1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Everyone is listening to Mixed 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,159 Speaker 1: one or four point nine one. 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,239 Speaker 2: And as you've heard throughout the morning, we've certainly been 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 2: discussing this at length because there seems to be some 5 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: real confusion at this point in time as to exactly 6 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 2: what locations are included when it comes to these half 7 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 2: priced flights, especially when you talk about the Northern Territory. 8 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 2: We knew very clearly yesterday or late last night that 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 2: Central Australia i e. The lass At a region, so 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 2: Alice Springs and also all Laru were included on that list. 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 2: But take a listen to the Tourism Minister, the Federal 12 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 2: Tourism Minister Dantean on the show a bit earlier today. 13 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 2: They're airs Rock and Alice Springs are included on that list. 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: Our understanding is that Darwin isn't at this stage. 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: Is that correct? 16 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 3: No, Darwin is one of the locations that we we've 17 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 3: also identified and so it will be a beneficiary as well. 18 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 3: So the Northern Territory is very well covered by this package, 19 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 3: all right, So. 20 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 2: We will actually be able to get those half priced 21 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 2: flights to Darwa. 22 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 3: There will be half price flights that will be available 23 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 3: to go to Alice Springs as Rock and to Darwen. 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 2: Darwin wasn't on that list that has come through to us, 25 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 2: but by the sounds of it, what you're saying is 26 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 2: that people will be able to travel to Darwin. 27 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 3: There is and if you go on to the Department 28 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 3: of Transite Transport website you will see that that Darwin 29 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 3: is listed. So it says where the TANS program, which 30 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 3: is the Travel Assistance Program will reduce the cost of 31 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 3: flying to the following initial regions Adelaide, Broom, Darwin, Great 32 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 3: Ocean Road, Hobart, et cetera. 33 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 4: So it's there. 34 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 3: On the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website. 35 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 3: What we gave initially was a list of the desk 36 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 3: nations as examples. Yeah, but quite clearly Darwin is part 37 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 3: of them. So you've done well in the NT. 38 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: So there you go. 39 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 2: So we know that one area which is definitely going 40 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 2: to well, hopefully this is going to help is Central Australia. 41 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 2: Joining us on the line right now from Tourism Central 42 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 2: Australia CEO Daniel Rochford. 43 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: Good morning, Daniel, good. 44 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 4: Morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners. 45 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: Daniel list. 46 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 2: Still seems to be a bit of confusion about these locations, 47 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 2: and you've just heard the Tourism Minister there. I tried 48 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 2: my best to make it as clear as possible. 49 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 5: Yeah, Look, you can only ask as many times you did. 50 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 5: The Minister was pretty clear with his response suddenly in 51 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 5: the correspondence that I received this morning that Darwin is 52 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 5: certainly there on the list in terms of flights to 53 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 5: Cans and flights to Broom, but. 54 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 4: Beyond that, I'm not seeing that. But you heard it 55 00:02:58,400 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 4: directly from the source. 56 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: Yea, let's hope it's correct. 57 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 2: You know, we do know that there's certainly going to 58 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 2: be an opportunity for other assies to travel to Central Australia. 59 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: That's certainly very clear. Alice Springs and Aula Arue Daniel, 60 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 2: what's been your reaction this morning to this announcement. 61 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 4: Look, it's great news for our industry cading. You and 62 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 4: I have spoken many times about the challenges we've faced 63 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 4: over the last twelve months. We are one of the 64 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 4: most international dependent tourism destinations in the country and our 65 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 4: operators have been doing extremely tough to be able to 66 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 4: have this incentive in place for both Alice Springs and 67 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 4: Lara is going to be a massive boost to get 68 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 4: bums on seats and bums on beds. Now, the challenge 69 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 4: is to make sure that we stand out from the crowd. 70 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 4: You know, other destinations are getting this theme incentive, so 71 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 4: we need to make sure that we're pitching the Red 72 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 4: Center and making sure that people have us on their 73 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 4: bucket list items to do. 74 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 2: That's going to be the real telling point here, isn't it. 75 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 2: We've really got to be able to market ourselves. 76 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 4: Well, very much so we are in some respects and 77 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 4: I think through this with a glass half full. We're 78 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 4: not a beach destination. We are something different. Were that 79 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 4: international holiday you just can't do And many of our 80 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 4: experiences are just something very different to the likes of 81 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,559 Speaker 4: the Cans and the with Sundays and the Gold Coast. 82 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 4: So we're certainly going to pitch ourselves as Tourism Northern 83 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 4: Territory have recently done with their recent brand launch at 84 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 4: somewhere very different, and I think we can easily do that. 85 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 2: Daniel, Do you have any concerns about the frequency of 86 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 2: flights and making sure that they really are going to 87 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 2: be reasonably priced. 88 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, Look, I think that is certainly a concern for 89 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 4: the industry. One of the challenges that we've had recently, 90 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 4: CADI is a lot of our flight through our of 91 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 4: the springs have been trained with flights then onto Darwin, 92 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 4: so we've seen a massive constraint of capacity coming into 93 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 4: our springs. So we've been seeing situations where twenty passengers 94 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 4: are flying into our springs, they get off and then 95 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 4: twenty passengers get on and al us to go on 96 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 4: too Darwin with the plane completely full, and unfortunately we 97 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 4: don't have that capacity because of the Darwin passengers on 98 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 4: that plane. So hopefully what this announcement we'll see is 99 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 4: more point to point flight so we start to see 100 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 4: that capacity grow. 101 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,679 Speaker 1: Daniel, is it going to be enough? 102 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 2: Do you think to keep the struggling tourism and aviation 103 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 2: industries going. 104 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 4: Look, I certainly shared many of the concerns from our 105 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 4: national peak bodies today that these support programs are really 106 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 4: warmly welcomed. But for those businesses who are at the 107 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 4: Cliff base who are facing the gauntlet of having to 108 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 4: sack their staff because they just physically don't have the money, 109 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,280 Speaker 4: or who are seriously considering about the operation of their 110 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,719 Speaker 4: whole business, there's not a lot of support there for 111 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 4: those businesses doing it at the extreme, and one of 112 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 4: the things I was hopeful to see today was some 113 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 4: announcements around supporting those businesses. There are not that many 114 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 4: out there, and there could have quite easily been a 115 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 4: targeted strategy to support those businesses who are doing it 116 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 4: absolutely as bad as we've been saying, and who really 117 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 4: won't bounce back until we see the international borders reopen. 118 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 2: Now we know that that obviously with job Keeper. In 119 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 2: recent days, the opposition, the labor oppositions ramped up at 120 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 2: schools for the government to extend the job Keeper program. 121 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: You know, from your perspective, is that required. 122 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 4: Look, there is no doubt there are operators there, and 123 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 4: I've had fielded a number of calls from some of 124 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 4: our members even this morning saying that without level of 125 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 4: some form of ongoing support, they're going to have to 126 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,559 Speaker 4: let some of their staff go. And you know, many 127 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 4: businesses who are at that cliff space, they're not wanting 128 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 4: to rack up more debt the with the uncertainty that 129 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 4: they're still out there, with the borders still closed and 130 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 4: potential hotspots still coming out. So where you know, I'm 131 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 4: very worried about a number of those businesses who are 132 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 4: very much at the cliff space. But that said, you know, 133 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 4: with the glass half full again, you know, with this 134 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 4: intentive in place, with the half priced airfares into Yolara 135 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 4: and Aura Springs, that's going to be a real game changer. 136 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 4: And my only hope is that our industry can see 137 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 4: that as the light at the end of the tunnel 138 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 4: and give them some hope to see this through. 139 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 2: Daniel, can I just address what many might see as 140 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 2: a bit of an elephant in the room, and that 141 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 2: is some of the real concerns that we've had in 142 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 2: Central Australia and here in the top end around crime. 143 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 2: Are you worried that you know that people are going 144 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 2: to see that as an issue before they travel to 145 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 2: Central Australia. O. 146 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 4: Look, crime is an issue besets in many regional communities 147 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 4: right across our country, and you know, I see reports 148 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 4: coming out of Far North Queensland and cans and in 149 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 4: South Australia very similar to the challenges that we're facing. 150 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 4: I'd have to say in recent weeks that this issue 151 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 4: has certainly settled down compared to where we have seen 152 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 4: the issues that we have based in recent months here 153 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 4: in our springs, so you know, hats off to all 154 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 4: those who had some hand in doing it. That issue 155 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 4: is not gone, it's still at an ever present issue, 156 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 4: but certainly look, I think most people who want to 157 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 4: come to Central Australia will very much get in their 158 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 4: car or get on one of these half priced airfares 159 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 4: and come and visit the region. 160 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 2: Well, Daniel Rochford, it's always great to catch up with 161 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: you mate. I really appreciate your time this morning and 162 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 2: no doubt we'll talk again in the near future. 163 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 4: Thanks Katie, much appreciated. 164 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: Thank you. 165 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,079 Speaker 2: So that is Daniel Rochford there, who is of course 166 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 2: the Tourism Central Australia CEO.