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Speaker 1: Three point sixty with Katie Wolf. Everyone is listening to

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Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine one hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: Joining us live on the line from Hospitality NT the

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Speaker 2: CEO Alex Bruce. Good morning to you, Alex, Good morning Kurtie.

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Speaker 2: Now Alex. Unfortunately we've seen over the last couple of days, well,

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Speaker 2: yesterday we've reported on a number of establishments being broken into.

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Speaker 2: Today we're going to be catching up with two restaurants

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Speaker 2: who are broken into overnight. We've got a problem here.

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Speaker 2: How are you? How is the hospitality industry feeling about it? Oh?

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Speaker 1: Look, another bad couple of nights and unfortunately too common

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Speaker 1: an occurrence for restaurants and hospitality venues right across the territory.

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Speaker 1: So it is a bit of soul shuttering for those

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Speaker 1: operators and their staff when this happens time and time again.

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Speaker 2: It is it's you know, especially during a what we've

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Speaker 2: seen as a COVID year last year. We're all hoping

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Speaker 2: that this year gets better, but it's a bit of

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Speaker 2: a kick in the garts. As one of those put

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Speaker 2: it to me yesterday, when you turn up and you

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Speaker 2: see that you've been broken into.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely and I hear it commonly in our industry. It

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Speaker 1: proves time and again the prohibition and further restrictions without

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Speaker 1: dealing with the real root social causes is not helping

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Speaker 1: or fixing.

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Speaker 2: The situation well, which takes us, I guess to the

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Speaker 2: BDR and Alex. We caught up with the Health Minister

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Speaker 2: who's also the Minister for Hospitality, Natasha Files, yesterday and

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Speaker 2: spoke about some of the concerns that have been raised

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Speaker 2: with us on the show about the BDR. I mean, look,

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Speaker 2: I'm very supportive of the government introducing measures that hopefully

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Speaker 2: makes the change when it comes to the abuse of

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Speaker 2: alcohol in the territory, but it does seem as though

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Speaker 2: at the moment, you know, we've still got those concerns

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Speaker 2: and people are still getting their hands on alcohol despite

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Speaker 2: the BDR.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and we support the police and all the work

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Speaker 1: they're doing and they are stretched incredibly. Then we know

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Speaker 1: that there morale unfortunately isn't where it needs to be

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Speaker 1: either because they are overworked and they are dealing with

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Speaker 1: the same people time and time and again as well.

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Speaker 1: So we are in unison with the police on many

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Speaker 1: issues and we do hope part of the solution, you know,

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Speaker 1: isn't necessarily extending the BDR, but in the Darwin CBD,

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Speaker 1: now that the border works for the police is lifted,

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Speaker 1: we really want to see that watchhouse turned back on again.

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Speaker 1: We wrote to the Police Minister at the very beginning

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Speaker 1: of December and flags that we were seeing increasing delays

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Speaker 1: and non attendance that CBD locations and unfortunately, you know

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Speaker 1: then we did have those COVID hotspots where their ugly

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Speaker 1: head again. So the police haven't been able to completely

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Speaker 1: meet the need I don't believe in the city, but

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Speaker 1: he's hoping going forward they can.

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Speaker 2: So Alex Hospitality Into has written to the Territory Police

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Speaker 2: asking for that watch house to be turned on again.

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Speaker 1: We wrote very respectfully to the Police Minister at the

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Speaker 1: beginning of December and we did make clear that we

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Speaker 1: understood that COVID was a significant resource impact. We're not

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Speaker 1: here to throw stones at the police and we do

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Speaker 1: appreciate the work they do on behalf of all of

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Speaker 1: us in the community. But yeah, something's got a change.

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Speaker 1: And the idea that Darwin Council area doesn't have an

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Speaker 1: open watchhouse right now, I wonder how long that can continue.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, and I guess we all sort of understand

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Speaker 2: that our police have been stretched so thin, certainly when

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Speaker 2: they're on the borders. But yeah, you do wonder now

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Speaker 2: that those border restrictions have been lifted or not lifted,

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Speaker 2: but we no longer have our police on those borders.

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Speaker 2: Whether it will make a bit of a change and

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Speaker 2: we will see the watchhouse reopen. I guess time will tell.

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Speaker 1: We hope so. And we were happy to work with

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Speaker 1: the government on a range of measures which we believe

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Speaker 1: would assist. We think there's got to be better focus

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Speaker 1: on grol running. We think that the high repeat offender rates,

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Speaker 1: the revolving door of justice does need to be looked at.

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Speaker 1: But you know, we're not exploits in that, whether it's

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Speaker 1: bail laws or ankle bracelets. We leave that to others.

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Speaker 1: And we do as a society got to have to

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Speaker 1: have a look at the failure to address under it

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Speaker 1: some of these underlying issues that are causing this continual crime.

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Speaker 1: Lo and behold, it's not just alcohol.

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Speaker 2: Well and look, Alex, there'll be some people listening this

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Speaker 2: morning who will say that there are some in the

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Speaker 2: community selling alcohol who maybe aren't doing it as responsibly

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Speaker 2: as they could be. What would you say to those listeners, throw.

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Speaker 1: The absolute book at anyone in our industry that's not

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Speaker 1: doing the right thing. And that's the message that we

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Speaker 1: conveyed to the government on Bojangles as an example down

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Speaker 1: in Alice Springs all of last year. If they find

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Speaker 1: ab horrent behavior that isn't where we as an industry

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Speaker 1: needs to be, we will never defend that and the

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Speaker 1: full arm of a law should be brought to bear

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Speaker 1: on those individuals.

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Speaker 2: Now, Alex, the other thing that you and I have

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Speaker 2: spoken about on a couple of occasions is the band

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Speaker 2: Drinker Register and those hearings that took place in Tenant Creek. Now,

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Speaker 2: we spoke to the Health Ministry yes today and she

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Speaker 2: said that there are no plans to roll out the

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Speaker 2: b DR in other locations. Do you accept that.

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Speaker 1: No? And we've we've we've had further correspondence with the

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Speaker 1: minister and to a credit, she's engaging with us in

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Speaker 1: a collaborative process. At the moment, they've confirmed that the

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Speaker 1: government doesn't have a position one way or the other,

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Speaker 1: and we are keen for them to state for the

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Speaker 1: community and the industry whether they do support the further

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Speaker 1: rollout of BDR into pubs and clubs across the territory.

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Speaker 1: There's just been enough reports written on it showing that

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Speaker 1: that's the way a certain part of the community wants

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Speaker 1: it to go. So we do need the government and

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Speaker 1: the opposition to state very clearly what their views on

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Speaker 1: this topic are.

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Speaker 2: So, I mean, is the concern here you guys worried that,

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Speaker 2: you know, because it's something that they're that they're looking

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Speaker 2: at potentially doing in Tenant Creek, that that you know,

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Speaker 2: we'll just sort of go, well, let's roll it out

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Speaker 2: everywhere if if it's worked there or oh you know that,

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Speaker 2: because there's nothing sort of stopping them from doing it.

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Speaker 1: Well, yes, and at the same time, you know, you look,

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Speaker 1: the BDR in takeaway is everywhere right now across the territory.

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Speaker 1: It's been fully rolled out, and yet we're still talking

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Speaker 1: about absolute spikes in crime, property crime, smashes and enters,

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Speaker 1: breaking into businesses and houses and cars to access alcohol illegally.

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Speaker 1: We know grog running is tip of the iceberg stuff,

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Speaker 1: and there hasn't been enough resource and to focus on

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Speaker 1: it because of COVID and other resource constraints. So we

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Speaker 1: just honestly look at it and we say, you know what,

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Speaker 1: make the BDR work better before you want to expand

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Speaker 1: it into everyday territory and life any further than it

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Speaker 1: already is.

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Speaker 2: Well, Alex Bruce, we are going to have to leave

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Speaker 2: it there. Sea of Hospitality. Int good to speak with

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Speaker 2: you this morning. We appreciate your time.

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Speaker 1: Thanks very much, Katie all best.

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Speaker 2: Thank you,