Larrimah pub owner considers giving up takeaway licence after latest trading suspension

The pub’s owner claimed restrictions on selling alcohol only to people with a legitimate address to drink at ‘unfairly targeted Aboriginal patrons’.

LARRIMAH’S famous Pink Panther pub’s owner, Steve Baldwin, is considering giving up his takeaway licence after again falling foul of the Territory’s liquor laws.

The hotel will be banned from selling takeaways for six hours this Friday after the Liquor Commission found it sold grog to people from dry Aboriginal communities four times in August last year.

The latest disciplinary action came after the venue had its licence suspended for five days last year after committing 144 breaches of the banned drinker register.

The tribunal heard police had recorded body-worn camera footage of them speaking to customers who bought alcohol at the pub, intending to drink it “in a public place where liquor could not be lawfully consumed.”

At a public hearing in June, Mr Baldwin admitted the breaches but claimed the restrictions on selling alcohol only to people with a legitimate address to drink at “unfairly targeted Aboriginal patrons”.

“He said that all purchasers of his packaged liquor were travellers and should be entitled to consume the alcohol wherever they decided to camp at the end of the day’s travel,” the decision reads.

The Larrimah Wayside Inn aka Pink Panther pub. Picture: Jason Walls

“As a long-time resident of the Northern Territory he didn’t believe that the current restrictive regime in relation to takeaway liquor was the answer to the level of alcohol related harm that exists within our community.”

Mr Baldwin asked the commission to take into account “difficulties associated with operating a licence in such a remote location” but accepted a suspension was “not unreasonable”.

“Mr Baldwin further stated that there was no demand for takeaway liquor from any of the residents of Larrimah and that all his sales were made to travellers,” the decision reads.

“On some days there would only be a few takeaway sales and because of all the restrictions surrounding the BDR he was giving serious consideration to surrendering his takeaway authority.”

In handing down his decision, Liquor Commission chairman Richard Coates said it was expected that licensees would abide by the added restrictions put in place due to the Covid pandemic.

Mr Coates also warned Mr Baldwin that the decision on whether he would be able to continue to sell takeaways could be taken out of his hands if he didn’t clean up his act.

Pink Panther pub owner Steve Baldwin outside the Liquor Commission last year.

“If this licensee continues to maintain philosophical objections to some of the restrictions associated with the sale of takeaway liquor in the Northern Territory then it would be well advised to give further consideration to surrendering its takeaway authority,” he said.

“As Mr Baldwin confirmed during this hearing, there is no need for such a service by the local residents and as the evidence from these two disciplinary hearings has shown, the purchases of takeaway liquor by Aboriginal people travelling from remote communities has proved problematic for the police and to this licensee.

“The licensee must understand that any further breaches of its licence conditions are likely to attract a much greater penalty including the possible cancellation of its takeaway authority.”