Liquor Licensing

Introduction In Australia laws relating to the sale and consumption of alcohol are the prerogative of state and territory governments. Until the 1960s, in all jurisdictions, laws were in place which prohibited the sale of alcohol to, or the consumption of alcohol by, Indigenous Australians. Following the repeal of those laws, there was a rapid increase in consumption by some sections of the Indigenous Australian population. Recent research has shown that the proportion of Indigenous Australians who consume alcohol on an occasional or frequent basis is lower than that among the non-indigenous population. However, in aggregate, those Indigenous Australians who do consume alcohol do so at levels greatly in excess of levels among non-indigenous people, resulting in a variety of harms at both the individual and community level. This pattern of consumption and harm—re ected to varying degrees among the indigenous populations of countries such as New Zealand, Canada and the United States—is rooted in the legacy of European colonialism. As the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody has made clear, this legacy continues and is re ected in poverty, marginalization, discrimination, and their consequences. The Race Discrimination Commissioner has linked the disadvantage faced by, and neglect of, Indigenous Australians to the infringement of their human rights by the wider Australian society. In this context, much excessive consumption is: a response to dispossession and grief; a response to boredom as a result of exclusion from the mainstream economy and its beneŽ ts; one of the few cheap recreational activities available; and a protest at the imposition of a range of bureaucratic controls. Some efforts are being made to redress the fundamental inequalities faced by Indigenous Australians from which the patterns of consumption found among them arise. In addition, Commonwealth and state/territory governments fund a number of programmes aimed speciŽ cally at addressing the harms arising from, or associated with, excessive alcohol consumption among Indigenous Australians. Some of the services funded under these programmes are delivered by government agencies but, more importantly, a large number have been developed, and are provided by, Indigenous community-controlled organizations. As well as such programmes, in recent years some Indigenous communitycontrolled organizations have attempted to use liquor licensing laws to restrict the supply of alcohol and, hence, to reduce consequent harm.

This bulletin is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of liquor licensing enforcement in NSW. Four relevant data sources were accessed for this study; court proceedings, Liquor Administration Board conferences, police infringement notices and NSW Department of Gaming and Racing infringement and compliance notices. In 2001, the most recent year for which complete data was available, 4,619 enforcement actions were initiated under the NSW liquor laws. A large percentage of this enforcement activity was concentrated on patrons or minors, with over one-quarter of enforcement actions being against patrons for failing to leave a licensed venue and 14 per cent being against persons under the age of 18. Just 147 (3.1%) breaches for conduct offences were recorded by enforcement agencies in 2001. Data quality issues are noted throughout the bulletin and barriers to enforcement of the NSW liquor laws are discussed.

This paper is based on the results of a project undertaken as the basis for a submission to the committee established to review the Western Australian Liquor Licensing Act 1988. It reports on key issues relating to liquor licensing, as identified by members of regional Aboriginal organisations. Among these issues are the promotion of alcohol consumption and misuse, discriminatory practices by licensees and the police and the need for greater community involvement in liquor licensing decisions. To address these issues, members of the participating organisations proposed: inclusion of a harm-minimisation objective in the Act, education and training programs for the public, licensees and the police, and industry funding for harm-minimisation programs.

Data were collected prospectively on 2868 consecutive patients admitted for self poisoning between 1971 and 1982. Analysis showed a dramatic increase in the frequency of alcohol taken in association with self poisoning, in both sexes, after the liberalization of Scotland's liquor licensing laws. This increase, however, did not appear to affect the severity of overdoses or the outcome. Total admission rates for self poisoning increased with relaxation of the liquor licensing laws, and since overdoses associated with alcohol tend to occur at night these impose considerable strain on casualty departments and acute admitting units.

Overview: The issue of alcohol-related violence, and in particular violence occurring in and around licensed premises, has been at the forefront of debate in NSW for several years. A range of measures have been introduced to tackle this problem, including those announced by Premier O’Farrell on 21 January 2014. Restrictions imposed on licensed premises under existing and new provisions of the Liquor Act 2007 have been a major part of the reforms. This e-brief outlines the main liquor licensing restrictions that have been introduced since 2008. It also refers to studies that have been done on the effectiveness of certain restrictions, and it examines trends in alcohol-related assaults. This paper is an updated version of a March 2014 e-brief.

The impact of liquor licensing laws on the availability of alcohol has been recognized as an important factor in the level of consumption and alcohol-related problems through the mechanisms of control on hours and days of sale (Smith, 1987, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c; Olsson and Wikstrom, 1982; Nordlund, 1985); categories, numbers and density of outlets (Wagenaar and Holder, 1991); McGuinness, 1983; Godfrey, 1988; Gruenewald, Ponicki and Holder, 1993; Watts and Rabow, 1983; Holder and Blose, 1987; Blose and Holder, 1987; Hoadley, Fuchs and Holder, 1984) and enforcement of penal provisions within the law (McKnight and Streff, 1994; Jeffs and Saunders, 1983). Community response to liquor licensing administration and enforcement may play a key role in facilitating the reduction of problems, including the interest, organization and agenda of community and government bodies involved with the regulation of alcohol (Room, 1980). The level of resources available to individual agencies, their interpretation of the legislation, and the rigor with which they enforce the law are also important. In New Zealand a major review of the liquor licensing system during the mid-1980s culminated in a new Sale of Liquor Act coming into force in April 1990. The new Act liberalized alcohol availability; for example, it enabled 24-hour opening, more flexibility in licensing opportunities, and wine sale in supermarkets. It also devolved more responsibility for liquor licensing administration, inspection and enforcement to the local government level, while retaining a national licensing body. Although the Act made licenses easier to obtain, a new development was the inclusion of a specific objective for the Act recognizing alcohol's potential association with harm: "to establish a reasonable system of control over the sale and supply of liquor to the public with the aim of contributing to the reduction of liquor abuse, so far that can be achieved by legislative means." These and other features signaled potential to focus on the reduction of alcohol-related harm. Community action to encourage public health input: the Liquor Licensing Project The introduction of the Act presented an opportunity to influence its administration and enforcement in an organized way, so that it would include a significant focus on reducing harm. With this in mind, the Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit (APHRU) set up a two-year community action project called the Liquor Licensing Project. The aim was to evaluate whether a public health emphasis in administration and enforcement of the Act, during its initial implementation period, could be encouraged through the activities of alcohol community workers. Participation of community workers The project was designed to incorporate the approach that had evolved from an earlier evaluated community action project on alcohol (Casswell and Gilmore, 1989). This included the participation of community alcohol workers and the use of formative evaluation to assist their action planning. Emphasis had been on encouraging support for procedures undertaken by key sectors within the community, such as police, health authorities and local government, to promote a long-term effect on reducing alcohol harm through influencing alcohol's availability, price and promotion and the management of drinking environments. In the earlier Community Action Project (CAP), which ran between late 1982 and 1985, a person with community organization skills was employed to given prominence to alcoholrelated issues in the community and to initiate or encourage the implementation of strategies by local organizations. The evaluation indicated that if well planned and implemented, the community-organization approach was feasible and could be effective in influencing public support for policy issues (Casswell and Gilmore, 1989; Casswell, Gilmore, Maquire and Ransom, 1989; Casswell and Stewart, 1989; Casswell, Ransom and Gilmore, 1990; Stewart and Casswell, 1993). …

In response to expressions of concern from the Town of Port Hedland about local alcohol problems, the Western Australian Director of Liquor Licensing conducted a series of inquiries leading to the decision to impose restrictions on the sale and promotion of packaged liquor. Richard Midford, Deidra Young, Denese Playford, Elaine Kite, Tanya Chikritzhs and Richard Pascal used various measure to determine that the restrictions have made a difference to consumption patterns.

Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 53 Australian police officers with specialist expertise in liquor law enforcement to ascertain their perspectives concerning the liquor licensing legislation in Australia’s eight states and territories. Respondents generally indicated that current arrangements favoured the interests of the alcohol industry and did not sufficiently empower them to reduce alcohol-related harms. Other key themes included: ambiguity surrounding the police role in liquor licensing; difficulties in enforcing drunkenness-related offences; partnerships; strategies to enhance enforcement; data/intelligence gathering; and the separation of Ministerial responsibilities for liquor licensing and policing. Overall, police in Australia are not currently being given the tools they require to effectively reduce alcohol-related harms.

Who pays for distinction awards? S Dische, MD .......................... 116 Association between liberalisation of Scotland's liquor licensing laws and admissions for self poisoning S P Lockhart, MRCP, and J H Baron, FRCP; S Platt, PHD .......... ........... ....... 116 Long live health promotionPDraper, FFcM .......... ....... 117 Human papillomavirus infection ofthe uterine cervix ofwomen without cytological signs of neoplasia D Slater, MRCPATH; S A Walkinshaw, MRCOG, and others ...... ........... 117 Childhood respiratory infection and adult chronic bronchitis in England and Wales P N Lee, MA; D J P Barker, FRCP, and C Osmond, PHD ........ ......... 118 Dignity in hospital Pamela Harris ......... ........ 118 Asthma and climatic conditions: expenences from Hong Kong KW Wong, mn, and others ............... 119 Why women are not receiving anti-Rh prophylaxis RuthM Hussey, MB ................. 119 Hip fractures in healthy patients P C May, FRcs; R N Villar, FRCS, and others; J J Dias, FRCSED ........ ................ 119 Effect of aspirin on pruritus SW Duffy; KA Cleur, MRCP ...... ........ 120 Infectious diseases physicians and nicrobiologists R Freeman, MRCPATH, and FK Gould, MB ... 121 Paradoxical gas embolism in a scuba diver with an atrial septal defect W H Konarzewski, FFARcs; P Wilmshurst, MRCP ................................. 121 Carcinoma in situ of the contralateral testis GRead, FRCR ......... ................. 121 Acquired cystic disease of the kidney N J Viner,MRcp, and others ...... ........ 121 Raised concentrations ofplasma atrial natriuretic peptides in cardiac transplant recipients MR WiLkins, MRcP, and others ....... ..... 122 Heat inactivation ofspecimens-AIDS M Chapman, MSC, and P Lister, MSC 122 Primary pulmonary hypertension Celia M Oakley, FRcp, and A Rozkovec, MRCP .. 122 What is a good GP? NL Bishop, FRCR ........... ............ 123 Corticosteroids and bone mass in asthma GK Crompton, FRCPED .................. 123 Neurological and neurosurgical approaches in the management of malignant brain tumours D G T Thomas, FRCSED; C E Fadul, MD, and others ................................ 123 Doctors and the drug industry Gwen Parr, MB .............. ........... 124 Pelvic pain in women RW Beard, FRcoG, and others ...... ...... 124 Cost of anaesthetic drugs and clinical budgeting JW O'Higgins, FFARcs ........ .......... 124 BMA council elections Sian Cheverton, MRCGP .................. 124 Drug Points Fluorouracil and angina (C Spon-illi and others); Hypothyroidism after treatment with ketoconazole (A R Tanner); Psoriasis, cyclosporin A, and AIDS (R C D Staughton and others); Alfacalcidol and hypercalcaemia (M E Ardron); Endoscopic removal of a pharmacobezoar of slow release theophylline (W D F Smith; T M E Davis and J Nicholls) ......... ........... 125

tag=1 data=Liquor licensing, Aborigines & take-away alcohol in Central Australia. by Pamela Lyon tag=2 data=Lyon, Pamela tag=3 data=Aboriginal Law Bulletin, tag=6 data=August 1991 tag=7 data=11-13. tag=8 data=ALCOHOL tag=10 data=Liquor licensing in the Northern Territory - particularly the number and type of liquor outlets has been a source of continuing controversy and serious concern for at least two decades. tag=11 data=1991/3/11 tag=12 data=91/0941 tag=13 data=CAB