Development plans for licensed clubhouse in Wadeye revealed as governing corporation applies for liquor license

An application for a new clubhouse in a remote Territory down comes nearly 30 years after the previous club shut down, with consultations for the new club being undertaken for “the past four years in earnest”. Read the proposal.

Wadeye, Northern Territory. Picture: Jason Walls

A troubled community – roughly 400km south of Darwin – has put forward an application for a licensed clubhouse in the town, with the application saying it will be a “safe and responsible venue”.

The Murinbata Tribal Development Corporation has filed an application for a liquor license for a licensed clubhouse in Wadeye, which – if approved – will operate four days a week, open from 5pm to 9pm, serving food, according to the liquor license application.

The application was filed by Murinbata Tribal Development Corporation chief executive Andrew Clark, with the application now open to community consultation until August 3.

The licensed clubhouse will be operating on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with plans to open an hour earlier on Fridays at 4pm, according to the application.

If the approved, the clubhouse will be a place “where people can have a drink and a chat with their friends and work colleagues at the end of day,” the application states.

The application states it will be a “members only” club which will serve food, mid-strength alcoholic drinks, and non-alcoholic drinks.

A four-drink limit per one transaction will be in place, and those on the banned drinks register will not be allowed in, according to the application.

“The operators will be vigilant in ensuring that behaviour associated with the club and outside the club is closely monitored and penalties and sanctions are in place for negative behaviours and outcomes,” the application states.

If approved, the clubhouse will be an extension of the existing store in the town, according to the application.

Wadeye Police Station.

“It should be noted that the police station is about 200 metres from the proposed site of the club,” the application states.

Set to be run by the tribal corporation, the application states the corporation “will proactively conduct all aspects the service of alcohol in a responsible and professional manner and in accordance with the germane legislation”.

It won’t be the first time the town will host a licensed premises, with a clubhouse operational in the town from the early 1980s until it was fully disbanded in 1995 due to “various issues”, according to the application.

Consultations for the new club were undertaken for “the past four years in earnest”, according to the application.

The licensed club in the town will stop townsfolk from travelling into nearby communities – such as Peppimenarti, Darwin, or even Kununurra – to purchase alcohol, thereby mitigating the risk from long drives, and also stopping them from getting “trapped” in towns, according to the application.

“During travel to and from such centres, accidents occur and this results in people being maimed or killed,” the application states.

A licensed clubhouse within the town will also keep money in the local economy, according to the application, with the premises to also display plenty of material which will “not condone nor practice promotions that encourage excessive drinking”.

Security will be present at the clubhouse, with a bus also running to “take people home after each session,” according the application.

The application for the clubhouse comes as the town – and region – saw bouts of violence explode, with up to 100 people being involved in a brawl in the town, which also saw a person shot with a crossbow.

But the clubhouse application is confident a licensed venue in the town – if operated correctly – could provide positive change in the town.

“The consultative team, led by Dr Bill Ivory, conducting these consultations, found that there is a majority opinion that a liquor facility in the community, that has stringent rules and regulations, will gradually stimulate more positive drinking behaviour around alcohol,” the application states.

“(sic) Overall, a changing of the drinking rights and behaviour associated, it was generally suggested could modify behaviour and minimise harm to the people of Wadeye.”

Originally published as Development plans for licensed clubhouse in Wadeye revealed as governing corporation applies for liquor license