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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 11 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 2904 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

When town centres, regional centres and our Civic Centre were designed, it appears that little attention was paid to designs which provide for minimising crime. In recent times it has become apparent that civic design involves planning to reduce crime. The principles set out in the Civic Case Study of the Designing Out Crime report will help the Government's forward planning of physical amenities improvement programs. In the redesign of Garema Place, the Government intends to rely heavily on the recommendations of this report. In other areas the Community Safety Committee has made a number of recommendations in its Civic by Night and Manuka by Night studies which impact on urban design. In response to one of these recommendations, we will be closing Franklin Street in Manuka on Saturday nights for the remainder of December and all of January, as well as on New Year's Eve.

But it is not just that crime needs to be designed out of our shopping and town centres. The physical amenity of these centres must cater for as diverse a range of people as possible. Alternative entertainment venues will be considered favourably, including the prospect of establishing an alcohol-free nightclub in Civic for young people, predominantly those under 18. One of the major causes of under-age drinking is the seeking of entertainment by those people. The Manuka safety committee is to shortly meet with a group of students at nearby high schools to seek their views on alternative forms of entertainment which could be adopted in Manuka. This is a welcome and responsible move which shows the willingness of local businesses to find solutions to the problems facing young people before they reach the stage of having to deal with these problems becoming liquor related.

One important aspect of liquor law enforcement in Canberra has involved a detailed study by the police and the liquor licensing authorities of the adequacy of licensing provisions and the legal requirements of the Act. In order to ensure compliance, there are a number of provisions which have to change. I have discussed these changes with the AHA, and I am pleased to acknowledge their willingness to participate in an effort to lift the standards of responsible serving of alcohol. It is important to note that the Government regards licensees generally as responsible. Some changes to the law will be necessary to accomplish the Government's desire to crack down on those few licensees who do not perform to the standards the community expects.

At present it is unlawful for a licensee to sell alcohol to an intoxicated person. The difficulty with proving the offence is that the prosecution needs to establish that the person serving the alcohol had a reasonable belief that the person was intoxicated. Effectively, this means a prosecution can take place only where an admission of guilt is present. We intend to introduce amendments to the Liquor Act to change that test from a subjective test to an objective test, the same as in most other States. That means the test will be whether a reasonable person would believe that the person was intoxicated. In addition, it has been necessary to establish that the beverage being served was alcoholic, and that must be done by taking a sample and having it analysed. We will introduce an averment provision that will deem a beverage to be alcoholic if it is served by a licensee from a container, bottle, carton or can which indicates by the label that it is an alcoholic beverage. If a licensee wishes to have a sample analysed to prove it is not an alcoholic beverage, of course they will still have that right.

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