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Speaker 1: Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce, Good morning, Alex.

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Speaker 2: Good okatie Alex.

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Speaker 3: How was the weekend for our hospitality sector?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Really good.

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Speaker 2: I heard Catherine was cranking, nit Maluck was full. The

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Speaker 2: Gorge tours were back in full swing as well. So

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Speaker 2: right across the top end territories got out camping, fishing, hiking,

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Speaker 2: all of those usual things. And there's one more thing

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Speaker 2: we can add to the list now, and that's staycations.

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Speaker 2: Our accommodation hotels in the city and down at the

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Speaker 2: waterfront all reported close to full or full capacity. A

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Speaker 2: lot of vouchers being redeemed because you had until the

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Speaker 2: thirtieth of April to redeem those vouchers if you were

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Speaker 2: lucky enough to jag one. So I think a lot

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Speaker 2: of families took advantage of that and came in. We

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Speaker 2: heard that a lot of ruralry families were making a

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Speaker 2: weekend of it in and around Darwin. Yeah, so yeah,

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Speaker 2: really positive.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it was incredibly busy around the city and also

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Speaker 1: the waterfront on the weekend. I spent quite a bit

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Speaker 1: of time at the waterfront and it was fantastic to

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Speaker 1: see so many people around.

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Speaker 2: That's it. I heard the Friday night, particularly down there,

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Speaker 2: a lot of restaurants were at capacity, So you know,

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Speaker 2: it is good that, unlike many many other parts of

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Speaker 2: the country, we have recovered to such a strong degree up.

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Speaker 1: Here now in terms of the numbers of hotel bookings.

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Speaker 1: Were those numbers quite high.

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Speaker 2: They were, And Todd from the Double Tree reported that

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Speaker 2: he's properly along the Esplana that's operating with at capacity Friday, Saturday,

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Speaker 2: Sunday night, and I know a lot of the others

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Speaker 2: around town were close to full as well. So we

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Speaker 2: do put it down to three things. Those vouchers that

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Speaker 2: stimulated some of the local demand, the fact that you

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Speaker 2: can't go overseas right now with hard borders, and still

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Speaker 2: we do here. There is quite a lot there is

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Speaker 2: a risk of domestic border changes, so a lot of

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Speaker 2: territorianes are just waiting for things to calm down further

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Speaker 2: down south. They're up here and enjoying themselves in their

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Speaker 2: own backyard now.

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Speaker 1: Obviously, in Queensland last week, you and I spoke towards

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Speaker 1: the end of last week about the situation there and

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Speaker 1: that lockdown and whether we'd sort of see a decrease

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Speaker 1: or not. As many people here in the territory as

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Speaker 1: a result of that lockdown. Did you find that that

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Speaker 1: had much of an impact on us in the end. No.

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Speaker 2: I think a lot of bookings that were still in

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Speaker 2: the works for the weekend and then this week have

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Speaker 2: still occurred. And the flip side is Territorians aren't prepared

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Speaker 2: to take that chance of being the wrong side of

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Speaker 2: a water closure, so they're delaying their trips to Brisbane, Sydney,

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Speaker 2: Melbourne and other areas, and so we're probably getting some

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Speaker 2: of the benefits from that back up here. Hey.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there's discussion this morning that we might.

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Speaker 1: See planes back well back between New Zealand and Australia

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Speaker 1: or a potential travel bubble. Do you reckon that would

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Speaker 1: have much of an impact for us here in the territory.

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Speaker 2: I know, I've been talked about for a while and

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Speaker 2: when we did look at it the end of last year,

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Speaker 2: we aren't a big recipient of New Zealanders up here

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Speaker 2: into the territory. But you know, every extra positive sign

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Speaker 2: that we're developing bubbles where we're linking up with other

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Speaker 2: safe jurisdictions, we might end up getting more benefit from

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Speaker 2: our workforce shortage perspective out of that than the tourists

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Speaker 2: numbers themselves. But yeah, we as you know, we need

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Speaker 2: every cook, every chef, every barm and we can right now.

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Speaker 2: So if that opens up another avenue for us to

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Speaker 2: be recruiting from New Zealand, we'll definitely be looking at it.

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Speaker 1: So you reckon that could be more of an option

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Speaker 1: for us. We may not see a huge amount of

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Speaker 1: New Zealand travelers, but we could indeed end up with

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Speaker 1: filling some of those positions that we need to fill

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Speaker 1: in the hospitality sector.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a strong hospitality key we connection down at

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Speaker 2: some of the operators down in our springs already and

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Speaker 2: they could definitely be bolstered and grow and assist in

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Speaker 2: that town's workforce shortages. I just think tourism wise, for

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Speaker 2: whatever reason, a lot of we's get to Bondi and

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Speaker 2: that's where they stay. They don't make it this far north,

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Speaker 2: but for a job they will.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Hey, one of the other things that we've discussed this morning,

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Speaker 1: but also towards the end of last week was that

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Speaker 1: situation down at the waterfront where they're no longer allowed

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Speaker 1: to have the takeaway alcohol on the lawns at the waterfront.

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Speaker 3: What was your reaction to that. Look, we have.

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Speaker 2: Had discussions with Sandberg from the Waterfront Corporation and our

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Speaker 2: restaurant members down there. We understand that there is a

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Speaker 2: pathway for that to be fixed quite quickly under the

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Speaker 2: existing legal framework that's there. I so it is just

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Speaker 2: a matter of the Waterfront Core and those restaurants getting

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Speaker 2: together and nutting out the best path forward. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: we're definitely keen to see innovation and adaptation everywhere we

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Speaker 2: can in the industry. I think it's clear that locals

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Speaker 2: are enjoying changing the way they play in our city.

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Speaker 1: What about that delivery, So I know that some restaurants

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Speaker 1: were in a situation where they are obviously through COVID

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Speaker 1: delivering meals, but some locations are also delivering those cocktails

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Speaker 1: as well.

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Speaker 3: It seems like that's coming all that has come to

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Speaker 3: an end too.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that that's going to impact many of

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Speaker 1: our hospitality businesses.

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Speaker 2: I listened to Minister File, our responsible minister, what she

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Speaker 2: had to say on that, and from our look at

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Speaker 2: it, it does look like that probably needs legislative change. So

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Speaker 2: the Waterfront might be able to get itself sorted out

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Speaker 2: for that lawned area more quickly than legislation, you know,

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Speaker 2: And someone did crack wisely to me the other day.

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Speaker 2: Imagine if they fast liquor law changes for the benefit

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Speaker 2: of this, but they can't fast track bail. So you know,

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Speaker 2: we are supportive of the legislative process focusing on those

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Speaker 2: key issues that the community are crying out for. And

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Speaker 2: this and other issues will be dealt with at the

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Speaker 2: technical review of the liquoric stage as that uses over

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Speaker 2: the next few months.

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Speaker 1: All right, So you reckon it is one of those

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Speaker 1: ones that just needs to go through the due process

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Speaker 1: rather than being sort of fast tracked to allow that

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Speaker 1: alcohol delivery at this point.

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Speaker 2: Oh look, there's there's policy questions for government and the

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Speaker 2: community ultimately that I don't think are being settled. So

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Speaker 2: not only was it the cocktails, but so it's a

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Speaker 2: bottle of wine. So a restaurant can deliver a bottle

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Speaker 2: of wine to your door with no BDR. A takeaway

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Speaker 2: with a bottle shop attached that's doing it through their

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Speaker 2: drive through bottle shop or home delivery has to scan

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Speaker 2: the BDR. So are we going to turn it off

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Speaker 2: for both? Are we going to turn it on for both?

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Speaker 2: What does a community think about that. There are some

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Speaker 2: minutia detail that still needs to be worked out, but

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Speaker 2: we're supportive of being involved in that conversation.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, I probably hadn't even thought of it

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Speaker 1: in that sense before, but.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right.

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Speaker 1: You know, if you've got to go and scan your

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Speaker 1: license obviously to get a bottle of wine in the

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Speaker 1: bottle shop, should you be doing the same or should

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Speaker 1: it be a similar situation than if something's being delivered

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Speaker 1: to your home.

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Speaker 2: Well, well, that's the thing. So there is home delivery

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Speaker 2: from from bottle shops and pubs and clubs that do

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Speaker 2: home delivery, and they do scan the BDR. So you know,

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Speaker 2: there is a question then well what's the difference between

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Speaker 2: that and the restaurant doing it to exactly the same customer?

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Speaker 2: So you know, again, we just think the work needs

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Speaker 2: to be done. There is a process. What we'll sit

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Speaker 2: down and go through that with the government, our members

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Speaker 2: and other stakeholders.

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Speaker 1: All Right, Well, that one sounds like it's quite a

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Speaker 1: bit more extensive, I suppose, So no doubt we'll talk

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Speaker 1: more about that, but we'll see what happens down at

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Speaker 1: the waterfront. Hopefully they're able to reinstate that sooner rather

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Speaker 1: than later. Thank you, good on you, Thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Alex Kattie All, thank you.

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Speaker 1: That's hospitality. Nt CEO there, Alex Bruce