Page 3271 - Week 11 - Thursday, 12 September 1991
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MR STEFANIAK: Thank you. Certainly, that is something which I would suggest to members they might like to consider and vote favourably on next week.
Another area which has been touched upon in the Social Policy Committee report - which the Australian Federal Police have been very keen to see, and they are probably backed up by the Gaming and Liquor Authority as well - is a restriction on trading hours. The ACT has had, again since the Kep Enderby days - he really did not do a lot for liquor in the Territory, I think - 24-hour liquor licences. There are some clear problems with that.
In that report, and in evidence given to that Assembly committee, the police identified some big problems as a result of certain establishments trading between about 4.00 am and 10.00 am. I can recall driving through Civic at about 6.00 am and seeing outside one particular establishment about 20 drunks, sitting or lying in the gutter, vomiting in the gutter, some with blood on their faces, some just very, very sick from the effects of alcohol.
The proprietor of Playwell sports store at Weston Creek, outside the Rose and Crown, has had his window broken 45-odd times in the last 20-odd months - a quite intolerable - - -
Mr Kaine: Can he get insurance?
MR STEFANIAK: With difficulty, Trevor. That is just an intolerable situation. Indeed, some of these venues where problems arise are not those that close at 4.00 am; some close at a more sensible hour and the drunks flock to the venues that remain open and a lot of problems occur. This happens especially around the major population centres and shopping centres such as Civic and now, unfortunately, even out in Weston Creek.
Problems are caused not only for the persons who overimbibe themselves, in terms of the damage they might do to themselves, to property or to each other, but also for shoppers, because a lot of these problems occur on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. I have had a lot of complaints from people in relation to family groups being very badly hassled by drunks coming out of these establishments in Civic at about 8.30 am on a Saturday.
So, I think that is something else that the Government can do now. The Government has sufficient evidence, regardless of any inquiry. It can at least restrict 24-hour licences so that places are open only until about 4.00 am and then can reopen only from 10.00 am. I think that the police would concede that even 8.00 am would be sufficient because at least there is a four-hour period in which the drunks are cleaned out, and once you clean people out in that situation they are not really going to hang around for four hours before they can come back. That is something any government can do.
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