Hoteliers war on unruly patrons

Toowoomba's hoteliers are waging a war against violent and unruly patrons.

So far, five people have been slapped with blanket bans from more than 30 Toowoomba licensed venues with another four or five in the process of being served.

The bans, which range from between three to five months, are part of a joint initiative launched in November last year by the Toowoomba Liquor Industry Action Group (LIAG) and police.

LIAG president and Tomba’s Niteclub licensee Trevor Watts said the bans were an added consequence for people who misbehaved.

The bans currently only apply to participating venues, but Mr Watts has called for changes to legislation to ensure they could be applied to an entire entertainment precinct or even all 17 entertainment precincts across the state.

“We want some meat put on the bones of the Liquor Act to make individuals more responsible for their actions,” Mr Watts said.

“There should be more policing and bigger fines so that the individuals who perpetrate this behaviour are held accountable.”

Mr Watts said one of the men to be served a ban was kicked out of Fitzy’s Fibber Magee Irish Pub and attempted to enter Tomba’s Niteclub, but became aggressive when he was refused entry and was consequently arrested.

He was charged with a public nuisance offence, fined $900 and slapped with a three-month blanket ban.

The banned patrons stand to receive even further punishment if they enter a participating venue while serving their ban.

The maximum penalty is a $2000 fine or one year imprisonment.

Sergeant Roger Thompson from Toowoomba Police said the system had been effective so far.

“The reports coming out of the licensed premises are that those persons have complied and we’ve had no further problems,” he said.

Although Toowoomba lawyer and anti-late night drinking campaigner Dan Toombs said he supported the scheme, he said the system was being “significantly undermined” while there were venues choosing not to participate.

“You’re just transferring the problem to another venue if they’re not all going to adopt it,” he said.

“But any licensee who is stepping up to ban troublesome patrons is a good thing.”

Some of the hotels not participating in the scheme include the Drayton Tavern, The Mill Street Tavern, Westbrook Junction Tavern, Stock Exchange Hotel, Fiveways Hotel and the Newtown Hotel.

Published in The Chronicle on 25 January.
http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2010/01/25/hoteliers-war-on-unruly-patrons/