New hospitality lobby group launched

Nine’s Good Food reported on 31 May that Neil Perry is to be the founding chair of new industry association ARCA (Australian Restaurant and Café Association), whose mandate includes lobbying government on issues like skilled worker immigration, wages and tax.

“The current policy framework is not supporting the restaurant and cafe sector to continue to contribute to Australia’s economy,” Perry was quoted by Good Food as saying.

“We’ve been calling out for change and today we’ve gathered Australia’s leading restaurant owners together to drive impactful change in legislation and policy shifts to allow the industry to survive and thrive.”
 

Former Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert, who has been appointed chief executive of ARCA, told Good Food that restaurant and café owners are facing unprecedented challenges, with taxes, inflation, wage pressures, costs of doing business, skilled staffing shortages and ever-increasing rents “pushing the [sector] to the wall.”

The new association has the support of hospitality groups behind some high profile restaurants including Quay, Restaurant Hubert and The Grounds in Sydney, and Stokehouse and Lake House in Victoria.

Both Perry and Lambert told Good Food that ARCA wants to work collaboratively, including with Restaurant & Catering Australia.

The ARCA board is expected to include Merivale chief people officer Jessica Furolo and Lake House owner Alla Wolf-Tasker.