00:01So, we're in Oodnadatta in the far north of South Australia, so 12 hours north of Adelaide.
00:09And we've got a town of about 60 to 80.
00:13Business has been an extremely slow start for us.
00:17Normally, we'd be expecting to see between 50 and 100 people a day, and we're lucky to
00:22be seeing 10 a day at the moment, and turnover is down by about 75 percent, so that's meant
00:29we've had to reduce our workforce.
00:31What has that been like for you, to have to reduce your workforce?
00:37Look, it's not an easy decision to make, ever, letting staff go.
00:41So, we had hired four backpackers for the season.
00:46Two hadn't arrived, so we cancelled them coming.
00:50Two have arrived, and we've had to let one of them go.
00:53And if things don't pick up by May, we're going to have to let them go as well, unfortunately.
00:58Who would you normally get coming through your roadhouse, and what have people been telling
01:03you about how they're feeling about the fuel crisis at the moment?
01:07Normally it would be a mixture of grey nomads, and I mean, it's the middle of school holidays
01:11at the moment, so families.
01:14The feedback we're getting is it's very quiet everywhere.
01:17We're not the only ones that are quiet.
01:19Some people that are living on the road are just bearing the price for now, and travelling
01:26less during the day, and staying places for longer.
01:31And some people have had these trips planned, so they've carried on.
01:34But people have definitely put their travel plans off because of the supply crisis.
01:42And we don't know how long this war is going to run, how long these fuel supply issues will
01:47persist.
01:48How worried are you about the future from here?
01:52Look, me and my wife are very stressed.
01:54It's a stressful time.
01:56There's more money going out than in currently, which is never good for a business.
02:01But look, we'll just go into maintenance mode.
02:04We'll cut costs where we can.
02:07We've put off some refurbishments of the kitchen and the campground.
02:11And we'll just sit and wait it out and get till next season, hopefully.
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