IF you are banned from one pub then you are banned from them all.
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This could be a solution to Orange’s alcohol-related violence problems, according to the Orange Liquor Accord.
At the group’s annual general meeting yesterday, members resolved to form a sub-committee, made up of police, Orange City Council representatives and members of the accord, to discuss licensed trading in general and, potentially, a database with offending patrons’ names included.
Re-elected chairman Bill Kelly said there were privacy issues with recording people’s personal details on a database, but he understood four venues in Newcastle were looking at bringing in the same system.
“There is a council delegation going to Newcastle to pull in resources,” he said.
The committee was formed after Bev Rankin of the Ministers Fraternal proposed that late night trading should cease at midnight for a month trial, as well as recent articles in the Central Western Daily about alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour in Orange.
Mrs Rankin handed out a survey to licensees during the meeting, asking whether they would be willing to take part in a trial, what time they would be willing to close, what would be the potential benefits of the trial and what would be the potential costs?
Mr Kelly said he would follow up on the survey.
“I believe most venues would take the time to fill out the survey,” he said.
“What the accord will seek to do is make the Minister’s Fraternal better informed.”
Mr Kelly said the first meeting of the sub-committee would occur shortly after Easter and the findings of the committee would depend on the outcome of “certain initiatives” being conducted by Orange City Council and the police.
“Orange is no better or worse than any other comparable city. There has been a lot of reporting over the last six weeks and a lot of the alcohol-related violence occurs at home.”
Early closing would be up to the individual venues, Mr Kelly said.