1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,680
Speaker 1: But we have just heard this news obviously from the

2
00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:05,880
Speaker 1: Chief Minister, Natasha Files. Hopefully going to have a very

3
00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,560
Speaker 1: quick chat with her after ten, but joining me on

4
00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,760
Speaker 1: the line right now Alex Bruce, the CEO of Hospitality

5
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:14,800
Speaker 1: and good morning Alex.

6
00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,599
Speaker 2: Good morning, Kay. Happy scrap day.

7
00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:24,400
Speaker 1: Happy scrap day, that's what you've dubbed it, mate is Look.

8
00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,520
Speaker 2: We're already getting calls into our office, text messages, emails.

9
00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,840
Speaker 2: This is spreading very quickly through our industry and there's

10
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,520
Speaker 2: a lot of relieved business owners and operators out there.

11
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:39,519
Speaker 1: How big an impact has this vaccine mandate had for hospitality?

12
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,800
Speaker 2: Oh, look, it is one of the things that's impacting

13
00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,240
Speaker 2: the workforce shortage. You only have to go around town

14
00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,000
Speaker 2: you can see, you know, restaurants are close during the day,

15
00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,280
Speaker 2: even though there's enough tourists that would otherwise want to.

16
00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:51,800
Speaker 1: Be in there.

17
00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,320
Speaker 2: We are impacted this year. It is what it is.

18
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,280
Speaker 2: This will assist and it was one of the impacts

19
00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,880
Speaker 2: on our workforce problems that our membership work very strong on.

20
00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,640
Speaker 2: They just wanted it gone. You know, we're down to

21
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 2: what is that fourteen people with COVID in hospital when

22
00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,039
Speaker 2: there was like one hundred and forty in there with

23
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,440
Speaker 2: the flu. So we've seen this lifted across the country.

24
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,560
Speaker 2: It was time and it was right that the MT

25
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,959
Speaker 2: came on board as well. And look, to be honest,

26
00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,399
Speaker 2: credit to the new Chief Minister. We are seeing her

27
00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,600
Speaker 2: put her mark on this government and we couldn't be

28
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,120
Speaker 2: happier with the balanced approach that's being achieved now.

29
00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,120
Speaker 1: Well, I guess it was one of those things with

30
00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,959
Speaker 1: the vaccine mandate as well, where once all of the

31
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,360
Speaker 1: other states had sort of lifted it, it made it tough.

32
00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,839
Speaker 1: I would suspect, you know, if you had travelers coming

33
00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,600
Speaker 1: from overseas or even from interstate that were maybe looking

34
00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,320
Speaker 1: at taking jobs in the hospitality sector, they would have

35
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: been going, well, hang on a sec. You don't have

36
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,480
Speaker 1: to be triple vaxed in Queensland. How come I have

37
00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,240
Speaker 1: to be to work behind a bar in the Northern Territory.

38
00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,760
Speaker 2: That's it, Kadian And it had come to the point

39
00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,760
Speaker 2: where you could come and enjoy one of our venues

40
00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:06,040
Speaker 2: for many hours, responsibly always of course, but you couldn't

41
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:07,720
Speaker 2: come on outside of the bar and help pour the

42
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,040
Speaker 2: beers when we're crying out for able bodied workers right now.

43
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,079
Speaker 2: So that was the main issue that just you know,

44
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,400
Speaker 2: it didn't really make sense to a lot of our members,

45
00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,600
Speaker 2: and we were advocating that position into the government quite strongly,

46
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:26,320
Speaker 2: quite publicly, and credit to your efforts. You know, this

47
00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,520
Speaker 2: is an issue that many other parts of the country

48
00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,760
Speaker 2: and the world have just moved on from. You know,

49
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,440
Speaker 2: it's like that Disney and Canto movie we don't talk

50
00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:39,880
Speaker 2: about real. Yeah, Like, we've just got to put it

51
00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,600
Speaker 2: behind us, move forward. We're on the rebuild now. We

52
00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,800
Speaker 2: want to contribute more to the territory's economy. We want

53
00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,680
Speaker 2: our services and customer experiences to be bigger and better.

54
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,400
Speaker 2: So you know, this was one impediment. Now we just

55
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:53,799
Speaker 2: need to sink our teeth into it and get the

56
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:54,480
Speaker 2: job done.

57
00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,600
Speaker 1: Mate. Anybody listening right now who doesn't have a child

58
00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,640
Speaker 1: that's like under the age of twelve is going to

59
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,600
Speaker 1: be thinking, what was Alex Bruce just singing? But for

60
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,120
Speaker 1: those of you, how does it don't know? It is

61
00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,680
Speaker 1: a Disney movie. The lyrics from a Disney movie. Alex,

62
00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:12,840
Speaker 1: good on you for giving it a crack on air.

63
00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,560
Speaker 1: I like it, mate, A good day for you guys

64
00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:17,840
Speaker 1: all in all, you reckon.

65
00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:22,480
Speaker 2: I look absolutely and we did listen to the press conference,

66
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,840
Speaker 2: the Chief Minister just made them. You know what we

67
00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,280
Speaker 2: do eco the sentiments. This has been a long time

68
00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:29,480
Speaker 2: coming and it is off the back of the work

69
00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,400
Speaker 2: of many many Territorians in the health space and others.

70
00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:39,000
Speaker 2: This issue was divisive and some of the language at

71
00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,840
Speaker 2: the time denigrating people for their opinions and views on

72
00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,160
Speaker 2: this issue. We were never supportive of that, and we're

73
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,920
Speaker 2: vocal on your show at the time. We very much

74
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,080
Speaker 2: appreciate that, you know, we're able to have respectful conversations

75
00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,160
Speaker 2: with our staff and you know at the time customers

76
00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,000
Speaker 2: as well when that was the requirement. We're not about

77
00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,880
Speaker 2: anything that divides people based on their views on this

78
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,040
Speaker 2: But yes, just so looking forward to putting all this

79
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 2: behind us and never talking about it again.

80
00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,920
Speaker 1: Well, Alex Bruce, thank you very much for having a

81
00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,240
Speaker 1: chat with us this morning, and we are hoping that

82
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:19,599
Speaker 1: we're going to be able to have a brief chat

83
00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:21,719
Speaker 1: to the Chief Minister in a few minutes time. But yeah,

84
00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,760
Speaker 1: I reckon that there's going to be a lot of

85
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,279
Speaker 1: people in the territory, you know, for those that you

86
00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,560
Speaker 1: know that have had concerns around the vaccine that are

87
00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 1: going to be pleased that this announcement has been made today.

88
00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,560
Speaker 1: That's it, yeah, Alex Bruce. Always good to catch up

89
00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,800
Speaker 1: with you. Always good to hear you sing live on

90
00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:40,719
Speaker 1: the radio as well.

91
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:41,440
Speaker 2: I enjoy that

92
00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,200
Speaker 1: Mate, Well done, thank you,