Labor Leader and Shadow Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Rebecca White
EDITORIAL
After the turbulence of the past two years, there are green shoots emerging in the hospitality sector.
The shortage of affordable housing has left many businesses struggling to find staff because they have nowhere to live. The Hobart City Council recently placed a limit on the number of short-stay properties in their municipality by passing a motion to stop any new permits for whole- house short-stay development in residential areas.
Since the border reopened last December, the fortunes of many businesses in the sector have taken a turn for the better and that’s encouraging. But for many others, there is still a long way to go – rebuilding consumer confidence, finding and keeping staff and the rising cost of doing business remain concerns for many operators.
Labor has long called for better regulation of the state’s short-stay accommodation market.
And in many cases these matters are compounded by the difficulty in finding accommodation for workers.
But it needs to go further and, rather than leaving it to individual councils to come up with 29 different variations of regulation, the government needs to implement a statewide solution.
Tasmania embracing the sharing economy has certainly produced some flow-on benefits, but it has also fuelled a shortage of long-term rental properties. The most recent report to Consumer, Building and Occupational Services details there are 5321 properties in Tasmania listed in the sharing economy. Of these, 2777 are reported as not being a primary residence. There has also been an increase of 179 properties listed at the end of March 2022 compared to the previous quarter. While the number of properties in the sharing economy is not the sole explanation for the lack of available housing there can be no doubt it is a contributing factor.
The tourism and hospitality sector is a vital part of our economy and a major employer.
But the Liberal government is struggling to make the most of it, failing to get the basics right by acting on fundamental priorities like housing
21 Tasmanian Hospitality Review August/July Edition
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