Dan Murphy’s NTCAT appeal over proposed liquor superstore delayed by coronavirus hotspot travel restrictions

DAN Murphy’s appeal through NTCAT to build a superstore on Osgood Drive, Eaton, has been delayed by more than a month with Tuesday’s hearing rescheduled to August 28.

Dan Murphy’s hearing with NTCAT has been delayed until August 28.

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DAN Murphy’s appeal through NTCAT to build a superstore on Osgood Drive, Eaton, has been delayed by more than a month with Tuesday’s hearing rescheduled to August 28.

Applicants Woolworths Group Limited requested the adjournment on its proposal with all parties agreeing.

Travel restrictions as a result of the coronavirus hotspots have hindered all parties including Endeavour Drinks, the parent company of Dan Murphy’s, from being able to properly prepare strategies and compile the necessary materials for the hearing.

“We obviously need to get people back up here, particularly from Sydney, to conclude our evidence so with the restrictions being placed back on people travelling from Sydney, it’s difficult for us to prepare a timeline to know when we’ll have that evidence,” Endeavour Drinks business development manager James Scott-Mackenzie said.

“We wrote to their solicitors and sought confirmation from them that they were happy to adjourn for another month and they agreed.”

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Despite the delay and uncertainty around restrictions, Mr Scott-Mackenzie was confident the appeal would be ­successful.

“The hearing has been adjourned to August 28, hopefully by that time we’ll have an understanding of when we’ll be able to finalise our evidence and move towards a full hearing for that matter,” he said.

Endeavour Drinks corporate services general manager Shane Tremble was unable to appear at the hearing because he is based in Sydney.

Dan Murphy’s will face the NT Liquor Commission and several publicans, health and social services and organisations, Indigenous communities and corporations, and a number of other individuals at the directions hearing.

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The case was originally set to be appealed through the Supreme Court before it was withdrawn by Dan Murphy’s in April after rule changes to the legislation that allowed liquor licences to be transferred from existing premises to ones that are still to be built.

The transferral of a licence is key to the application, with the application hoping to transfer the licence from an old Stuart Park BWS store to the Eaton site.