“Hotels in
NSW have donated more than $2.2 million over the six years since 1998 to the
NSW Labor Party …” (Greens
MP Lee Rhiannon, November 29, 2005,
http://www.lee.greens.org.au/media/Media05/nov-dec/s051129_pubdonations.htm).
Undoubtedly the drafters of the current
NSW Act foresaw this potentially dangerous financial relationship and looked to
impose a separation-of-powers solution that gave the task of handing out liquor
licenses to impartial magistrates sitting as the Liquor Licensing Court.
The current Act thus clearly saw the granting-of -licences as being a judicial
task to be kept away from the Legislative and Executive arms. This new
consultation bill now wants to make it an executive job by transferring it to
the Director of the Department of Gaming and Racing.
And that means that the industry will have a connection to this allocation task
via the interface between the Executive and the elected Legislative formed by
Government MPs who accept donations from the industry. This link could
potentially turn into a dangerous influence on legislators who are also the
executives responsible for controlling the activities of an industry that helps
get them elected to office.
If the Government wishes to hobble the Liquor Licensing Court, then it also has
to meddle with the Liquor Administration Board because magistrates of the Court
make up the Board. The consultation Act proposes the abolition of the Board and
the transference of its powers to the Director.
This has a bearing on my local scene of Randwick, Coogee, Maroubra and
Clovelly. In the past, groups of concerned citizens have used section 104 of
the Liquor Act to take their complaints about particular pubs (including the
Coogee Bay) directly to the Judiciary on the Liquor Administration Board.
If the Consultation Bill takes effect, future community groups will have to
look for relief from the Director, a Government Officer accountable to a
Government MP elected with Liquor industry donations.
Anyone who lives near a pub or club should oppose those sections of the
Consultation Bill proposing the abolition of the Liquor Administration Board
and the crippling of the Liquor Licensing Court.
The only alternative would be for the Government and the opposition to get
serious about banning donations from the liquor and hospitality industries to
politicians.
This is highly unlikely to occur although I will be asking the multi-talented
Michael Daley (my fellow Councillor, new Labor MP for Maroubra and President of
the Randwick Rugby Club) to make it a personal priority.
Randwick City Councillor Murray Matson (The Greens) 0409-984-587