Ministerial Statement

LIQUOR LICENSING

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (12:37): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: In February 2012, the Governor announced that a key government priority for the future was creating a vibrant city. Licensed premises, in the city in particular, and also in suburban and country areas help to create a vibrant atmosphere and provide a wide range of options for residents seeking to enjoy entertainment and hospitality. They need to offer diversity, especially at the smaller end. It is important that those licensed premises contribute to the cost of regulation and compliance but not if that contribution causes licensees to dramatically change their business models and operating hours

Cabinet has today recommended amendments to the Liquor Licensing Regulations to create a new annual liquor licence fee framework to address the unintended consequences of small to medium low-risk premises in the city and elsewhere closing early because they are unable to afford the annual fees for trading after 2am. The new framework will reduce most of the loadings previously applying for past 2am and past 4am and will introduce the concept of medium-sized premises of 200 to 400 people in relation to hotel, entertainment venue and special circumstances licences.

Any premises with these types of licences trading past 4am with more than 400 people will pay the highest fee of $10,700, which is unchanged from the current framework reflecting the higher level of risk posed by such premises. The process to implement the annual liquor licence fees commenced in July 2010 as part of the government's A Safer Night Out public discussion paper. It is now clear that this and subsequent consultation with licensees were not sufficient to inform them of the full impact of the fees.

The government has listened to the hundreds of licensees who phoned and emailed Consumer and Business Services after they were advised in May of exactly how much their annual fee would be. The new date for payment of the 2012-13 financial year will be 31 December 2012. This will give licensees time to consider the new fee framework and to make a decision on how they want to conduct their businesses in the future. This time frame will also allow the development of an online payment by instalment option for licensees required to pay loadings for late trading.

Recognising that there is no 'one size fits all' for any class of licence, the new framework will allow the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner to reduce the fee level payable in circumstances where a business is similar to that under another licence class for which a lower fee is payable. CBS will soon commence a series of communications with licensees to confirm that applications to change hours or capacities have not been processed, advise them of the new framework, confirm the fees that they will be paying in accordance with the current licence conditions and provide another opportunity to review the trading hours in light of the new fees.

Cabinet has recommended that the Governor in Executive Council make the new regulations this Thursday, 14 June 2012. This licensing regime will be more than manageable for licensees and will allow the government to recover some costs. If we find that this is not the case, the government will need to review this structure in 2013. Although licensees became engaged late in the process, the government has acknowledged and listened to their concerns about the unintended consequences of the current fees and is confident that the new framework will ensure that Adelaide remains a vibrant city with entertainment options for everyone.