Why does Melbourne have dry alcohol suburbs and how do they work?

EVER wondered why it’s so hard to get a beer in some of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs? Here’s the full low-down on the mystery behind our cosmopolitan city’s alcohol haves and have nots.

THERE’S been a booze ban for almost a century in about a dozen of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs giving punters a dry run of bars or pubs to indulge in a cheeky tipple.

But have you ever wondered why?

Who is affected?

Anyone wanting to have fun or make a buck in the Whitehouse and Boroondara municipalities.

This takes in parts of Ashburton, Glen Iris, Camberwell, Canterbury, Balwyn and Balwyn North, Mont Albert North, Mont Albert, Box Hill, Box Hill North and South, and Surrey Hills.

Strangely, one side of a main road can be split into the haves and the have nots — for example Burke Street in Camberwell. More on that later.

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But why, oh why is it so?

You can thank a “very antiquated” legal move made in the 1920s for our sober suburbs.

Worried about the trouble drinking would bring to the suburbs, residents in certain areas voted against granting liquor licences in their community in the 1920s.

“Since that time, legislation has required that certain licences may only be granted (or relocated to) these areas if a community poll is held and the majority of voters approve the grant of the licence,” a spokeswoman for the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation said.

Heavy drinking in Australia had been a cultural norm harking back to our nation’s colonisation.

In a failed attempt to reduce the effects of alcohol on society, all liquor establishments were forced to close by 6pm from the 1910s to the 1960s.

The hangover from the anti-booze movement introduced almost a century ago, means a bit of homework for hospitality folk who want to bend the rules.

And it’s a chance for residents to exercise their democratic rights.

How to get around the ban, or help enforce it

You need to get the neighbourhood locals on your side.

Owners of hotels or bars keen to get a general licence, on-premise licence or a club licence must apply to serve liquor under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.

As part of the process, a compulsory public vote is conducted.

But it’s good news for cafe and restaurant owners, as BYO permits are now exempt from the polls thanks to big reforms to laws in 2015.

Before that, residents who did not vote could be fined up to $74.

In 2015, that requirement was overturned by the VCGLR, who said no cafe or restaurant liquor licence had been rejected by a majority of voting residents for five years.

By scrapping the rule, it meant business owners would not have to keep wasting time and money.

But if residents in Boroondara and Whitehorse council areas vote against it, the VCGLR will reject a liquor licence for hotels, bars and clubs.

Grabbing a beer at a pub or bar in dry areas can be quite a challenge.

What exactly went down in the 1920s?

The control of liquor licences and trading hours in Victoria had always been an issue of enduring concern to the Parliament.

Since separation from New South Wales in 1851, Victoria has amended, reviewed and rewritten its liquor laws many times.

Temperance groups tried to press the liquor issue during the Victorian state election campaign in late 1914.

Map of dry areas under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.

Two dry areas were created following the first Victorian local option vote conducted in 1920.

The licensing districts of Nunawading and Camberwell voted in favour of licensing liquor, according toTasmania’s The Advocate.

“44 out of every 100 voters are so disgusted with the liquor traffic as a moral and economic factor, that they would dispense with it altogether,” the Victorian Prohibition League was quoted as saying in the Western Mail in 1930.

Before the vote, the liquor industry had actively lobbied for amendments to the proposed licensing Bill introduced in 1906.

They won some concessions, including the postponement of the local option provisions until 1917, which was later delayed to 1920.

This was when Camberwell and Nunawading became the only districts voting in favour to close all their hotels, and became ‘dry’ areas.

How does it affect traders?

But it doesn’t mean there is a complete curb on drinking in these suburbs.

It’s been five years since E’Latte Cafe in Ashburton — which trades in breakfast and lunch — was granted a permit to serve alcohol.

Cafe co-owner Eva Nikitas said they decided to apply for the licence to “differentiate us from other cafes in the area”.

But it wasn’t really worth the 10-month process, she said.

“We do get the occasional person in who wants to have a drink. It’s not a disadvantage we are in a dry area,” she said.

But Ms Nikitas said “it was ridiculous” the area was classified as a dry area.

“We are across the road from Vintage Cellars and it does not matter if you are a dry area or not, people can easily access alcohol,” she said.

“Once people are trained to responsibility serve, it (dry area) should not be an issue. It is a very antiquated law.”

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E'Latte Cafe owners Jim and Eva Nikitas applied for a licence to serve alcohol.

Democracy at its best, or ... worst?

Since 2008, there have been 40 liquor polls — with not a single one knocked back.

Camberwell is a divided suburb with the western side of Burke Rd — which houses the Palace Hotel — OK to drink up, while the eastern side over the road is a dry area.

City of Boroondara mayor Jim Parke said the council supported the current approach to liquor licensing and was unaware of any impacts on businesses in the area resulting from the ban.

“Businesses wishing to sell or consume liquor in the dry area are still able to apply to council and the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation for approval,” he said.

“Pubs, bars and nightclubs often result in greater detrimental amenity and noise impacts to the surrounding area, compared to other licensed premises such as restaurants or cafes.

“The dry area provides an opportunity for the community to have a say in protecting their amenity.”

Whitehorse City Council city development general manager Jeff Green agreed with the existing laws and said businesses had successfully operated for years under this model.

“There has been minimal inquiry from businesses in the dry areas around any change to existing regulatory controls,” Mr Green said.

“For residents living in a dry area, the requirement for a public poll to approve a liquor licence means they can have a say regarding the amenity of their neighbourhood.”

Pubs and bars in dry areas need to apply for a licence to serve alcohol.

How does it actually work?
Step 1: As for the process, the VCGLR will notify applicants their liquor licence application is in a dry area.

Step 2: Once all the relevant documentation is in — including planning permission — the Victorian Electoral Commission will conduct a poll.

Step 3: Residents have to vote or will be fined $79.

Why don’t they just ditch the booze ban?

It would need significant community will and changes to the legislation.

Where are the dry areas?

*East of Burke Rd to Middleborough Rd

*Bounded to the north by Koonung Creek

*Bounded to the south by Gardiners Creek, Warrigal Rd and Riversdale Rd (as extended through the Box Hill Golf Course)

Source: VCGLR