Ballarat pub owners keen to curb violence

JD'S SPORTS Bar co-owner Kate Parry fully supports any move to cut alcohol related violence in Ballarat streets, even one that ends a lucrative practice.
Ms Parry said she would happily ban the sale of shots and ``Jager bombs'' from her bar if the ban was uniformly agreed to and practised by all city venues.

"We only serve shots between the main hours of 9pm and 1am and we certainly don't serve people back-to-back rounds or double shots,'' she said.

"I think as far as licensees are concerned, everyone is keen to find an answer to people being excessively violent, so if all venues agreed that banning shots was what they were going to do, we would be happy to go along with it.

"If everyone's on board, it's worth a trial."

Ms Parry said she would be keen to see the impact of a similar ban in Mildura, announced this week.

"If people are determined to be drunk they will be regardless; I still think the drug culture is the biggest issue and that's out of control of the licensees," she said.

"Shots have been around for a long time and we have been here five years and not seen an increase in people drinking them."

Ms Parry also dismissed the financial impact of not selling the expensive, quickly consumed drinks.

"I don't think we would go broke if we didn't sell Jager bombs," she said.

Irish Murphy's owner and Australian Hotels Association Victorian vice-president Ian Larkin said he believed new restrictions agreed to by the Ballarat Liquor Accord that banned shots after 3am were effective enough, without placing a blanket ban on the practice.

"The problem is, 75 per cent of alcohol is consumed off premises," he said

Issued by The Courier 8th February 2010
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/pub-owners-keen-to-curb-violence/1745676.aspx