Tight new liquor rules for Pilbara towns

Nicole Cox
September 20, 2012
PerthNow

EIGHTEEN Pilbara towns, including the mining meccas of Karratha and Port Hedland, will be hit by tough new take-away booze restrictions.

Director of Liquor Licensing Barry Sargeant has ruled to limit the sale of certain alcoholic beverages and the hours that liquor stores can open.

Under the new rules, which will come into effect on October 8, liquor stores will have restricted sale times from 11am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and will be closed on Sundays. However, alcohol will still be sold over-the-counter at hotels, taverns and clubs and adjoining bottle shops on Sundays.

While drink restrictions vary slightly from town to town, most are banned from selling beer in glass bottles of 750ml or more and limits apply to the sale of wine in containers greater than two litres or fortified wines in vessels greater than one litre.

Today, the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor said submissions by WA Police and the West Pilbara Alcohol Management Group had “suggested the quality of life in the Pilbara region was directly affected by significantly high rates of alcohol-related harm”.

Dampier, Karratha, Kumarina, Marble Bar, Mardie, Newman, Nullagine, Onslow, Pannawonica, Paraburdoo, Pardoo, Point Samson, Port Hedland, Sandfire Roadhouse, South Hedland, Tom Price, Whim Creek and Wickham will be subjected to the restrictions.

The move comes despite opposition from Australian Hotels Association WA, licensees and mining giant Rio Tinto, which said the restrictions would adversely impact its shift workers.

In their submissions, WA Police and the West Pilbara Alcohol Management Group argued that it was necessary to impose blanket restrictions on all the towns to prevent the practice of “sly grogging” whereby people can access booze from other towns where restrictions do not apply.

They cited concerns that the per capita alcohol consumption rate across the West Pilbara in 2007/08 was 25.84 litres – more than twice the state average of 12.45 litres – and alcohol-related health conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, stroke, boozy road crashes and assaults, were significantly higher in the region than the WA average.

Police and the West Pilbara Alcohol Management Group had called for restrictions on the quantity of alcohol purchased per customer per day, including one carton of beer and/or ready-to-drink pre-mixed alcoholic beverages or one 750ml bottle of spirits a day.

They also suggested that where packaged alcohol was available in a non-glass container, licensees be banned from selling that product in glass.

AHA WA chief executive Bradley Woods welcomed the decision not to ban take-away alcohol sales on Sundays, but said limiting the trade from noon to 6pm would adversely affect hospitality and tourism operators in the region.

“The DRGL decision to not to ban alcohol in glass containers is sensible and will be welcome by licensees, local authorities, and the community,” Mr Woods said.

“The WA Government now needs to step up with more resources in alcohol rehabilitation and community education and awareness around drinking responsibly.”

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