Tony Lupton - Speech
Liquor Control Reform Amendment Bill
22 November 2007
I am very pleased to speak today in support of the Liquor Control Reform Amendment Bill and to congratulate those responsible in government for bringing this legislation before the Parliament.
At the last election the Labor Party went to the people of Victoria with a very strong community safety policy, and of course since 1999, when we came to government, we have made community safety a hallmark of this government. This legislation is particularly positive in continuing to promote community safety in Victoria by improving enforcement mechanisms around entertainment precincts and licensed venues.
I go back to the time when in the 55th Parliament I was appointed by the government to chair the Inner City Entertainment Precincts Taskforce. Again I commend those people from the police, local government, liquor licensing and a range of other organisations who worked so diligently on that task force. The legislation before the house picks up many of the recommendations and results of the other ancillary work carried out by the task force. I am very pleased to see that the work of that inner city precincts task force has come to fruition in such a positive way in this legislation.
The overall objective of this legislation is to give police more appropriate and effective powers in relation to areas where there are high numbers of licensed venues and to strengthen the liquor licensing powers applying to licensed venues here in Victoria. The provisions in the bill include the ability to declare a designated area, and as a result they bring in the ability for banning orders or exclusion orders to apply in that designated area. The bill also gives courts the ability to make exclusion orders banning people from particular areas for up to 12 months. It also strengthens the enforcement measures available under Victorian law whereby the director of liquor licensing will be able to impose temporary late-hour-entry declarations, which are generally known as lockouts.
There is also a more streamlined process, increasing penalties for offences under the act and allowing the director of liquor licensing to issue breach notices against licensees in broader circumstances.
It also addresses the situation where restaurants or cafes transform themselves into nightclubs late at night. It provides an effective remedy for that sort of behaviour. It also deals with the inappropriate consumption of alcohol on party buses and gives a statutory foundation to the voluntary liquor accords that have been operating in many municipalities around Victoria.
It is important that we appreciate the breadth and the scope of this legislation, because what we have seen emerging in society over a period of years has been an increase in the number of licensed venues and operating hours, and an increase in alcohol-related violence as a result of those developments. This is not something that is restricted to Melbourne or Victoria as a whole; these are social changes that really have taken place across many countries. But here in Victoria we are addressing the issues strongly and effectively. This government is very proud of the fact that we have the safest state in Australia, and we want to continue to make sure that is the case. These effective and appropriate laws, which will deal with inappropriate behaviour resulting from alcohol consumption, strike the right balance and will bring about the best social outcomes.
To provide a bit more detail, the legislation we are debating today includes giving the director of liquor licensing, in consultation with the Chief Commissioner of Police, the ability to declare an area to be an entertainment precinct. If that declaration is made, it gives police the power to ban troublemakers from a designated area for up to 24 hours at a time. It also enables courts to issue repeat offenders with orders excluding them from entertainment precincts for up to 12 months. In a situation where a particular problem may be occurring and there is a requirement for immediate action, this legislation gives the police the ability to take that action.
If people are recalcitrant and become repeat offenders, they can be brought before the courts for exclusion orders to be made for up to 12 months.
The strengthening of the licensing laws under this legislation is also appropriate and proper. An assistant commissioner of Victoria Police will be given the power to suspend a liquor licence for up to 24 hours, enabling police to respond immediately to threats to public safety. Where a threat to safety occurs, it is appropriate that police have the ability to take immediate steps to overcome that problem, and this legislation will enable them to do that.
The bill also gives the director of liquor licensing the power to vary the trading hours of liquor licences and to put varied conditions on liquor licences in a more streamlined fashion. This will enable the director to effectively respond to emerging circumstances and promote public safety.
It will also empower the director of liquor licensing to suspend a liquor licence and will streamline the director's ability to make late-hour-entry declarations to enable lockouts from licensed premises, as has been mentioned.
It also expands the definition of 'an associate' of a licensee, and this means it will include any individual who has a significant influence over the conduct of licensed venues. For the proper and safe conduct of licensed venues, and taking into account the social effects these things can have, it is very important that we make sure that those who are involved in the operation of licensed venues are appropriate persons. This will strengthen that ability.
It is also important in my electorate of Prahran to deal with the situation where a cafe or a restaurant late at night turns into a nightclub without having or being able to obtain a nightclub licence and without having to go through all the approval processes -- even though to date they have been able to operate as a nightclub in those circumstances. This legislation will effectively stop that by stopping anything other than background music being played if the establishment has only a cafe or a restaurant-type licence.
The other issue that is important in my electorate is the effective regulation of what are known as party buses. This legislation brings these party buses into the same sort of regime as things like party boats, which are well known on the waterways of Melbourne. That means that these party buses will not be able to serve alcohol without having an appropriate licence. That will be an effective way of ensuring that people on these buses do not become overly intoxicated as they are driving around streets and causing difficulties for local residents.
Overall this legislation is a broad package of powers both for police and for the director of liquor licensing. These powers will ensure that we have an effective and workable response to the issues of alcohol and antisocial behaviour. By virtue of the proposed amendments the Liberal Party has flagged, it seems that the opposition does not know where it stands on the issue of community safety. This government is doing the right thing for the people of Victoria.
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