Pub and club patrons should be issued with "responsible drinker" ID cards that could be revoked for bad behaviour, according to one proposal being considered by the alcohol-related violence inquiry.
Queensland Parliament's Law, Safety and Justice Committee today released 138 submissions it had received as it looks for ways to tackle booze-fuelled misbehaviour.
While the State Government, alcohol producers, licensed venues, doctors and transport providers have all had their say, the committee is also looking at suggestions from members of the general public.
One submitter, Arthur Johnson, called for the introduction of photo ID cards specifically linked to responsible drinking and issued to those with a clean police record.
"Just as people who work with children need to apply for a blue card because bad types made this necessary: it follows that responsible drinkers need to apply for a card of another colour, because bad types have made this necessary," he wrote.
"In a bar or club, selling too much to a card holder would be fineable, as would selling to a non-card customer.
"A driver failing the breathaliser would lose his card."
Brisbane licensees and police have already argued in favour of a mechanism to ban trouble makers from all licensed premises in an area.
Queensland Rail, meanwhile, argued in its submission that venues were too accommodating in their definition of intoxicated when serving drinkers.
The head of QR Passenger, Paul Scurrah, said by the time patrons were expelled from pubs and clubs they were already heavily intoxicated and often aggressive, placing train passengers at risk.
"Feedback from customers demonstrates that many are hesitant to travel on the rail passenger network, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, due to the perceived lack of safety created by intoxicated travellers," he said.
The Taxi Council of Queensland echoed QR's call for harsher penalties against those who attack frontline health and transport workers including cab drivers and rail network employees.
Taxi Council chief executive officer Blair Davies also slammed some licensed venues for putting drinkers at risk "in their irresponsible pursuit of profits".
"In particular, the practice of removing intoxicated patrons from their venues and abandoning (dumping) them on taxi ranks must be banned," he wrote.
"Queensland taxi drivers should be able to go about their business with the reasonable expectation that their passengers will behave civilly, without violence, and without soiling the vehicle.
"In our view, it is also not unreasonable to expect that taxi passengers should know and be able to communication where they want to be taken, stay awake for the journey, and pay the metered fare on arrival at their destination."
The Parliamentary committee is examining venue trading hours, public education campaigns and the glassing phenomenon.
It is due to complete its final report by March next year.
Published in Brisbane Times 2 December
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/your-brisbane/call-for-responsible-drinker-id-cards-20091202-k58t.html
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