The moratorium which has stalled or blocked applications for extended trading hours for the last year or so has been extended for a further three years ? ostensibly as part of the Government?s response to the Law Justice and Safety Committee?s report on alcohol related violence. This is despite the existence of strong legislation around trading hours, and the support on appeal for the use of that legislative power to refuse applications for extended trading, and to reduce trading hours through disciplinary action.

One wonders how stifling competition by placing further obstacles in the path of new market entrants can be deemed necessary to achieve a balanced outcome. So what?s really going on?

In a chain of causation sense, an overly simplistic and unfair licence fee regime is largely to blame for the moratorium. With the introduction of licence fees on 1 January 2009, licensees with approval to trade until 1.00am, 2.00am or 3.00am all pay the same licence fee uplift of close to $8000 per annum. This prompted many licensees (including some 80 plus ALH hotels) to apply to extend hours in line with the fee structure.

This in turn prompted objections from members of the public and local authorities seeking to have the applications refused. But, rather than simply grant those applications with sufficient merit and refuse those without, the Government put in place a state-wide, legislative, retrospective moratorium to block the consideration of existing applications and the lodging of further applications.

The only concession to would-be new late traders was to allow applications from premises within certain identified precincts. However, the recognition of precincts like Caxton Street and Fortitude Valley is of no comfort to many applicants. Areas such as West End and Park Road have been ignored, as has Airlie Beach and other notable areas which feature concentrations of hospitality venues.

So in addition to applying the brakes to the ALH value-for-licence-fee strategy, the moratorium blocks:

• an application for a licence for a new venue in Airlie Beach which will only be viable if it can operate on the same terms as other businesses in the locality.
• an application for a new business in Park Road which needs 2.00am trading to attract its market.
• an application for a function-based business in West End which needs 1.00am trading to satisfy its intended clients.

Most applications have ample justification, and after an exhaustive process would ordinarily receive favourable consideration. This is because the operation of most businesses during extended hours trading periods have little or no negative impact on the community. The small number of inappropriate proposals should simply be refused.

Instead of the moratorium, what is needed is courage.

• Courage to either grant or refuse the ALH applications according to their individual merit.
• Courage to take a more sophisticated approach to solving problems, such as lifting the ban on applications which relate to trading hours until say 2.00am.
• Courage to engage and negotiate with affected parties to reach agreed outcomes on issues like trading hours, rather than running and hiding.
• Courage to overhaul and improve the equity in the licence fee system which is, as always, the root of it all.

One of the most interesting small bars to open in Brisbane since the bar licence was introduced is Canvas.

This vintage inspired cocktail bar is in the heart of the popular Woolloongabba Antique Precinct. Nestled amongst some of Brisbane’s best caf?’s, restaurants and antique centres, Canvas provides a mystical sanctuary where you can enjoy delectable cocktails, mixed by some of Australia’s top bartenders, boutique wine, craft beer, and rustic French/Spanish inspired food boards.

The interior of this intimate bar is quite different from anything else in Brisbane. Talented interior designer, Alexa Nice, brings a quirky blend of edgy and opulent design to the venue using recycled materials to bring as much of Brisbane into the bar as possible.

Recycled timber panels and planter boxes filled with flowers and ivy adorn the walls and most of the furniture was sourced from local second hand/vintage shops and auctions. A captivating ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ style mural on the feature wall and sketches throughout the menu were done by local Brisbane street artists.

Since opening in July, Canvas has been nominated for a number of awards and was recently named ‘Best Bar’ in the 2011 Courier Mail Food & Wine Guide. Pop into Canvas and enjoy live music on Sunday afternoon, Tapas and Tequila on Tuesday, or the Absinthe Green Hour on Thursday. Open from 3-midnight every day except Monday.

For more information and bookings:

Website: www.canvasclub.com.au

Facebook: www.facebook.com/canvasbrisbane

Phone: (07) 3891 2111

Address: 16b Logan Road, Woolloongabba

Since the introduction of the Bar Licence on 1st January 2010, only eleven of these licences have been issued in Queensland. Of these, only one is in Fortitude Valley; hardly the small bar revolution envisioned when this new licence category was announced.

The limited number of new bars has not been because of a lack of interest from the public, we have received several enquiries from people interested in opening a bar in Fortitude Valley and other areas, it is due to the classification of a bar as a “Hotel” under town planning schemes.

Until recently if you wanted to open a bar (or hotel) in Fortitude Valley, you were required to make a code or impact assessable town planning application – both long and costly exercises. This made it financially unviable to open a bar with a maximum capacity of 60 persons.

On 1st October 2010 the revised Fortitude Valley Neighbourhood Plan came into effect. Under the new plan the use of premises as a hotel is now self assessable where:

• the use does not involve building work (internal fitout does not constitute building work)
• the buildins is in the Special Entertainment Precinct Core Area
• the premises has 100m? or less in gross floor area (Other uses may occupy an area greater than 100m2, provided the licensed component is 100m? or less. This would apply to fusion bars attached to existing businesses such as shops, hairdressers etc.)
• the premises is not located within the same building as, or within 5m from, a residential dwelling.

This makes the prospect of opening a bar in Fortitude Valley much more attractive and we may now see some more vibrancy in our laneways and small spaces.

The Parliamentary Enquiry into Alcohol-Related Violence delivered its report to Parliament on 18th March 2010. The Government’s response is due to be tabled in Parliament on 31st August. A joint press release from the Premier and the Minister responsible for liquor licensing, dated 29th August, indicates the Government’s position on a number of key issues. Industry stakeholders were taken through the major elements of the response at a meeting on 30th August.

No Change to Lockout or Trading Hours

There will be no immediate change to the lockout or trading hours regime. The Law Justice and Safety Committee (LJSC) recommended:

• Bringing the lockout forward to 2am
• An overall reduction in trading hours
• the introdcution of a two tiered regime whereby venues in designated entertainment precincts would be permitted to trade later than those venues outside the precincts
• A reduction in the permitted trading hours for bottleshops

These recommendations contradicted the findings of the LJSC enquiry, which found no correlation between extended trading hours and alcohol-related violence.

Liquor & Gaming Specialists, on behalf of a number of liquor accords, made a submission to Parliament arguing against any reduction in trading hours, in the absence of any hard data showing this would reduce problems associated with alcohol. We were not alone in our opposition to this recommendation with support coming from other accords, industry bodies and from a number of community groups.

We welcome the Government’s decision to resist tampering with trading hours to please the vocal minority and we, along with all responsible licensees, are committed to continuing to work with all stakeholders to reduce the social impact of alcohol.

Drink Safe Precincts

The Drink Safe Precincts (DSPs) will be trialled in Fortitude Valley, Gold Coast and Townsville. These precincts will have more police and support services, supervised taxi zones, safe zones and a coordinated management strategy similar to those in place for major sporting events and concerts. We believe a structured approach to the management of these high density areas is a logical step in the evolution of the Queensland licensed hospitality industry.

More police on the street, providing a visible deterrent and clamping down on troublemakers, was demonstrated as a successful counter-measure to alchol-related violence during Operation Merit. However, we hope any increase in arrests and convictions, resulting from greater numbers of police on the street, will not be used as an argument for further restrictions on licensees in the future.

Of the 68 recommendation contained in the LJSC report, 58 have received a positive response. Follow this link to download the Queensland Government’s Response to the Law Justice and Safety Committee’ final report into alcohol-related violence.

The Gaming Machine Act 1991 was amended in October 2009 by the Gambling and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2009. The date of commencement for the amendments will be 1 October 2010 and from that date, “a person must not carry out gaming duties or gaming tasks on licensed premises unless that person holds a current responsible service of gambling course certificate.”

This requirement “does not apply until 1 July 2011 in relation to a person who, immediately before the commencement day, was employed to carry out gaming duties or gaming tasks on licensed premises.”

Who must hold a certificate?

The mandatory training provisions will automatically apply to all eligible gaming licensees, licensed gaming nominees and licensed gaming employees. It is possible that this provision may also apply to employees who assist with gaming, but are not licensed gaming employees.

Who can provide the training?

To comply with the legislation, training must be provided by an OLGR approved trainer. At the time of writing (30 June 2010), OLGR has not approved any trainers to deliver the responsible service of gambling course. However, there are transitional provisions relating to training carried out before the commencement day by a trainer not approved by OLGR.

Will my existing training be acceptable?

Any person who has achieved either SITHGAM006A or THHADGO3B – Provide Responsible Gambling Services, in the 12 months before 1 October 2010, may apply for an exemption from mandatory training. The exemption, if granted, will remain in place until 1 July 2013.

Summary of requirements.

Training mandatory from 1 October 2010.

Existing Employees – must complete training before 30 June 2011.

New Employees – must complete training within three months.

Non-approved training – may qualify for an exemption up until 1 July 2013.