Endeavour Drinks Group has moved another step closer to opening its first store in the Northern Territory, with its application for a store close to Darwin airport now with the NT Liquor Commission.
The NT’s Director-General of Licensing delivered the application on Friday and the commission will now assess the application and put it out for public review.
This is just the latest step in the long running saga that is Dan Murphy’s bid to open a store at the airport precinct, and EDG’s General Manager Corporate Services told the ABC, that he still expected it would take some time for the application to be determined.
“It’s a complex application, [the commission have] never determined anything like that before, we’ve never run an application like this up there before, it’s bound to take some time,” Tremble said.
“As frustrated as I am with stuff that’s happened previously, that’s no criticism of the commission.
“They’ve only been in existence for 12 months and the information has apparently just dropped in their laps in the last little while.”
The proposed Dan Murphy’s in Darwin has been the source of much political intrigue in the Northern Territory with Chief Minister Michael Gunner pushing through plans to restrict the floor size of bottleshops in the Territory, but then repealing the law after a liquor legislation review by former chief justice Trevor Riley.
The Riley Review published its final report in October last year and several measures including minimum unit pricing and a ban on shopper docket alcohol promotions have already been introduced.
With the commission still to assess the Dan Murphy’s application along with public consultation and the opportunity for EDG to respond to any complaints there is still no clear indication of when a decision will finally be made about whether the retailer can actually open the store.