NTCAT hearing begins to determine future of Muirhead ‘family friendly tavern’
Muirhead’s proposed “family friendly tavern” went under the microscope at NTCAT yesterday with local clubs fighting to keep it out of their patronage turf.
Northern Territory
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MUIRHEAD’S proposed “family friendly tavern” went under the microscope at NTCAT yesterday with two local clubs fighting to keep it out of their patronage turf.
Lawyer for Clubs NT and their members The Casuarina Club and Tracy Village Social and Sports Club Tom Anderson said the objection to the development came down to public interest and adverse impact on the community, at NTCAT yesterday.
While Muirhead promised to bring a population of about 10,000 when it is completed he said there was no certainty when exactly that would be with fears there wouldn’t be demand to fill all three venues.
“It’s the impact upon opening that matters,” he said.
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“No one can say when that’s going to happen and it’s certainly not going to happen before this pub opens.
“Now is not the time … in the current climate with the current population, there’s not room in the market for another entrant now.”
Mr Anderson also advocated for the two nearby clubs, who provided significant support for the community, with Tracy Village contributing $2.8m and The Cas Club contributing $3.5m over eight years to various sporting clubs and community organisations, who feared they could lose up to 30 per cent of their clientele to the new business.
“The concern is this will result in an oversupply of premises remains,” he said.
“A loss of income, what would otherwise be profit at The Cas Club is a loss to the community to these groups who benefit from these distributions.”
Lawyer for the Liquor Commission Lachlan Peattie said there were a number of factors which the tribunal could take comfort from in the Liquor Commission’s original decision including the economic impact, and stringent conditions which it had been granted under.
“There’s lots of similar venues around, there’s nothing exceptional about this,” he said.
“The commission took great comfort from the fact the applicant embraced these harsh conditions which shows a willingness to work (with those conditions).”
Mr Peattie said some 30 employees along with nine contractors that would be employed would be a “substantial gain” on the amount of employees who could be lost if Tracy Village or the Casuarina Club were to close due to the competition. A further 80 jobs would be created during the construction of the tavern.
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Lawyer for the developers Steve Dugan and Justin Coleman, Duncan McConnel said concerns Tracy Village in particular could succumb to the new venue wouldn’t impact on the community.
“What is the level of support (Tracy Village is offering these clubs), how much of that support would be lost and would that support be capable of being found somewhere else in the community,” he said.
The tribunal consisting of Andrew Macrides, Ben O’Loughlin and Paul Rysavy will hand down the verdict in the coming days.
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