General News
15 January, 2025
Talk to us: publican calls for input on alcohol issues
Restrictions to combat itinerant drinkers from the Northern Territory must be done in consultation with venues.
Camooweal publican Kris Doyle says the hotel industry must be included “early in any discussions” regarding proposed changes to alcohol management laws proposed by Cross-Border Commissioner Ian Leavers that seek to curb anti-social behaviour caused by itinerant drinkers.
Mr Doyle says seeking input from those working behind the bar is the only way Mr Leavers can ensure any proposals are “practical and realistic” as well as not leaving business owners out of pocket.
Mr Doyle is uniquely placed to understand the causes and effects of problem drinking and alcohol-fuelled behaviour.
He has owned the Post Office Hotel along the Barkly Highway for more than two decades and prior to that had worked at various pubs across the Northern Territory.
Mr Doyle said he had seen an increase in the number of Northern Territory problem drinkers, especially from Alpurrurulam, crossing the border in search of alcohol in recent years.
He told North West Weekly this prompted him to take matters into his own hands by introducing a self-managed policy in October last year that restricted takeaway customers to either one bottle of spirits or one carton of beer per day.
Mr Doyle believes this initiative – alongside a long-standing practice of not opening the pub until midday – has worked towards reducing the number of itinerant drinkers crossing the border.
“I saw people coming over here (Camooweal) from the Territory for a host of reasons and they were buying alcohol but often didn’t have the money to pay for their petrol to drive home,” he told North West Weekly.
“They can arrive in two or three carloads with 10 or 12 people in them – then the longer they remained here, the more likely there was going to be problems with locals.
“It was not really the number of people coming at a time though – it was the sheer amount of alcohol they were buying and consuming here – well, they can’t buy that much anymore and I think that has helped to thin out some of the problems.
“I was really worried that if we didn’t do something there was going to be restrictions made that would affect the entire community – we want workers and pastoralists to be able to come here and enjoy a drink.”
Mr Doyle said any enforceable changes to local liquor laws proposed by the Cross-Border Commissioner must strike a balance between community wellbeing and ensuring the hotel industry is not being unreasonably punished financially.
As previously reported by North West Weekly, Mr Leavers was appointed to the newly established Cross-Border Commissioner role in August and has made several “fact-finding” trips to Mount Isa as he investigates the viability of enforcing the Northern Territory’s problem drinker register in parts of the North West among a raft of other policy ideas.
Mr Doyle said while he was not opposed to enforcing the NT register, there needed to be more discussion about how practical measures will be rolled out, such as who will pay for the necessary technology that would be required at each pub and the processes that had to be undertaken by publicans to enforce the law.
“If the government is going to provide us with the scanners to check ID, then I would be happy to do it,” he said.
“But we have had systems before under the liquor accords where we have had to take down people’s ID, but some people were coming in from the bush and were presenting just anyone’s ID and it puts us in a difficult position.
“It needs to be in a database and the government needs to pay for the technology required because it is the government that has created the welfare problem we have.
“The hotel industry needs to be included early in these discussions and the wider community as well as tourists should not be punished by any changes to the law.”
North West Weekly attempted to contact the Cross-Border Commissioner, who was on leave and unable to provide comment by deadline.