Dan Murphy’s decision looms with Chamber of Commerce confident of strong case behind the bid

DIRECTOR of Liquor Licensing Philip Timney remains tight lipped on when he will hand down a decision on the controversial Darwin Dan Murphy’s

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DIRECTOR of Liquor Licensing Philip Timney remains tight lipped on when he will hand down a decision on the controversial Darwin Dan Murphy’s with the December 20 looming.

However, stakeholders are hoping for an early decision to come on Friday – the last business day ahead of the Sunday deadline.

The NT News understands the government expects the licence to be approved.

The decision will come solely from Mr Timney, who is acting independently of the government or any other person.

Mr Timney and Licensing NT did not respond to questions over whether a decision was on track for the deadline or when the decision would be delivered given the deadline falls on a Sunday.

However the 30 day process will still ensure Territorians have an answer to the question ‘Will Dan Murphy’s be coming to the Northern Territory?’, before Christmas.

NT Chamber of Commerce chief executive Greg Ireland said he had no inkling of when the decision would be made or what it would be but there was every possibility of it being approved.

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“I think there’s a strong case for it to get through the system as it currently stands,” Mr Ireland said.

“That will create a significant level of unease in some sectors but from a chamber perspective we think the commercial side of business needs to follow it’s natural course.

“If there’s a case for that business to exist, commercially it will find it’s feet.”

An Endeavour Drinks spokeswoman said they had no indication the outcome would be delayed by the Director of Liquor Licensing.

“We are expecting a decision to be made by the Director of Liquor Licensing on or before the 20th December, in line with the Liquor Further Amendment Act 2020,” she said.

Dan Murphy's new site in Darwin showing distance from Bagot Indigenous community

The application, transferring a licence from a defunct BWS bottle shop in Stuart Park to the proposed Dan Murphy’s superstore in Eaton was diverted to the Director of Liquor Licensing under the Liquor Further Amendment Act 2020, for a decision to be made within 30 days.

The urgent changes to the Liquor Act, which were rammed through parliament last month, circumvent the independent Liquor Commission’s rulings and result in a decision to allow the fate of four grog shop applications to be decided by Mr Timney.

The chief executive of Woolworths, who owns Endeavour Drinks, Brad Banducci said the decision would not be appealed if it went against the application.

“If it doesn’t go our way that’s fine, we will move on. If it does go our way, we will lean in and try to lift responsible retail,” he told AFR Weekend.

However, with decisions not reviewable by NTCAT under the amendment, it is not known how any appeal would be made.

Despite the uncertainty of the final date, the 30-day period given under the legislation dwarfs the two years the process has taken through the system and the five year campaign Dan Murphy’s have endured trying to establish themselves in the NT.

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Small Business Minister Paul Kirby earlier said in parliament that a number of small businesses would benefit from the controversial amendment with the law change revolving “around reducing red tape … around job-creating opportunities”.

Mr Kirby argued the laws therefore “fit with my remit”, which is why he championed them at last weeks budget estimates instead of Alcohol Policy Minister Natasha Fyles.

Three other applications, for licences at a Pirlangimpi corner store, a bottle shop in Durack Heights and a bottle shop in the Oasis shopping centre in Palmerston, are also due to be resolved under the same deadline.

Originally published as Dan Murphy’s decision looms with Chamber of Commerce confident of strong case behind the bid