By James Atkinson
Health authorities have failed in another bid to prevent a Dan Murphy's store from opening in suburban Perth.
Having already failed earlier this month to stop Woolworths' bid to open a Dan Murphy's store in Cannington, WA's executive director of public health (EDPH), has once again been rebuffed by the state's liquor regulator.
The latest decision on January 12, which related to Woolworths' application for a Dan Murphy's store in Canning Vale, came as the retailer expressed its frustration at the "routine" nature of health authorities' interventions against liquor licences in WA.
Same as in Cannington, the EDPH argued that the big box format proposed by Woolworths had the potential to contribute to alcohol-related harm and ill-health in the Canning Vale area for a number of reasons including increased availability of cheap liquor.
The EDPH claimed that there were several "at risk" groups in the area, with 62.8 per cent of the family households in the locality comprised of couples with children, and 25 per cent of the population consisting of children under 14.
He argued that introducing an additional licence that had a "lowest price guarantee" would potentially lead to price discounting, with cheaper alcohol appealing to people more at risk of harm.
But the Liquor Commission of Western Australia nonetheless granted the application for the Dan Murphy's Canning Vale store.
Deputy Chairman Eddie Watling ruled that like Cannington, the Canning Vale community was no more at risk of alcohol harm than anywhere else, based on the "general harm data" put forward by the EDPH.
The EDPH declined to comment.