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Speaker 1: Hello, Katie wall Van three point sixty online at Mix

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Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com.

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Speaker 2: You well, as we know, just before lunchtime yesterday we

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Speaker 2: are now we headed into a forty eight hour lockdown

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Speaker 2: and many people went into it in a bit of

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Speaker 2: a panic, rushing to the shopping centers in the thousands,

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Speaker 2: well the supermarkets in the thousands, but many businesses really

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Speaker 2: weren't sure if they could stay open or what the

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Speaker 2: lockdown meant for them. Now joining me on the line

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Speaker 2: is the CEO of Hospitality NT Alex Bruce. Good morning

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Speaker 2: to you, Alex, Good morning Katie Alex. What was the

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Speaker 2: reaction yesterday when that snap lockdown was called?

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Speaker 1: Ah, look, probably not dis similar to the community, a

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Speaker 1: bit of trepidation. There was probably a view in the

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Speaker 1: back of some people's head that you know, this may

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Speaker 1: happen at some point to us, how long could we

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Speaker 1: enjoy the freedom and the life that were deprived so

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Speaker 1: many other fellow Australians. So look, it was straight away

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Speaker 1: to hunt for information. Okay, this has happened, We're going

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Speaker 1: to comply. We support you know, Chiefelf obviously Hughheggy and

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Speaker 1: his team, so they're telling us we need to do this.

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Speaker 1: They're telling us we need to do it for forty

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Speaker 1: eight hours, then just all of the questions in the

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Speaker 1: detail then bubble to the top. So just a bit

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Speaker 1: of a fight for information yesterday afternoon and into the

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Speaker 1: night last night.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon so, and I'm assuming that there was

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Speaker 2: quite a number of cancelations from people expected to be

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Speaker 2: arriving into the territory.

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Speaker 1: Yes, they're starting to happen more so, you know, as

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Speaker 1: quickly as it was. There's a lot of tourists in

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Speaker 1: the hotels around Darland right now. They might not have

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Speaker 1: necessarily left, They've just paused while they reconsider there are

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Speaker 1: their own plans and you know, wa and Sabbath tray

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Speaker 1: of stopped them from returning, or they might be able

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Speaker 1: to get in. So we think they're still here for

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Speaker 1: the next day or more depending on other announcements player today.

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Speaker 1: But we're already knowing that this is going to have

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Speaker 1: a longer term impact. I've been talking to learn English

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Speaker 1: from Tsan top end this morning and unfortunately we're starting

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Speaker 1: to see that drop off now. So the two real

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Speaker 1: pertin questions I suppose for us is how long will

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Speaker 1: this go on for? But also what will be the

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Speaker 1: impact in what was by all accounts going to be

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Speaker 1: a something good year for us.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the thing we were anticipating that we

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Speaker 2: were going to be going into well a bump a

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Speaker 2: few weeks of school holidays as well.

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Speaker 1: That's it. And so again we really don't know, and

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Speaker 1: we're looking to see what midday announcement happens today about

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Speaker 1: how far we are and how long we go along.

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Speaker 1: We're working with the government on their support payment. That

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars the threshold at the moment now it's only

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Speaker 1: for businesses up up to twenty fte We've already made

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Speaker 1: a representation that we might need to look at that

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Speaker 1: we hope that we don't and that you know, by

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Speaker 1: mid day today, we're counting down the clock till we

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Speaker 1: can all reopen. Then our discussions will pivot to how

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Speaker 1: you reopen and if there's any additional requirements. Again, we're

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Speaker 1: already continuing to ramp up our messaging to the public. Please,

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Speaker 1: even if you're visiting our venues that are doing takeaway,

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Speaker 1: check in on the door, is there picking up your

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Speaker 1: coffee or whatever?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so true.

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Speaker 2: In terms of the number of tourists that we've currently

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Speaker 2: got here that is sort of in lockdown now. Do

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Speaker 2: we have any idea of how many people we do

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Speaker 2: have here at the moment?

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Speaker 3: Well, it was quite positive, you know, like we'd lost

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Speaker 3: some bookings as we discussed on Friday with Sydney going

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Speaker 3: off the rails, but occupancy was still quite high and

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Speaker 3: we were on track all through the Melbourne most recent lockdown.

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Speaker 3: We were still getting occupancy higher than the same period

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Speaker 3: in twenty nineteen, excepting that, you know, twenty nineteen wasn't

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Speaker 3: a flash year, but we were still having quite a

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Speaker 3: positive season.

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Speaker 1: So they are they're not shockers, but there's quite a

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Speaker 1: high content of people in lockdown limbo right now.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and do we have any idea of how many

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Speaker 2: cancelations we've had at this point?

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Speaker 1: It's rolling in now, so I'll need to take another

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Speaker 1: sense of it. And again it's just so dependent on

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Speaker 1: is this a two day or a two week exercise

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Speaker 1: we're talking about, because the numbers are just going to

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Speaker 1: magnify unfortunately if it goes that way.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and then when we look at Territory Day, you know,

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Speaker 2: we're due to going to Territory Day on Thursday, all

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Speaker 2: hoping that that's still going to be able to happen.

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Speaker 2: But I guess today's a really critical time and that

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Speaker 2: information that comes out following this SIMPSI meeting that's underway

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Speaker 2: right now is really going to be critical.

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Speaker 1: That's it. And there was a bit of a confusion

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Speaker 1: and frustration in our industry when the announcements were made.

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Speaker 1: You know, people that are switched on online Facebook watching

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Speaker 1: the chief press conference definitely did sound like it was

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Speaker 1: the three local government areas of Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield

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Speaker 1: that prompted people in Woggi Beach and Dundee Beach just

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Speaker 1: not necessarily believed that they may be captured. And it

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Speaker 1: wasn't until the show directions that went on on a

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Speaker 1: website at about three o'clock allegedly signed at twelve fifty

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Speaker 1: seven and coming into fourth at one o'clock made it

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Speaker 1: clear that it was those other outlying areas. All the

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Speaker 1: way through to Dundee, it was hard to get information

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Speaker 1: about Bachelor. We were hearing that on the highways there

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Speaker 1: were some you know, police border impromptu kind of crossings

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Speaker 1: and they were prohibiting people even when the advice was

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Speaker 1: if you were returning to your house to go into

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Speaker 1: the lockdown you could, so you know, this all came

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Speaker 1: about at lightning speed. We understand why that probably happened

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Speaker 1: that way, but it just you saw the panic buying

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Speaker 1: and things that occurred. There's a view that you know,

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Speaker 1: even if the government had given everyone nine hours though

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Speaker 1: before or entering lockdown, you probably would have seen some

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Speaker 1: of that behavior in any event. But you know, the

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Speaker 1: official government release I received twelve thirty two for all

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Speaker 1: one o'clock lockdown. If we were to do this again,

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Speaker 1: we would be asking for the scenario planning that we're

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Speaker 1: told is meant to be quite good to factor in

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Speaker 1: more time for businesses and the community than twenty eight minutes.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think you're spot on, But I also think

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Speaker 2: you're spot on with the communication. We've got to make

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Speaker 2: sure that that communication is going through the official channels

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Speaker 2: as well. Obviously the press conference happening, but that information

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Speaker 2: to follow through so that you know, whether you're in

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Speaker 2: the media, whether you're in the hospitality business, whether you're

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Speaker 2: in the tourism sector, that we all have the correct

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Speaker 2: information and everybody knows what they should and shouldn't be doing.

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Speaker 1: That's it. But I know that there are a lot

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Speaker 1: of people in government and police and health that you know,

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Speaker 1: they worked incredibly hard over the weekend and they'll continue

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Speaker 1: into this week. Well, they try to manage it all

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Speaker 1: on our behalf. Look, as I said, we do support it.

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Speaker 1: We are part of a community. We understand why this

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Speaker 1: is happening, and we'll play our part and we ask

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Speaker 1: customers to comply with all the rules as well if

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Speaker 1: and when we reopen just.

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Speaker 2: Very quickly, Alex, our understanding is that there are obviously

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Speaker 2: still locations that can operate at the moment with takeaways.

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Speaker 2: That's your understanding also, absolutely.

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Speaker 1: And that was one that was made quite clear as

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Speaker 1: soon as the announcement was made. So that allowed restaurants

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Speaker 1: that have always maintained that takeaway ability, you know with

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Speaker 1: their delivery drivers or their Uber drivers and their online

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Speaker 1: ordering apps. Some of the pubs do take away food

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Speaker 1: through their attached to bottle shops and have done pre COVID,

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Speaker 1: so all of that continued. Restaurants that had stopped doing takeaway,

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Speaker 1: or pubs that never really played in that space, they

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Speaker 1: probably weren't online as much last night and they've just

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Speaker 1: hit the pause button. But again, if this auty eight

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Speaker 1: hours becomes longer, you'll see a desire for more venues

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Speaker 1: to sell takeaway where they can to run down their

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Speaker 1: stock again at a minimum.

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Speaker 2: Well, Alex Bruce Hospitality TCEEO, we really appreciate your time

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Speaker 2: this morning. Thanks for chatting with us great thank you,