Gunner vows to overrule NTCAT’s Dan Murphy’s rejection

THE NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal has sensationally rejected an appeal which would have allowed liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s to open a store in Darwin

The NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal has sensationally rejected an appeal which would have allowed liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s to open a store in Darwin

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THE NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal has sensationally rejected an appeal which would have allowed liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s to open a store in Darwin.

The NT News understands NTCAT rejected the booze barn’s appeal as it decided liquor retailers could not transfer an existing licence to a store which did not yet exist.

Dan Murphy’s parent company Endeavour Drinks had planned to transfer the licence for its small Stuart Park store – which it has closed – to the proposed mega bottlo across from Bunnings Darwin.

The Labor Government has put in place a moratorium on new liquor licences, but allows licences to be transferred between premises.

But if it holds, NTCAT’s ruling would mean no new bottle shops could be built while the moratorium stands.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Monday night pledged the store would go ahead.

“I strongly support responsible drinkers having more choice and this decision by NTCAT is a massive kick in the guts to Territorians,” he said.

“This decision is technical, impractical and we will fix the legislation in February to allow for Dan Murphy’s to operate in Darwin.”

Endeavour Drinks Group business development manager James Scott McKenzie said the fight wasn’t over yet.

“We are reviewing this disappointing decision and we will weigh up our options pending legal advice,” he said.

The barney over the proposed Dan Murphy’s, which was to have been the anchor tenant of a $40 million retail development at Eaton near the Darwin Airport, dates back years.

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Endeavour Drinks first approached the then-CLP government about the plan but was delayed for years by Labor’s imposition of a 400 sq m floor size limit for bottle shops.

That restriction was later repealed under immense public pressure.

An NT News poll in September found 88 per cent of 1575 respondents supported a Dan Murphy’s store in Darwin, while just 9 per cent were against it and 3 per cent didn’t care either way.

The NT News contacted the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition for comment.