MEDIA RELEASE

Monday, 21 January 2002

REPORTS OF 3.00am RIOT OUTSIDE

COOGEE BAY HOTEL

Reports of a 3.00 am riot in Coogee has led to calls for an investigation into claims that early closing hotels in Maroubra and Clovelly routinely bus drinkers to the area around the later closing Coogee Bay Hotel.

Greens Councillor Murray Matson has stated that he was startled this morning when told of the alleged arrangement by his East Ward constituents. He said,

"My constituents assure me that the Maroubra and Clovelly based hotels provide the buses to Coogee Beach as a courtesy service to drinkers who want to party on after their own closing times.

If true, the publicans of Maroubra and Clovelly are using Coogee as a convenient dumping ground for drunks and Coogee hotels are picking up the extra trade."

The allegations will re light last December’s condemnation of Randwick City Council for extending drinking hours at a second Coogee hotel for a trial period to match the 5.00am closing time of the Coogee Bay Hotel.

Cr. Matson, who opposed the December extension, is predicting that the neighbouring Coogee Beach Palace Hotel could now join the Coogee Bay Hotel in attracting drinkers in from other areas. He said,

"The Beach Palace’s extensions will go before the Liquor Licensing Court in mid March. I would support no extension of the Beach Palace’s hours and winding back the Coogee Bay’s hours."

Cr. Matson has again renewed his calls for ALP Mayor Dominic Sullivan to adopt a more confrontational approach with the contentious Eastern Suburbs Liquor Accord, an umbrella grouping of local hotels.

Cr. Matson, who has long claimed that the Accord is not achieving any reduction in drinking related problems in Coogee, said,

"The publicans of the hotels in Clovelly and Maroubra will be found to be members of the accord like the Coogee Beach Palace and the Coogee Bay Hotel.

The Mayor has to confront them and demand some answers on the allegations of their bussings into Coogee. Otherwise he might as well just resign from the Accord because the drunks won’t be the only ones being taken for a ride."

Cr. Matson ran an aggressive campaign against the Mayor’s position on the Accord during the last Council elections. Several local identities associated with the liquor industry ran as Randwick City Council candidates in the election and swapped preferences with the ALP.

CONTACT: Randwick Greens Councillor Murray Matson (02)9611-9413 or 0409 –984-587