Wes Lambert is the CEO of the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association, an industry group representing hospitality businesses nationwide. Speaking to SmartCompany, Lambert says any move to ban surcharging should come with reduced card acceptance fees for “mom and pop” businesses. “We can’t have the balance of the scales go back to the banks, against small business, to save consumers,” he says. “What we don’t want is this to just end up as a menu price increase, which then goes into inflation.”

Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert said reforming the FBT would make a “huge difference” when it came to getting more people into the city’s restaurants, bars and cafes. “This is a great … campaign we can really get behind whether it’s a long lunch or drinks after work, this would be a big boost to the hospitality sector,” he said.

ABC Drive-from 1:36 In response to “same job, same pay”, we would argue that in the restaurant and cafe segment of accommodation & food service, that it’s not the same job, 18, 19 and 20 year olds, especially those working in the kitchen, haven’t built up that experience and the process and expertise of working in a kitchen and front of house. And that takes time.