By Andrew Starke
Less than 10 percent of licensed venues subject to Government violence restrictions are clubs, which ClubsNSW believes demonstrates the industry’s commitment to the responsible service of alcohol.
Earlier this week the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) revealed its latest list of the top 100 most violent pubs and clubs.
The statistics show that the rate of alcohol related violence at clubs are five percent lower now than they were a decade ago. Incidents at non-clubs over that same time have increased by 37 percent.
CEO of ClubsNSW David Costello said the body will be working with the handful of clubs that have been identified by police and government as subject to the new alcohol measures.
“The first step is for clubs on the special conditions list to examine the incidents that have been recorded against them,” he said.
“Clubs now have an opportunity to challenge incidents that they believe did not occur as a result of any wrong doing by the club and or its staff. An example might be of a person who arrived at the club intoxicated and who after being refused entry, caused an incident requiring police intervention.”
Costello committed ClubsNSW to working with clubs on the BOSCAR list to refine their alcohol management plan if they remained subject to the special conditions after this review.
Government has grouped offending pubs and clubs into three categories, determined by the number of assaults that occur, with each carrying its own set of restrictions.
“When the first list of venues subject to the special conditions was published in December last year, Campbelltown Catholic Club and Rooty Hill RSL were included,” said Costello. “However in a very short space of time, both clubs were able to dramatically reduce the number of alcohol related incidents to the point where they are now subject to no special conditions.”
“No club has worked harder on their responsible service of alcohol than Penrith Panthers, who while still subject to the special conditions, has reduced the number of incidents by half during the past year,” he continued, citing the behaviour of young people attending the nightclub operated by Panthers as the main cause for concern.
“Several clubs have during the past few years made the hard decision to close their nightclub due to unruly behaviour by a handful of people who failed to respect the club and facilities being provided to them.
“Young patrons of any club operated nightclub cannot expect a club and its members to continue bearing the consequences of their refusal to behave in a way that is expected by both the club and local police.”
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