Page 5658 - Week 13 - Thursday, 18 November 2010
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Notwithstanding where we would have done things differently, we agree broadly with the basis of setting fees based on risk and broadly agree with the way in which the government has calculated them. We also believe that licensees can sustain the actual increases. The additional cost for a small venue amounts to $10 per week or, if you put it in a more plain English sense, one boutique beer; while for bigger, later trading venues, it will be a cost of one boutique beer an hour. We think venues can sustain the increases and they are justified, given what we are working towards is a safer and more vibrant Canberra nightlife.
I think it is important to reflect on the actual quantum of some of these fees involved. I know Mrs Dunne was interjecting while I was making some of those comments but we are now talking about, for a small venue, an annual fee of $1,638 for a venue that chooses to close at midnight. That is an annual fee. My understanding is those annual fees are a tax deduction because they are a cost of doing business. So that puts those fees in further perspective. That is a cost spread out over 52 weeks a year. They are in percentage terms in some cases a sizeable increase but they have certainly not been increased for some time. We are talking here about a licence to sell alcohol at a venue.
One of the key concerns the Greens had as we came into this debate was issues around alcohol-related violence in the ACT—it is an issue across Australia but of course our jurisdiction is the ACT—and the need to tackle some of the culture that exists around alcohol consumption. I think the bill as a whole has made some steps towards that. I think we will no doubt learn from the bill. I think there will be things that work perhaps better than we expected, some not as well as we expected, and this will be an ongoing discussion for this Assembly. But in terms of the specific issue, we are essentially talking about the right to sell and serve alcohol in the ACT. And I think that is a right that should carry a cost.
When it comes to the quantum, it is also important to note that the attorney has indicated, and has established, through the department and the Office of Regulatory Services, the option for fees to be paid on a repayment plan basis. I think that is particularly important this year, where the fee determination did come rather later than it should have. Giving organisations or businesses an opportunity to plan out the paying of their fees on a quarterly basis, I think, is a practical step to take. So on the number of arguments that I have outlined, the Greens will not be supporting the disallowance today.
I would like to turn to our amendments in some detail. Instead of disallowing the fees, we propose that they be reviewed and that the review be presented to the Assembly no later than 1 October 2011. The review includes an analysis of the number of licensees and the hours they are trading and the effect the new fees have had on that. It is important that we monitor the impact.
The petition that Mrs Dunne presented particularly talked about venues having to close. What the fee structure does is create an economic choice, and that is exactly the point here. It is about saying, reflecting the evidence of risk, that if you want to trade until 5 am, that is fine. You can do that. The law does not say you must close down. What it does is put a price on it, as we put a price on anything.
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