Page 4853 - Week 16 - Thursday, 29 November 1990
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LIQUOR (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1990
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (4.17): Mr Deputy Speaker, I present the Liquor (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1990. I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the Bill sets up new regulatory structures under the Liquor Act 1975, following the Government's decision to abolish the Australian Capital Territory Gaming and Liquor Authority and to return regulatory functions previously performed by the authority to the mainstream Government.
This Bill provides, in particular, for the establishment of a Liquor Licensing Board and for a registrar and deputy registrar of liquor licences. It also transfers responsibility for the revenue aspects of liquor regulation to the Commissioner for ACT Revenue. Day to day administrative functions under the Liquor Act will be carried out by the registrar, deputy registrar and inspectors who will be officers of my department.
The Liquor Licensing Board will be a part-time body convened primarily to consider only the complex cases arising under the Act. The board will have the additional function of advising the Minister on matters of policy and administration as required. The board will consist of a legal practitioner of five years' standing, the registrar of liquor licensing and one other person.
It is appropriate for a legal practitioner to chair the board because, although its procedure will be flexible and often informal, there will be times when complex matters come before it justifying a full quasi-judicial procedure. It is also appropriate for the registrar to sit on the board so that he or she can provide both administrative experience and an appreciation of current government policy. Any person will be eligible to be appointed as a third member of the board, but the Government envisages appointing a person with a background in or an appreciation of the liquor industry.
More than 95 per cent of decisions currently taken under the Liquor Act are straightforward and will be taken by the registrar. The Bill includes procedures that require the registrar to make an initial assessment of a matter and then to determine it or, if it is complex, to refer it to the board. The exceptions to this procedure are suspensions and cancellations of licences and cancellations of permits, whether arising from a complaint or otherwise. Because decisions to suspend or cancel a liquor licence threaten the very livelihood of the licensee, the role of the registrar in such cases is merely to screen the evidence and dismiss matters that are not based on any evidence or grounds of substance. If the matter is substantial, the registrar must refer it to the board.
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