Dan Murphys’ final hearing to be held this year as finish line finally in sight for drawn-out case

THE final hearing for Dan Murphys will be held later this year with a timeline finally set for the final proceedings of the long, drawn-out saga

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A FINAL decision on whether or not Dan Murphys will be coming to Darwin will be made this year, with a final hearing to begin on December 7.

Evidence will need to be gathered and supplied by applicants Endeavour Drinks to NTCAT and all concerned parties by October 16, while respondents will be required to provide their material by November 27.

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The timeline had threatened to move into next year, with Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education lawyer Tom Anderson requesting more time to respond to evidence from the original date of October 23.

But Endeavour Drinks’ lawyer Alistair Wyvill SC argued the timeline didn’t need to be so lengthy given most of the evidence had already been heard and parties said there wouldn’t be any new evidence raised.

“There are great benefits for consumers who are responsible and the case about our most important issue, which is risk of harm, is a straightforward one,” he said.

Delays into 2021 could also have forced Endeavour Drinks to find a new counsel with Mr Wyvill engaged with a trial during the early months of the year.

Instead, the due date for preliminary evidence was brought forward by a week, giving the defence respondents a six-week time frame to respond.

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More to come.

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