The peak body representing the NT’s bars and hotels has released a scathing indictment of the Gunner Government’s management of the current COVID-19 situation, calling for a plan to get the NT economy moving again, as hospitality venues face their biggest challenge to date amid rising daily COVID cases.

“The NT has lost its way,” the statement issued by Hospitality NT on Friday said.

“There is no clear roadmap, no timelines, no review mechanisms for when the current restrictions will ease. All the while daily fear conferences continue to shred consumer confidence and those with an absurd eradication policy at their core call for never ending stronger and stronger measures.”

The statement was published to the Hospitality NT Facebook page on Friday afternoon by chief executive Alex Bruce.

It raised a wide range of concerns the industry, and the wider public, hold about Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s management of the current COVID-19 outbreak that on Friday came to include mandating that double-vaxxed Territory workers require a “booster” shot by April 22 and on Saturday added an outdoor mask provision.

The statement questioned the logic of the new booster mandate for workers, given that 90 per cent of those in hospital are Indigenous.

“We support and strongly encourage vaccination and will be complying with the third vaccination deadline of 22 April as required but with world leading high vaxx rates it is a reality that the rates aren’t going to get much higher in the adult population,” the statement said.

“Health officials have done an amazing job in getting the vast majority of Territorians vaccinated and every Territorian has now well and truly had a chance to get vaxxed.

“Only 2.5 (per cent) of cases require hospitalisation, more than half of the current cases are in the Darwin and Palmerston region, including non-vaccinated people, yet 90 (per cent) of hospitalisations are indigenous showing vulnerability is linked to co-morbidity, age and general health levels.

“At the end of the day, we can’t force a vaccine into someone’s arm and need to move beyond the current debate and do what has been said for over a year and that’s begin living with covid.

“And can we officially call an end to the War on the Unvaxxed? It is dividing families, workplaces and communities and does no one any good.”

The statement came as hospitality venues in the Northern Territory have reported the lowest trade in years over the last couple of weeks.

“Staff are losing shifts, both from loss of trade and when they become household contacts [of COVID-19], and we face losing staff and businesses the longer this goes on,” the statement continued.

“Tradies in Central Australia who face disruption to their bush work from all the lockouts and lockdowns have started reaching out to venues to see if there is any work needing to be done but unfortunately our tills are empty, and reserves are fast depleting.”

The statement also called for a “clear road map” for an end to COVID-19 restrictions for people who “thought that if they got vaccinated their lives could return to normal”.

“Indeed, that’s what governments around the country led them to believe but the goal posts seem to keep moving further into the distance,” Mr Bruce wrote.

“As more Territorians experience the overwhelmingly mild symptoms of covid a growing number are now questioning the Government’s response and where is the Government’s plans to get us out of the mess we are in?

“We are in our third year of covid and many in our sector face their worst trading environment we have experienced all whilst none of the supports that were provided previously are available.

“We need to power through and get back to normal as quickly as possible or we risk being caught in a ‘Let it Drip’ covid quagmire all through this year limiting our ability to capitalise on any comeback.”

Hospitality NT wrote to Mr Gunner last week calling for the following:

• Support for businesses to continue to keep staff paid and on roster along with reintroduction of the hardship register to assist with fixed costs.

• Removal of the different isolation rules between essential workers and all workers. All positions are essential to their business and to the employee who has bills to pay.

• Removal of the Territory Check In system, especially in high vaccinated communities

• Removal of the Vaccine Pass System from hospitality venues given high vaccination rate and fact all tourists entering the NT are vaxxed

• Removal of the Employee Vaccination Mandate outside of aged care, disability and health sectors

• Commitment to minimise work from home arrangements in the public sector

• Launch of a campaign to rebuild consumer confidence shredded by daily fear conferences.