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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2517 ..

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This Bill gives effect to the changes to the Liquor Act that I announced in my Ministerial Statement on liquor enforcement delivered to this Assembly in December 1995. As indicated at that time the Government is committed to ensuring that the liquor industry is well regulated and that the provisions of the Liquor Act enable appropriate control to be exercised over the industry.

To clearly establish the basis on which the Government expects the industry to operate the Bill includes a clause formally establishing a principal objective of the Act. That is "to promote and encourage responsibility in the sale and consumption of liquor through the establishment of a scheme of liquor licences and permits". This objective has always been the underlying objective of the Act since its introduction in 1975. Its formal introduction puts the industry on notice that the responsible sale and consumption of liquor is the primary objective of the legislation and that the licensing and enforcement regimes are established in the legislation to achieve that objective.

Consistent with the Government's resolve to address the unacceptable level of compliance by some licensees with their obligations under the Liquor Act, this Bill also introduces further changes to enhance the licensing and enforcement regimes. In particular, the amendments contained in clauses 22

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