Victorian councils want to retain their power of veto over new liquor outlets in country towns amid fierce debate about the links between family violence and access to alcohol.
Liquor Control Victoria will take responsibility for liquor licence decisions, stripping local councils of the right to refuse planning permits from July 1.Victorian councils want to retain their power of veto over new liquor outlets in country towns, amid fierce debate about the links between family violence and access to alcohol.
In Swan Hill, a northern Victorian town ranked fifth in the state for family violence, mother and foster carer Bec Wolfe-Charles is among those objecting to a proposed new bottle shop. She wants more play spaces in her neighbourhood where she can spend time with her daughter, Eloise, rather than another liquor store in a town that already has eight.From July 1, Liquor Control Victoria will take responsibility for liquor licence decisions, stripping local councils of the right to refuse planning permits.The I Can Smell A Dead Duck company has applied for planning permission to open a ninth liquor outlet in the town, a bottle shop in a former furniture store. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety said there was no cap on the number of liquor licences allowed in one town and that Swan Hill residents will still have the opportunity to object to the application when Liquor Control Victoria puts it on public notice. Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Stuart King said councils should have more, rather than less, control over new liquor store applications and is concerned that city-based bureaucrats will not properly understand what the town needs."It is frustrating when some things get taken out of our hands and decisions are made by people who aren't involved or engaged in the community,"Women's Health Loddon Mallee chief executive officer Kellie Dunn said communities like Swan Hill were right to push back."If they are voicing that it is not right for them and that they feel that there is a saturation , the government really needs to listen to them as part of the planning process," Ms Dunn said. "We know that if alcohol is a contributing factor, or a risk factor , then we need to have a look at the placement of where institutions that sell alcohol are, and what effects they can have on communities." An independent review into a Dan Murphy's store in Darwin in 2021 heard that the chain liquor store's operator, Endeavour Group, disputed the link between new bottle shops and more violence.Data from the addiction treatment centre Turning Point showed that since 2018, paramedics had been called to about two alcohol-related incidents per week in Swan Hill, and alcohol was the most common drug found in intimate partner violence."The more alcohol that is around a community, or the higher the availability, the more domestic violence and other harms occur in that community," strategic lead Rowan Ogeil said. Dr Ogeil said victim-survivors from socio-economic disadvantaged areas like Swan Hill were three-and-a-half times more likely to have an ambulance respond to interpersonal violence involving alcohol or drugs. In 2015, the Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended that liquor licensing rules consider the role of alcohol in family violence. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Justice and Safety said Liquor Control Victoria already considered social harms. A fortnight out from the change, the head of the Municipal Association of Victoria said there was no clarity on how "this major impact" would affect local government. "We will no longer be the people that determine whether the planning application is appropriate or not," MAV president Jennifer Anderson said."But certainly, for those that are aware, like Swan Hill for example, it is a great concern because certain areas are known to have problems with alcohol, and so there may be areas where they have the knowledge to know this is not appropriate." Cr Anderson said the MAV and its member councils had little knowledge of the new process under Liquor Control Victoria and the Department of Planning, other than that local councils could make a submission to Liquor Control Victoria if they wanted to.The link between the number of bottle shops in an area and the rates of violence is contested by liquor store holders and public health researchers.Additionally, liquor store applications that have a floor space of at least 750 square metres trigger a community impact assessment, the spokesperson said. The assessment measures the application against the area's social harms, such as the family violence rate, or the proximity to schools.backed Hepburn Shire Council's decision to deny an application by Endeavour GroupSwan Hill independent bottle shop owner John Charleson said the assessment criteria did not work if a town comprises one main street because a 500-metre radius was applied. "If the application for a licence is at the end of the CBD, for instance, and as Swan Hill is a long and skinny CBD town, it doesn't really cover it,""So, the square metreage of a circle basically, a 500-metre radius in our town, really should be put into context and be taken in a long rectangular view."Photo shows A man looks at flames rising from an oil storage facilityPhoto shows Front of the Licola General Store with the 50 year old sign of the shop with chickens at the topPhoto shows Father Mick standing outside building
Harm Family Violence Women's Health Loddon Mallee Swan Hill Rural City Council Victorian Government Liquor Control Victoria Liquor Licence Bottle Shop Bottle-O
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