THE State Government-appointed Liquor Licensing Review Committee has called for submissions for its review of the Liquor Licensing Act.
The review committee, chaired by former Home Building Society chief executive Jim Freemantle, is seeking written submissions including: feedback on whether restaurants should be allowed to serve alcohol without necessarily serving a meal; trading hours for bottle shops; the impact of market domination in the liquor industry; and the merits of a public interest test.
Minister for Racing Gaming and Liquor, Nick Griffiths, announced the establishment of a review committee in June this year after liquor licensing reform legislation was scrapped.
Those changes, announced more than a year ago, were to allow bottle shops to trade on Sundays and give restaurateurs the right to serve alcohol without the requirement for a customer to buy a substantial meal.
Mr Griffiths said the Government’s initial reforms met National Competition Policy obligations but were unlikely to be supported in the Legislative Council. The plans were dropped in favour of establishing a review of the act.
Submissions are sought before December 10 2004.