Motions

Hospitality Business Closures

Debate resumed.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (19:53): I rise in support of my honourable colleague's motion and wish to reflect a little bit on what our hospitality industry really does mean to the people of South Australia and, importantly, what our hospitality industry means for people in the regions.

Our hospitality industry is facing some significant challenges. In a real sense, they are providing a service to our community—as I said, most especially regionally. It is not easy. We are the ones who benefit, both individually and at a community level, from enjoying the great food, enjoying the great coffee and enjoying a beer with mates. There is also all the sponsorship that comes from our hospitality businesses into sporting clubs and into community events as well. But rising power prices, the cost of commodities, staffing shortages, red tape, green tape and myriad other challenges make running your own business so much harder than it ever has been, and of course regional South Australia is not immune to this.

On 30 September, the ABC reported that businesses in Mount Gambier were worried about some recent closures that were happening on Commercial Street. Currently, there are about 10 empty store fronts in the busiest part of Mount Gambier. When I was Deputy Mayor of Mount Gambier, we spoke a lot about the empty stores we did have in the city.

Xavier Farrell runs a family business in the town's main street and he said, 'I have lived here my whole life and I have never seen so many businesses ready for sale.' Colin Martin, another store owner in Mount Gambier, who has owned businesses for more than 30 years, believes that this is currently one of the toughest economic climates he has operated in.

Earlier this month, we saw the popular Sorrentos Cafe in Mount Gambier close. I extend my sincere condolences to the business owner and their 18 employees, but certainly commend a local fellow business owner, Sam Johnston, from Confession cafe for his efforts in raising donations for the 18 employees who had lost their jobs and had not received their last pay cheque. That is the kind of thing we see in regional areas and especially in Mount Gambier. The camaraderie, they wrap around people and it really exemplifies the selflessness and the tight-knit nature of our community in the South-East.

It comes down to electricity bills, it comes down to staffing wages, it comes down to red tape and green tape, as I have said as well. In hospitality, especially pubs and cafes, and indeed in live music venues—I am on a select committee on live music venues with the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Reggie Martin—it is the alcohol excise tax that also puts a hell of a lot of pressure on our hospitality industry. I have been talking with pub owners around South Australia and they say that the alcohol excise tax really just drives people to drink at home. That is not a great thing.

I have worked in pubs and I have worked in front bars and they are places where people get together and share stories, commiserate and celebrate and it really is good for one's mental health to get out with your mates. If we are driving people out of pubs, if we are driving people out of community spaces like cafes and other things because it is just so hard for those people to do business, it is not a great thing. We really need to have a look at what we can do about ensuring that we can take care of these insipid taxes that we have.

The biggest one, of course, is payroll tax. It has to be the most inefficient tax I have ever seen. It hampers job growth and it is something that needs to be addressed. That is why, if elected in 2026, the Tarzia Liberal government will lift the payroll tax threshold to $2.1 million. That would provide a stronger incentive for business to employ more people, which is vitally important.

It is hard; it is just hard being in hospitality. I certainly feel for every single one of the cafe owners and pub owners and also the employees as well because it is where a lot of people have kicked off their careers, kicked off their earning. My daughter Piper only just last night started her part-time job after school at Jens Hotel washing a few dishes and taking a few meals out. Out of that, Piper will know what it means to earn a dollar, she will know what it means to take orders or instruction from someone who is not her dad. It will set her up for life. It did for me, it did for my wife and it has done for my 18-year-old girl Neave as well. We have all worked in hospitality. It is a great start and I would hate for that to be taken away from our young people.

I commend my colleague the Hon. Jing Lee for bringing this motion to the council. I thank sincerely all the people in hospitality doing it tough right now. We have to do better by you as the people here in this place who can make laws and ensure that doing business can be something that can not only be a benefit for the community but put a few dollars in people's pockets and help people along the way. With that, I commend the motion.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (19:58): I would like to thank honourable members for their wonderful and thoughtful contributions, particularly the Hon. Dennis Hood, the Hon. Nicola Centofanti and the Hon. Ben Hood. All the members have spoken about the contributions of small and family businesses in the hospitality sector and how resilient they have been, but they are doing it really tough.

All honourable members who made contributions also made suggestions about sensible measures that would actually improve the lives of many small businesses within the hospitality sector. I want to commend them for those recommendations and suggestions. I think the government of the day should definitely take up some of those suggested measures to be able to ensure that the communities, the economies of the hospitality sector in regional areas can find ways to help them to keep jobs, keep people employed and keep communities alive. With those remarks, I commend the motion and thank all honourable members for their contributions.

Motion carried.