Australian Hotels Association

Wednesday November 01, 2023

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (11:06): I move

That this house—

(a) recognises the Australian Hotels Association (South Australian Branch), AHA-SA, was established in 1871 and has been an integral part of South Australia's hospitality and tourism industry for more than 150 years;

(b) notes that the AHA-SA is a peak industry organisation that represents and protects the commercial interests of hoteliers throughout South Australia, providing advice on a range of topics, including legislative changes, licensing, gaming, industrial relations, insurance, responsible gambling and community liaison;

(c) acknowledges the social and economic contributions of AHA-SA and its members, which comprise 630 hotels in South Australia, from small country pubs to five-star hotels and resorts; and

(d) recognises the valuable work by AHA-SA Executive Council and its Awards of Excellence program to fulfil its mission to encourage, foster and promote the pursuit of excellence in service, facilities and management practices among members for the benefit of the industry and the community of South Australia.

 

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:41): I rise in support of the member for Colton's motion and thank him for bringing attention to the outstanding contribution that the Australian Hotels Association makes to the state's hospitality industry sector. I also want to commend Ian Horne, the previous CEO, for his outstanding service and welcome Anna Moeller to the role. I have already had a very productive meeting with Anna on a number of issues and thank her for her input and thoughts on going forward and how we can strengthen and support the Hotels Association.

I also want to acknowledge David Basheer, the president, who had massive shoes to fill when he took on that role, coming in after Peter Hurley. It is fair to say that I think David has undertaken that role very admirably and to an extremely high standard. I want to congratulate David on all the work he does.

As a regional member, I would also like to highlight the work that the AHA does in our country areas. It is often the case that regions are forgotten about in statewide organisations. However, this is not the case with the AHA, who regularly hold meetings throughout the state. They recently held a regional meeting in my electorate at the Victoria Hotel in Port MacDonnell, run by Anna-Marie, Steve and Rachel Johnson—which of course I have visited many times—which was a great opportunity for local hoteliers to hear about industry updates.

I also want to commend the AHA for the work that they did during the COVID period in this state. It was often the case that the information that Anna, in particular, was getting out to hotel owners and managers in record time was far superior to the information I was getting as a local member. What ended up happening was that I would normally ring the AHA to get their interpretation of what had just been announced on the TV, because within five minutes my phone was ringing hot with people wanting to know what impact the latest changes had for their business.

Through Anna's work and the advice given we were able to guide and provide advice to many businesses in our region, particularly around square metreage and what the staffing regulations were, and that translated over into restaurants and other hospitality areas. That was valuable work, and it is embarrassing to say as a local member that I was not receiving that type of information as quickly as I could get it from the AHA.

There are over 1,000 people in the Mount Gambier electorate employed in the food and accommodation sectors, and I am a big believer that the hospitality industry is an excellent place to start and grow a career. All three of my children are working or have worked at local pubs, so if you do see me at the Mount Gambier RSL or the Park Hotel it is purely in a parenting role.

There is no doubt that it has been a tough few years for the sector, however it is great to see two of our region's oldest pubs find new owners after recently closing their doors during the COVID period. The Bellum Hotel is a 157-year-old establishment between Mount Gambier and Port MacDonnell and is an icon of that area. New owners, Meg Black and Bob Willis, celebrated their reopening of the Bellum on 30 September, and I wish them every success in their future. In fact, I visited the day after and they said that they had record takings for the AFL Grand Final day, and obviously the day after there were plenty of people in the Bellum when I was in there.

Another pub, the Tantanoola Tiger, is also a small community pub in the township of Tantanoola, which has found a new lease of life with owners Rebecca and Shaun Day taking over the 144-year-old hotel. I wish Rebecca and Shaun all the best with their new business. Country pubs like the Bellum and the Tantanoola play a vital role in small towns where people need a place to gather, to focus on the community and to support local sporting clubs.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Mount Gambier businesses that were finalists at last night's AHA Awards for Excellence. The Presidential was a finalist in three categories. Macs Hotel, Delgattie Estate and The Commodore all had one nomination.

A special mention goes to noky@The Henty, which took home the honours for the Best Bar Presentation and Experience—Country category. Evan, Michael, Tom and Lucy Koch, who also own nominated businesses, Delgattie Estate and The Commodore, have created a warm and inviting local bar that is an asset to Mount Gambier.

Thank you to the AHA for hosting these awards to recognise the excellent hotels that we have here in South Australia and the integral work that they do on behalf of the hospitality and tourism industry.

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