LICENSEES have defended their power to ban revellers from all of Wagga’s pubs and bars for 12 months in one blow, without police input.
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William Farrer publican and liquor accord secretary David Barnhill confirmed to The Daily Advertiser that licensees had full discretion to bar patrons from all venues as part of the city’s hard-line liquor stance.
The policy has sparked concerns that venues can easily “get it wrong” in packed environments where they lack investigative resources.
An anonymous young woman told The Advertiser she received an “unjustified” 12-month venue barring after a manager “wrongly suspected” she had drugs.
She said she did not receive a single piece of correspondence regarding the barring decision.
“I want to see police involvement and police verification because police are the ones that uphold the law, not publicans,” she said.
“Nobody told me anything – it was based on suspicion and yet I’ve been banned even though I’d be innocent in the eyes of the law.
But Mr Barnhill believes the decision has lifted a heavy weight off the shoulders of overburdened police officers.
“Licensees can choose to ban patrons for a year if appropriate and police don’t have to offer a take on it,” he said.
“Police are very busy – they’re doing a great job around town reducing crime so the more we can do without their involvement the better I suppose.
"Most of the people who cop this ban are in clear violation, there’s no doubt.”
It comes after the dual launch of the Rethink that Sneaky Drink and One Punch Can Kill campaigns in May, which reinforced the region’s zero tolerance approach to one-punch attacks.
Wagga’s top cop Superintendent Bob Noble believes the initiative has so far been successful.
“The licensees have a duty to inform us if a crime occurs and for the most part they’ve been doing that,” he said.
