From the President

Increased Investment Welcome

DAVID BASHEER – AHA|SA PRESIDENT

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The first Malinauskas/Mulligan State Labor Budget was handed down earlier this month and it has been warmly received by the AHA|SA and the wider business community. We are pleased to see investment in tourism, events, live music and skills.

Over $45million is being spent to increase interstate and international marketing efforts to promote our State as a visitor destination, particularly as tourists are again packing their suitcases.

A further $40million over four years is being allocated to attract and promote major events. This is critical, as other Australian markets have significantly upgraded their funding commitments in this area. Late last year Western Australia announced a one year $24million commitment, the benefits of which are already being seen.

The return of the Adelaide 500 was a major election pledge of the then Opposition. This budget has funded the newly created Motorsport Board to the tune of $70.2million over the next four years. That spending is not just for the Adelaide 500, with funding for the return of the Motorsport Festival after a threeyear COVID-19 absence.

In many ways, tourism is an invisible investment. There are no cranes in the skies or ribbons for politicians to cut, but there is a very real economic benefit from money spent from outside the local population, regardless of that being international, national or intrastate tourism.

Major events and visitation not only benefit the region in which they are held. Studies show tourists will often extend their stay in SA or plan a future visit here with family, based on attending a conference or major event.

In 2017, $10.8million was spent on overnight stays in South Australia. And with the average stay being five nights, these people then spend money in our bars and restaurants. The AHA|SA is pleased with the increased investment in this budget but has already commenced the conversation with key tourism and Government figures on further initiatives.

THE (AHA) LIVE MUSIC INITIATIVE

In this column last year and repeated at the AHA|SA President’s Lunch in December, which was attended by the leaders and senior members of both sides of politics, the AHA|SA called for a support package for live music.

We proposed that it be based around the successful accommodation voucher system for the live music industry to benefit both performers and venues who were hit harder than most during the pandemic.

After consultation with the AHA|SA, the $3.3m Live Music Initiative is expected to be launched very shortly, along with a further $1m in grants to allow venues to improve their live music infrastructure.

It is a win for the musicians who will be playing catch up for lost income in the COVID-19 years, but also for our venues who host 80% of all live music acts in this State.

The budget forecasts CPI to rise to 5% next year before dropping to 3.4% in 2023-34. This will have a huge impact on our business. The Federal Government’s refusal to address our twice annual CPI excise rises is an obvious problem when CPI is this high. We are already seeing the cost of our produce and other materials rising swiftly, and the South Australian market is not one that allows retailers to move our sell price accordingly. There are major warning signs that our hotel owners and managers need to consider.

SKILLS SHORTAGE

It is no secret the skills shortage is our single biggest industry issue. I know it is hurting your business and it is something the AHA|SA is working on every single day.

This budget has allocated $8.8million to fund courses for industries like ours with a skills shortage, including $1.8m specifically targeting hospitality.

The budget also allows for five new TAFE SA colleges to address the skills shortage. We await further details of their focus before offering industry comment.

Given the extreme leakage of hospitality staff during the pandemic and shortage of our traditional labour markets from overseas, this hospitality shortage is one area that government must aggressively address. Over the Christmas/ New Year period, 100,000 hotel positions Australiawide were vacant, forcing many venues to curtail operations or even close.

Much has been achieved by the AHA|SA in influencing governments to increase our skilled migration intake for hotels, but the demographic of the SA population means our issues will be the hardest to solve.

We are an ageing population and of course that means the amount of people of a working age here continues to shrink. Any Government policy must address the stark fact that we desperately need our population growth to support our needs of the future.

Much has been talked about this measure, and the recent ’10 pound Pom’ campaign was a small start, but little structural progress has been announced. The time for action is now, as we know there is a lag time between initiatives and results.

Many older Australians are ready and wanting to work in our sector. The AHA is seeking $300,000 from the Federal Government to develop pilot programmes to target this mature talent pool. This scheme can produce quick results by finding places, matching people and supporting these workers ready to commence.

There is a pool of retired people ready to contribute. We need a programme to promote hospitality as not just the domain of the young, but open for all.

The AHA held talks during the election campaign with then Federal Opposition. Senior Labor Senator and now Tourism Minister and Deputy Government Leader in the Senate, Don Farrell, has since announced the incoming Government will invest $48million to skill up workers, support quality tourism products and deliver tourism-related infrastructure upgrades.

This includes $10 million for marketing strategies to attract workers to hospitality and tourism jobs in Australia. A further $10 million has been allocated to enhance ‘The Hub’ hospitality portal offering training and upskilling to current and potential hospitality employees.

Right now, the AHA|SA fully understands there is no issue more pressing for our membership than the skills and worker shortages.

RETIREMENT

On behalf of the entire industry, I would like to wish Cam Pearce all the best for his retirement. A long-serving director at Coopers, he has been a highly personable supporter of the hotel industry. Cam drove much innovation and growth during his time at Coopers. We wish him and Robyn all the best. I am sure we will still see him enjoying a Coopers at a bar or two in the future.