Publicans stand firm on Barred From One Barred From All campaign

The Wagga Liquor Accord's Barred From One Barred From All campaign whereby, like the name suggests, patrons who get banned from one pub are banned from all the other establishments in Wagga.

The length of the ban is determined by the liquor accord based on the severity of the offence.

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The initiative was pioneered in Wagga in order to raise the bar for patron behaviour, and Duke of Kent Hotel publican Ward Gaiter said it had succeeded brilliantly as a deterrent.

"We've had very very few issues since taking over the pub and I think the reason for that is people are aware that if they play up at one place they're going to get barred from everywhere, so in general people are a lot better behaved," Mr Gaiter said.

"I think it's worked really well for underage drinkers. People don't try anymore, because people know if they get caught they get an automatic ban until they're 19, so it's really not worth it for them."

Romano's Hotel publican Belinda King said the program fostered a camaraderie with the other pub owners.

"We're up the other end of town so if we have some unruly behaviour there and they're heading up this end of town it's great that we can communicate with the other guys and give them a heads up," Mrs King said.

"We find it great we can work with all the other pubs and try to provide a safe community for everyone here in Wagga, and that program certainly does that."

William Farrer Hotel's David Barnhill said there were a handful of well-known repeat offenders, but that otherwise Wagga's pub scene was well behaved.

"What we've seen is people who have misbehaved over the years misbehave again. Generally the same people end up on this list. They're pretty well known. We don't want the one per cent of the community dragging it down for everyone else," Mr Barnhill said.

"It's a good safe place to go out in Wagga. The whole idea of the accord was to get a nice, safe, vibrant nightlife. I think it's a great place to go out at nighttime and up the street."

The program was first launched in Wagga, but is now being rolled out to towns across NSW.

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