Surely that
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: is a clear sign that all of the measures that
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: this government has put in place are failing.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Goodness me, a panic room in a license venue, that's what.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: That club right now is looking at.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Wow, Alex Spruce. I mean I think that that it
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: is obviously extreme, but if they are feeling that unsafe,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: you can understand it. I tell you what, We've got
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: to see some change in this space. It's what's happening
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: right now is just not good enough. Thank you very
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: much for speaking to us this morning. Alex. Thank you