By Ian Neubauer
Victorian Premier John Brumby has put Melbourne nightclubs on notice following the tragic death of a patron at the QBH nightclub on Sunday morning (September 7).
"Licence owners need to understand what it is that the Government is saying, and saying very clearly, and that is, we want you to take more responsibility," Brumby told the ABC. "You are the licence owner, you own the business and you are required to comply with the terms of your licence."
He added that while patrons were responsible for their own actions, the State would not hesitate to crack down if the situation did not improve.
"It is against the law to serve people alcohol when they are clearly intoxicated. We have got tougher already and we will get tougher still with licence holders if they continue to breach the law."
Nightclub Owners Forum spokesperson, Peter Iwaniuk, said the spike in alcohol-related crime was the result of a lack of necessary infrastructure to cater for vast increases in demand for night time entertainment in the city.
His comments were mirrored by Nightclub Owners’ Association spokesperson, David Butten, who told Radio 3AW population and tourism growth were the root cause of problems.
"The amount of visitors has increased by 6 per cent each year [and] Melbourne’s population is increasing dramatically,” he said. "There’s some factors that people just don’t appreciate in terms of what’s happening with Melbourne’s dynamics."
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