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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-20 Daily Xml
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PLANNING REVIEW

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.M.A. Lensink:

That this council requests the Environment, Resources and Development Committee to inquire into and report on a review into South Australia's liquor licensing, planning, heritage and environmental regimes, to determine what barriers exist to small bars and live music and entertainment venues and what changes will promote more vibrant precincts.

(Continued from 18 July 2012.)

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (18:00): I will respond on behalf of the government. Although the government welcomes the opposition's sudden and late interest in making Adelaide a more vibrant city, the government does oppose this motion because this is work that the government is already undertaking through a number of avenues. This government recognises that current laws present barriers to the creation and sustainability of smaller licensed venues in South Australia. We also know that these barriers have affected our local live music industry.

Already, the government has created a one-stop shop to help applicants find their way through the current liquor licensing system. This service is designed to encourage entrepreneurs who want to open new venues, particularly in the city. This case management service has been established within the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. The service has streamlined and simplified complex assessment processes by offering comprehensive advice integrated across government agencies. The service provides assistance across the whole process, from initial planning through to the opening and operation of the premises.

While judgements about the issuing of licences must be in line with legislation and regulations, the government recognises that we must provide sensible and easy to navigate processes. The government is also currently reviewing the Liquor Licensing Act to determine whether changes are required to encourage entrepreneurs to open small venues in Adelaide.

One only has to look at the way in which smaller licensed venues have revitalised parts of the Melbourne and Sydney central business districts. It has created vibrant spaces such as laneways that were previously unused or underutilised. Last year, members of the ERD Committee had the opportunity to travel to Melbourne, along with the Hon. Mark Parnell. I do not think the Hon. Michelle Lensink could attend at the time.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Yes, she had estimates. I hope it was worthwhile staying here. It really was interesting to see, in particular, what they have done in Melbourne.

In July, the government and the Adelaide City Council announced the closure of Leigh Street to traffic as the beginning of the revival of the city's laneways. Already, you can see how such a small change can help laneways grow into people-friendly places, with cafes, al fresco dining, and more. Such upgrades to laneways will eventually link our rejuvenated Riverbank Precinct with the Central Market.

The government also recognises the importance of having a thriving local live music scene here in South Australia. The chamber should note the recent announcement by the Premier of the appointment of Mr Martin Elbourne, an accomplished live music promoter, as a thinker-in-residence who has been given the task of reviving the local live music scene. Mr Elbourne will focus on issues such as venues and licensing opportunities for musicians as well as industry development. The government welcomes Mr Elbourne's experience in organising major festivals such as Glastonbury, and looks forward to the work which will be undertaken by working with the local industry to revive live music in South Australia.

Overall, while the government welcomes the Liberal Party's very late interest in making Adelaide a more vibrant place, however, to refer this issue to the Environment, Resources and Development Committee is simply unnecessary. There would be duplication on issues that the government is already responding to directly, as I have just placed on the record. The government looks forward to the support of the opposition for our initiatives to rejuvenate Adelaide.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (18:04): As a member of the Environment, Resources and Development Committee I heartily support this motion, and I know that my colleague the Hon. Tammy Franks, who also has some portfolio responsibilities in this area, also supports this inquiry. I would just say by way of observation that, in relation to the Hon. Carmel Zollo's contribution, the government always says that it is thinking about it therefore the parliament does not need to. I do not accept that the government, having its own internal processes, is any reason for the parliament not to give thorough consideration to this issue.

I would also note that this particular inquiry will be very consistent with, sympathetic with and complementary to the urban density inquiry that is already underway, because part of looking at the way our cities function and how people live will be about how they entertain themselves and also how we protect people from invasive activities, especially noise pollution.

I think that the ERD Committee is an entirely appropriate forum to look at these issues, and I look forward to getting to work very soon on this new reference.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (18:05): I would like to thank the speakers, the Hon. Carmel Zollo and the Hon. Mark Parnell, who, like me, are members of the Environment, Resources and Development Committee; and also to echo the comments of the Hon. Mark Parnell that, yes, this is the typical response from the government that these inquiries are unnecessary.

I am not going to repeat all the remarks I made when I moved this motion, but I will just make a few additional points. I will repeat the point, however, that that particular committee is not overwhelmed with work, and I think that this would be a very useful term of reference for it, particularly if the government does come up with some legislative amendments to any of the relevant acts, whether they be heritage, liquor licensing and so forth. It is going to need the support of this chamber in order to get those through, so, if it wants to get some early buy-in, if you like, then it would be quite useful for that multipartisan committee to start examining the issues.

I am glad to see that the Thinker in Residence program is being axed. There are many words that I could use to describe it, but I think that a lot of people find it objectionable that the South Australian government under Labor feels the need to import so-called experts from overseas to tell us how we ought to be running our state and our city.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: And take up the jobs.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: And take up those particular jobs, as my honourable colleague remarks—not to denigrate in any way Mr Martin Elbourne who is obviously highly experienced, but he is going to be spending some time getting up to speed with how things are done here. There are a number of people in this state who could more than adequately give us some pointers, and I just point to the people who are involved in Renew Adelaide as a start.

Renew Adelaide had its AGM on 22 August, which I think was slated as a potential announcement the Premier was going to make about how to enliven our city through entertainment precincts and live music venues.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Slating the Jade Monkey, indeed. That was also the day that we learned about BHP Billiton's decision not to proceed due to some of the policies of various Labor governments, and so he was unable to make that announcement. There has been some delay. I have not seen any specifics. I think that the industry is not aware of any specifics that either the Premier or the minister responsible for liquor licensing, the Attorney-General, has come up with.

The codes of practice, which should have been enacted as a result of changes to the liquor licensing laws last year, are still yet to materialise. We keep hearing that the government is working on it, but we are not seeing anything of substance, which is really no surprise. The government speaker, the Hon. Carmel Zollo, had a bit of a crack at me by saying that we had a sudden and late interest. I would like to advise the house that this has been an issue I have taken some interest in; and the prompting, I must say, of my colleague the Hon. Tammy Franks has alerted me to some of the issues that have been happening. Indeed, she organised that wonderful tour that we had one night last year for several hours.

The Hon. Carmel Zollo: Did Isobel go with you on that occasion?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: No, Isobel did not come with us on that occasion. It was the member for Norwood, the Hon. Tammy Franks, me, my husband—

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: The Hon. Kelly Vincent was going to attend but she was not able to. We did not come across any of the violence that people carry on about. In relation to that, I would like to just add—because it is something that we are all concerned about—that we also ought to be looking at the issues of the connection between alcohol consumption and violence, because we have seen some tragic incidents in this state. I note that they have not been in the hours when lockouts are proposed, and I think that those are very complex issues that deserve to be looked at in some detail.

Advocates on various sides are promoting various things. I think the truth is usually somewhere in between, but I think it would be very useful for a committee to look at those issues in detail so that we can perhaps come up with some recommendations that might actually be useful for the government. They might realise that they are not the fonts of all wisdom, and that a few other people around the place might have some idea about how to solve problems as well. With those comments, I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.

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