By Ian Neubauer
The Victorian Government has given its top licensing officer Sue Maclellan greater authority to declare lockouts on venues and reduce licensees’ ability to mount timely appeals.
Tabled as amendments to the state’s Liquor Control Reform Act last week, the new powers have been seen by the industry as the Government’s way of muscling in on licensed venues following its humiliation over the 2:00am lockout trial, The Sunday Age reported.
The three-month trial that is now being assessed by independent auditors had the sting taken out of its tail after a class action by licensees at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VACT) resulted in dozens of venues being excluded from the trial.
But under the new regulations, venues with lockouts imposed on them must first appeal to licensing officials and wait up to 30 days for a response before applying for a stay with the VCAT.
The Association of Liquor Licensees Melbourne and the State Opposition told the newspaper the new regulations were a precursor to the introduction of a permanent lockout and described the move as surreptitious in nature.
But the Government defended the new powers, saying they were required by licensing authorities in case “the situation on the streets deteriorated”.
