Review existing Tennant Creek booze restrictions before introducing more
INTRODUCING Banned Drinker Register (BDR) checks in Tennant Creek hotels will damage the community
Opinion
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INTRODUCING Banned Drinker Register (BDR) checks in Tennant Creek hotels will damage the community.
Last week, the Northern Territory Liquor Commission held a two-day hearing in Tennant Creek about proposed liquor licensing changes in the Barkly region, including introducing BDR checks in three hotels.
According to observer Steve Edgington, the area’s MLA and the Shadow Attorney-General, there was little support in the room full of people who had made submissions in response to changes, for the BDR proposal.
Not surprisingly, the three hotels that could be affected - the Tennant Creek Hotel, Goldfields Hotel and the Elliott Hotel – are against the idea.
Tennant Creek Hotel owner Jon Jenkins said he would have to employ more people to comply with the BDR.
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“We get police walking through every day and they know who is on the BDR and if they see them they take them out,” Mr Jenkins said.
Let’s break it down … a patron at one of these pubs drops in for a schooner or three and each time they purchase their next brew they need to produce ID for scanning whether they’re 18 or 88, a local or a blow in.
For bar staff, it means spending more time doing admin than getting money through the tills and keeping an eye on patrons coming and going to make sure everyone is safe.
Staff are likely to cop back chat, and at worse abuse, for following rules that are not proven to reduce alcohol harm in that region.
What the public submissions and hearing did show was that stakeholders and locals alike want the liquor restrictions brought in three years ago reviewed and potentially abolished because they’re causing more harm than good in the community.
In 2018, opening hours were reduced for businesses selling takeaway alcohol and there were limits on how much takeaway booze a person could buy.
The commission has recognised the significant interest in the issue by extending the community submission period by three weeks.
Liquor commission members need to focus on the outcomes of these 2018 restrictions and if they should be scaled back or abolished rather than introduce the onerous BDR on a select three pubs.
At last week’s hearing, Mr Edgington says the Barkly region was being used as a “guinea pig”.
“In my opinion, there is no evidence in the report by the Liquor Commission to show any justification for introducing that (the BDR) whatsoever, other than that the Liquor Commission or the government wants to use the Barkly as a guinea pig in a trial program,” he said.
Mr Edgington said the government coming through on a promise of providing 12 Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs) for Tennant Creek where there is currently only six would be more beneficial to the region than a BDR in some pubs.
Other proposals as part of the proposed liquor licensing changes include a requirement for all licensees in the region to include CCTV surveillance of their point of sale, and a requirement that customers not be served until PALIs have completed their checks.
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The emphasis on PALIs checks in the proposed liquor licensing changes further emphasises the importance of having all 12 positions filled.
Publicans rely on these resources more than they need extra work and angst that a BDR will bring.
The recommendation of making CCTV a requirement would be a significant outlay for businesses selling takeaway alcohol but one that is crucial in the fight to stop and catch thieves.
Denise Cahill is the Head of News at the NT News
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