Booze sale bans imposed in CBD amid rising alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour

A CBD-wide ban on selling takeaway booze – to fight rising alcohol-fuelled violence – was quietly put in place weeks ago. See what’s banned.

Citywide bans on selling takeaway alcohol have been imposed to combat rising levels of booze-fuelled violence and anti-social behaviour blighting Adelaide’s most popular areas.

The state’s liquor watchdog ordered the strict crackdown on bottle shops and other licensed venues after numerous reports of wild behaviour and “excessive” public alcohol use.

Authorities are particularly concerned at “hotspot” locations around the western part of North Tce, which includes the Convention Centre, railway station and Parliament House.

City business owners have reported rising tensions that has involved fights, harassment of customers and public areas being used as toilets.

Issues have been reported involving Indigenous groups, homeless people and drunken revellers.

Police said there was no specific data on anti-social behaviour as it is not a “defined offence”.

The government failed to publicly announce it had imposed the legal restrictions three weeks ago on the amount and type of alcohol that can be bought in the CBD.

Police presence can be seen along Hindley Street on a Friday night in Adelaide, Kaurna Yarta. The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, Dini Soulio, will this week meet with senior police, industry leaders, licensees and Adelaide City Council chiefs to assess the month-long trial quietly launched on Good Friday.

Longer-term strategies will also be debated, based on results from the clampdown, which a special government safety task-force endorsed.

Australian Hotels Association SA chief executive officer, Ian Horne, warned of “significant issues” in pockets of the city.

“There’s concerns about wider behavioural issues but there is not one particular issue that’s the problem,” he said.

“There’s an immeasurable amount of complexity to these issues coming together. We’re trying to get it contained before it gets out of hand.

“But I want to emphasise this – this is being driven with a high level of co-operation with industry operators and sellers of packaged liquor.”

He said the licensing commissioner had only a “blunt instrument” with short-term restrictions that he can impose.

While he warned multiple agencies needed to help address wider community problems, solutions must not “shift” the problem to other areas such as the suburbs.

“The harsh reality is there’s rising anti-social behaviour in the city, which we all want to solve,” he said.

A police presence along Hindley Street on a Friday night in Adelaide. Picture: The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

The restrictions, which are similar to those imposed in Port Augusta and Whyalla, limited the sale of takeaway liquor including:

NO sales of four or five litre casks of wine

BANS on the purchasing of fortified wine casks such as port, sherry, or brandy;

RESTRICTIONS of sales to either one two-litre cask, two 700ml bottles of spirits or one one-litre bottle of spirits per person, each day.

Authorities believe grog restrictions in the state’s Mid North, along with Northern Territory alcohol bans in places such as Alice Springs, has also exacerbated the problem as groups move between towns.

Similar alcohol-fuelled violence and other anti-social problems have been reported in the parklands in recent years that led to various dry zones being launched.

Defending the trial’s secrecy, Mr Soulio – who is already considering liquor reforms and scrapping a controversial lockout law – said next week’s meeting will discuss various views “on the effectiveness of these measures and what steps should be taken in the longer-term”.

“As roughly three quarters of all takeaway bottle shops in the CBD had already introduced similar restrictions, it was not seen as a significant enough shift to warrant a public announcement,” he said.

“Signage was provided to bottle shops to help them advise customers.

“The decision to trial restrictions across all bottle shops was developed in response to concerns raised by key agencies and was aimed at ensuring consistency around venues in the CBD.”

Adelaide City Council manager Ilia Houridis said the restrictions were a “practical option to mitigate some of the anti-social behaviour occurring within the CBD”. Picture: supplied.

The council’s “city shaping” director, Ilia Houridis, said the restrictions were a “practical option to mitigate some of the anti-social behaviour occurring within the CBD”.

“It’s our view that anything we can do to make the city safer and more welcoming for everyone is worth pursuing,” he said.

The safety task-force, established in 2021, develops responses to unsafe and anti-social behaviour in the Adelaide CBD and parklands.

A senior Department for Human Services bureaucrat chairs the panel with officials from key agencies, including SA Police, SA Housing Authority, SA Health and Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation.

A police spokeswoman said it “supports initiatives aimed at reducing intoxication and improving community safety” and will help evaluate measures.