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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-17 Daily Xml
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LIQUOR LICENSING HOURS

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation prior to asking the Minister for Police a question on the subject of 'Don't let Mike Rann lock you out of Adelaide's pubs and clubs after 2 am'.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Members would be aware that there has been considerable concern in recent weeks about Mr Rann's plans to implement a lock-out in Adelaide's clubs and pubs. In recent weeks Mr Rann's plan has been to avoid the introduction of legislation into the parliament on this issue by having all licensees in the CBD sign up to a supposedly voluntary lock-out at 3am, with some exemptions, under an administrative order under the Liquor Licensing Act. A number of licensees have contacted me expressing concern or anger at what they believe was unfair pressure to sign up to what was supposedly a voluntary lock-out.

In one case a licensee outlined his discussions with the South Australia Police. He was visited late last Friday and given a copy of this administrative order under the Liquor Licensing Act and asked to read the explanation and sign it. He asked for time to read the documentation and consider it. SAPOL told him that this lock-out was going to happen and that, 'You are one of the last to sign,' and then SAPOL told him, 'If all sign, it just means parliament doesn't have to pass legislation in relation to this issue.' That was on Friday afternoon. On Monday morning SAPOL officers again visited this licensee to see whether or not he had signed the voluntary lock-out order. When he said he still had not considered it and again asked for more time, SAPOL said they would return in a few hours (that was Monday afternoon, the third time in two business days) to see whether or not he had signed the voluntary lock-out order.

From the discussions that I have had with a number of people complaining about this, it is clear that what South Australia Police are telling licensees is untrue; that is, it was not true to say that this particular licensee and other licensees were some of the last to sign. A significant number of licensees have contacted me to indicate their strong opposition and, so far, their unpreparedness to sign this voluntary lock-out order. My questions are as follows:

1. Why is SAPOL telling licensees that they are—

The Hon. B.V. Finnigan: You have had too many late nights, Rob. That is the problem.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am trying to read my own writing. That is the problem. Why is SAPOL telling licensees that they are 'one of the last to sign', when it is clear that these statements are not true?

2. Will the minister get urgent advice from SAPOL as to how many of the more than 100 licensees of pubs and clubs in the CBD have not signed the voluntary lock-out orders?

3. Will the minister ask the Police Commissioner whether he will ensure that the facts about the number of licensees within the CBD who have and have not signed these voluntary lock-out orders are given to the more than 100 licensees within the CBD?

4. Why does Mr Rann want to require licensees in the CBD to sign up to this voluntary lock-out order when the casino, under its own act, will not be subject to a similar lock-out?

5. Why does Mr Rann want to impose lock-outs on the CBD businesses and clubs when licensees of bars and clubs just outside the CBD (such as the Arkaba, the Royal and, indeed, a number of others) will also not be subject to such lock-outs?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:24): Mr President, you would not think, would you, that in fact there has been a lock-out trial successfully working at Glenelg for some time now? There has been one in Naracoorte in the South-East for some time. Nor would you believe that, in fact—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Mr President, the Hon. Rob Lucas was effectively accusing—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Question time will not proceed until members are silent.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The Hon. Rob Lucas was effectively accusing the South Australian police of lying. That was his accusation. I do not accept that. That is his version.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: And he is repeating that accusation. I do not accept that. Let me talk a little about these lockouts because, as I indicated in answer to a question last week, at the meeting of state and federal ministers in Melbourne several weeks ago (which my colleague the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse also attended) there was agreement among the states that we should trial lockouts. Queensland, in fact, has a mandatory lockout system. The Queensland minister told the police minister's conference last week that, since that lockout had been introduced (I think it was something like 12 months ago), there had been a significant reduction in street violence. Incidentally, she made the point that she had just returned from Los Angeles—the entertainment capital of the world—where they do not serve alcohol after 2am.

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Yes. That is what happens there. The government has simply agreed to have a look at the trial. As I said, we have conducted trials in some country areas in this state, and the Police Commissioner—

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: We know the tactics of the Hon. Rob Lucas: he throws in the Premier's name. However, in relation to this issue, the Police Commissioner has been dealing with the Capital City Committee, of which I am a member. The city council some time ago raised concerns—

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: In fact, it was the Hon. Rob Lucas who came into this parliament two years ago and said that we should have a lot more police in Hindley Street. Why? Because there is violence. And why do we have violence? Because it is fuelled by alcohol. That is the question that the Hon. Rob Lucas was asking two years ago.

The solution of certain proprietors in that area is, 'Let's serve alcohol. Let's fill people with alcohol, but just get more police to come and pick up the pieces at the end of the day.' There has to be some responsibility by publicans as well as the police. We will provide and we have provided more police to trouble spots. However, the publicans also have a responsibility not to serve people with alcohol when they are intoxicated. The city council has raised all these issues, and we set up a committee some time back with the police—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The honourable member can make light of it, but it is a serious problem. Many young people are now drawn into the city and are consuming far too much alcohol for their own good and for the good of society. If opposition members are not concerned about that, they ought to be: they certainly do not deserve to be in government and they do not really deserve to be in this parliament. There is a serious problem out there, which the police are trying to address.

The city council, through the Capital City Committee, has been trying to work with police to ensure that there is a more responsible attitude towards drinking in the city. The police, working with the city council, have been endeavouring to get a voluntary lockout through the system, which would mean that, while people can still drink after 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the morning (or whatever it is), once they leave those establishments they cannot go back in.

That policy, which has been mandatory in Queensland for some years, has significantly reduced the violence associated with alcohol in that state—and it has many more young people than South Australia. As police minister, I fully support the Commissioner's endeavours to try to do something to address the problems that we are experiencing in Hindley Street. The answer is not to keep employing at great cost to taxpayers many more police to deal with the social problem that is created by excessive amounts of alcohol. Publicans also have a responsibility. This government will ensure that those publicans meet their responsibility, as well as our making the state safe.

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