By James Atkinson
A gay pub patron has failed to convince a tribunal that he was discriminated against on the basis of his sexuality at a New South Wales hotel.
The patron claimed he had been abused by the licensee at the Royal Hotel Guyra, who allegedly barred him from the pub, telling him "homosexual poofters" were not welcome in his hotel.
The patron also alleged that the licensee would call out "backs to the wall" to the other customers whenever he entered the pub.
But in the subsequent hearing in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of NSW, the licensee rejected the allegations that he had made the offensive remarks.
He alleged that the reason the patron was barred was that he had been involved in drug dealing and drink spiking on the premises.
Tribunal members Scahill, Hiffernan, and Kelleghan said the patron's evidence, along with that of other witnesses he called to support him, was unreliable.
"He did not deny that he had been spiking drinks or dealing in drugs at the hotel," they said.
"Rather he consistently pressed the point that he had not been caught doing so."
They said the onus was on the patron to establish his case on the balance of probabilities, and they were not convinced that the licensee had made the offensive remarks.
The tribunal members said the patron "did not assert there was any comparator patron who was thought to be homosexual and who was thought to be dealing drugs and spiking drinks who was treated differently to him".
"He was unable to persuade the tribunal through his own evidence or that of his witnesses that presumed homosexuality was at least one of the reasons he was barred by the [licensee]," they said.
The complaint was dismissed.