WA government outlines proposed new liquor sale restrictions in regional towns
By Rebecca Trigger and Hannah MurphyThe WA government plans to cap the sale of alcohol to either one carton of beer, 1.5 litres of wine or 1 litre of spirits, per person per day, in the far north towns of Broome and Derby.
Key points:
- There are moves to restrict the sale of alcohol in Broome and Derby
- The Director of Liquor Licensing has issued alcohol retailers with a show cause notice
- The proposed new rules could come into effect on February 23
The restrictions follow revelations by the ABC that WA Police want blanket regional restrictions implemented across the state due to concerns about a spike in alcohol-fuelled violence.
The director of liquor licensing has now issued a show cause notice to liquor retailers in Broome and Derby to provide reasons before February 23 why they should not implement the stringent new restrictions.
The new rules will also restrict opening hours from midday to 7pm, and require customers to have their identification scanned to check they are not on the government's Banned Drinkers Register.
It also restricts the sale of alcohol in glass containers where there are non-glass containers available.
An additional restriction will apply to the town of Derby, banning the sale of alcohol on Sundays and Mondays.
Exemptions are available for people to order bulk purchases of liquor 72 hours in advance, but they must fill in a form detailing what the bulk purchase is for, and the form must be provided to police.
The proposed restrictions are similar to those implemented in Carnarvon, in WA's Mid West, in May.
Police Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams wrote to Liquor Licensing Director Lanie Chopping in August last year asking her to consider expanding the restrictions to towns across the Kimberley, Pilbara, Midwest Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions.
The deputy commissioner listed 25 towns with higher rates of alcohol-fuelled harm than Carnarvon, including Broome and Derby.
He wrote there had been a "significant rise" in alcohol-related harm in those towns over the past decade.
The figures provided to the director in that letter also reveal the rate of alcohol-related offences per 1,000 people were 36.5 times higher across the Kimberley than in metropolitan areas.
Broome is a popular tourism destination in WA but in recent years has been subject to a sweeping youth crime wave.
WA Police launched "Operation Shield" in 2022 to send more officers to tackle the issue.
There have been earlier attempts to tackle problem drinking in the area, including the controversial Banned Drinkers Register, which was beefed up in November after complaints it was ineffective.
In 2020 WA Police lodged an application to ban all sales of takeaway alcohol across the Kimberley aside from light beer.
Shire president warns of drug problem
Derby Shire president Peter McCumstie said he was deeply disappointed by this development and accused the director of liquor licensing of ignoring requests to meet.
"Now we see that they're also totally ignoring our argument against having inconsistent restrictions between two towns that are only 220 kilometres apart," Cr McCumstie said.
"We have to be very conscious that being inconsistent like that is going to put economic pressure on our town.
"The more economic pressure you put on a town like Derby, the more risk you have of deteriorating the social situation."
Cr McCumstie said the move also failed to introduce more support for people trying to reduce their drinking, and failed to address a rising tide of drug abuse in the region.
"We need the wraparound services, and there is no evidence of any of that being increased, improved, or further developed," he said.
"There is no mention of drugs in any of this, yet we know the drug situation not only in Derby but very much in Broome is getting out of hand."
Emmanuel Dillon from the Derby Liquor Accord, a group of liquor outlets in the West Kimberley town that imposes restrictions on their own alcohol sales, was also critical.
"I believe the local Derby Liquor Accord, which is nimble, quick and community-minded, is the best way forward," he said.
"[Its flexibility] provides for the tourists and the responsible drinkers.
"The Banned Drinkers Register has only just come into effect. We have to let it do its thing before knee-jerk reactions.
"The other thing you may want to consider is it just forces people to go to the hotel to drink, which makes it our problem, the licensees' problem, to manage people rather than police."
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