Motions

Restaurant & Catering Australia

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (16:02): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) is the peak industry body representing over 57,000 restaurants, cafes and catering businesses across Australia;

2. Congratulates R&CA on celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2022 and notes that it has been supporting and advocating on behalf of owners and operators within the hospitality industry since its establishment;

3. Acknowledges the social and economic contributions of South Australia's hospitality industry; and

4. Recognises the valuable work by R&CA Board and its Awards for Excellence program to give restaurants, cafes, and caterers well-deserved recognition for their hard work, exceptional food offerings and outstanding service in the industry.

It is a great honour to have the opportunity in parliament today to highlight the significant contribution of Restaurant & Catering Australia, also known as the Restaurant & Catering Industry Association, to the hospitality sector, our community and the Australian economy.

The restaurant and food service industry is integral to Australia's economy. The hospitality industry provides a large number of employment opportunities for Australians and, in tandem with the tourism industry, contributes significantly to Australia's gross domestic product. The industry encompasses restaurants, cafes, fast-food chains, franchises and takeaway services, as well as other types of hospitality businesses, including function centres.

We are fortunate to be living in a multicultural country where some of Australia's most popular and delicious cuisines from around the world include Thai, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Korean food, with the food services industry also seeing an increase in plant-based foods availability across Australia in recent years. As the peak body, Restaurant & Catering Australia is a key voice for the 57,000 restaurants, cafe and catering businesses across the country it represents. It is with immense privilege that I congratulate Restaurant & Catering Australia on the momentous celebration of its 100^th anniversary in 2022.

When the organisation was founded in 1922, Australia was recovering from the devastating Spanish flu 100 years ago. The hospitality industry demonstrated remarkable resilience then and it has risen to the challenge once again a century later to be even more resilient recovering from the COVID pandemic. The pandemic forced many restaurants and food services to rethink their business strategies, with many investing in food delivery, as well as streamlining front-of-house automation, contactless ordering systems and digital payment systems.

Over the last 100 years, Restaurant & Catering Australia supported its members in Australia through various resources as the industry underwent economic, social and legislative transformation. The national peak body, with a chapter in South Australia, has been an unwavering advocate on behalf of owners and operators within the hospitality industry since its establishment. As members of this chamber are aware, the hospitality industry was the hardest hit whenever there was a new wave of COVID variant or increased cases of infection.

The service industry involving human-to-human interactions and direct contact was, unfortunately, the first to suffer in lockdown and the last to lift restrictions after infection cases subsidised. During the high of the pandemic the organisation passionately advocated to government for extended support for the hospitality industry. I am proud to mention that the former Marshall Liberal government moved decisively to protect local jobs and safeguard the economy by providing many businesses with financial supports and stimulus packages as part of our strong COVID response plan.

Businesses operating in the hospitality sector benefited from additional cash grants and multiple rounds of grants, together with more Great State vouchers and CBD dining out vouchers, which were key elements of the business support packages. The former Marshall Liberal government's support package was about helping businesses keep their doors open and creating a spending flow-on across cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs and retail.

In January 2022, it was reported that South Australia's unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent was the lowest since monthly records began in 1978, along with having the fastest growing economy in the nation. This speaks volumes about the good people of our state. During the unprecedented pandemic, I am incredibly proud that South Australians have done an incredible job of working together as one community and continue to pull together to support our hardworking local restaurants, cafes and small businesses, which are the backbone of our state economy.

The former Liberal government worked with the City of Adelaide to deliver a city-wide activation program called ADL Unleashed and also provided a Streetside Activation Grant scheme. Many CBD restaurants benefitted greatly from grants up to $5,000 to activate the area immediately outside their premises in the CBD. During the challenging and uncertain times of the COVID period, I commend the Restaurant & Catering association for providing practical help to the industry by supporting the launch of initiatives and campaigns, such as Takeaway Tuesday and Eat Alone Together, to encourage the community to support hospitality businesses by ordering takeaway.

As we come out of COVID, things are starting to bounce back to normality for the industry. We are seeing more and more customers coming out with confidence to wine and dine, supporting local businesses that have paved the way for successful recovery. However, the hospitality industry is now facing other ongoing challenges, including the rising costs of doing business, interest rates going up, rising costs of electricity, rent and insurance, inflationary pressures and the serious impact of worker shortages. As the shadow minister for tourism and hospitality I am committed to working with Restaurant & Catering and operators to address these important issues in a changing landscape within the hospitality industry.

I want to take this opportunity to highlight how important the hospitality sector is as an economic driver. Statista Research quantified that, in 2022, the annual revenue of cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services in Australia amounted to over $58 billion, employing around 350,000 people. If the food services industry continues its trend of steadily increasing in revenue, as it did before the impact of the pandemic, then the future of the industry's success is expected to continue to increase.

The number of cafes and restaurants operating in Australia has increased in recent years. Australians spent an average of $126 on hotels, cafes and restaurants each week, coming in behind basics such as housing, food and health expenses. Takeaway food is also popular in our country, with well-known delivery services like Uber Eats and Menulog taking the most online food delivery bookings in 2022.

Restaurants, cafes, catering and takeaway businesses are the largest employer in the tourism and hospitality industry. The industry is the largest employer of young people, with 43 per cent of the industry being 15 to 24 years of age. Ninety per cent of cafes, restaurants and small businesses generally employ about 19 people or less. Collectively, the industry employs thousands of people, around 350,000 people around Australia.

For many young people, the hospitality and tourism industries provide them with their first job. Many young people have benefited from the work experience that paved the way to either keep working in the industry or equip them with skills that would take them further into other careers. As a young teenager I worked at a local restaurant and developed my passion for the service industry and deeply recognised the tangible and intangible values that it brings.

The greatest social economic impacts of the hospitality sector are increased employment, improved living standards, greater tax revenue to our state and local governments, and growth in local retail sales and ticket sales to entertainment venues. The industry also helps to generate community pride, supporting local sports clubs and community groups, and helps fund infrastructure developments of our local communities. In terms of indirect impact, the hospitality sector also helped to sustain jobs created in the supply and delivery industry, including marketing or in the farming industry.

Restaurant & Catering supports the sector through training, industrial relations and members' resources, which helps small business operators stay informed and engaged with industry requirements. I commend Restaurant & Catering for its outstanding work to ensure its variety of accreditation programs are both accessible and affordable for hospitality business operators to upskill their businesses, particularly during the current skills shortages in difficult times.

Through the association's annual benchmarking survey, hospitality business owners are provided with valuable data to understand the key trends and challenges within the industry. Leadership is crucial to ensure the industry is sustainable, and Restaurant & Catering is fortunate to be led by board members, management and staff with decades of experience in the industry.

I want to take this moment to acknowledge a number of these leaders today. Mr Suresh Manickam was appointed to the role of CEO in December 2022. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the leadership role. Mr Michael Palmer, National President of Restaurant & Catering, brings with him over 40 years of experience in the industry. He currently serves as the operating partner of Outback Steakhouse. Vice President Mr Chris Edwards is the CEO of Australian Catering Services. South Australia, of course, is well represented in this national industry body by Mr Greg Hobby as the treasurer. Mr Hobby also served as the chair of the South Australian council.

Anyone who has the pleasure of meeting Greg will agree with me that he is a wonderful gentleman: one of the friendliest faces in the industry, and always greeting everyone with his signature smile. Greg has a very noticeable passion and knowledge for the industry. It is always great to catch up with Greg alongside with the Hon. David Speirs, Leader of the Opposition, on a regular basis at various meetings and events following my appointment as the shadow minister for tourism and hospitality.

Greg is one of the owners and CEO of Taylor and Holmes and affectionately known as the 'chief eating officer'. I think he has the best and most enviable job title in South Australia. Who does not want to be the chief eating officer every day of the week? His business, Taylor and Holmes, founded by Greg's wife, Kate, is a fine food catering company that expanded into cafes and restaurants, with locations at SAHMRI, Flinders Medical Centre and the Bridgewater Mill.

Congratulations to Greg and Kate on their successful operations, along with all businesses in the restaurant and catering industry, for serving the South Australian community, from metropolitan areas to regional South Australia. At this point, I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the staff and management of the Restaurant & Catering Industry Association, particularly Amy Teakle, policy and campaigns adviser, for her assistance in providing my office with information that assisted me in my speech today.

I had the honour to be invited to attend the restaurant and catering awards for excellence, together with the Leader of the Opposition, held last year at the Adelaide Oval. It was an uplifting evening celebrating the remarkable resilience, achievements and excellence of the restaurant and catering industry. The awards shine a spotlight on the best of the best of the hospitality industry and certainly give restaurants, cafes and caterers well-deserved recognition for their hard work, exceptional food and outstanding service in this vibrant industry.

Once again, it is a great honour to move this motion and I just want to convey my heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved in the industry. I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage South Australians to nominate a restaurant or cafe or food business that they love and provide the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the finest and coolest wine and dine places that deserve prestigious recognition for the upcoming 2023 South Australian Awards for Excellence. I look forward to what I am sure will be a great and amazing award ceremony this year.

It is indeed a great privilege to be working alongside the Hon David Speirs, the Leader of the Opposition, to support this remarkably resilient industry and be able to speak very diligently about their contributions to South Australia. A very happy belated hundredth anniversary to Restaurant & Catering Australia. It is a great honour to again acknowledge the social and economic contributions of South Australia's hospitality industry. I commend this motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.