A fair go on trading hours
The final report of the committee that was established in 2013 to review the current liquor licensing laws made the recommendation that hotels, taverns and small bars should be allowed to trade until 12 midnight on any Sunday that is immediately followed by a public holiday. On the public release of the report, there was also substantial commentary suggesting broad community acceptance for an increase in trading hours of those license types on Saturday nights.While many clubs in Western Australia would choose not to avail themselves of any increase in authorised trading hours, we believe that clubs should not be any further disadvantaged should trading hours be altered for other licensees.
Partly because of the limitations of a club licence and perhaps moreso as a result of the unique self-regulating culture found within clubs, it is important to acknowledge that collectively, we are the safest and least troublesome on-premises license type and therefore see no justification for any increase in trading hours to not also apply to our community.
Quite simply, if the liquor licensing regime is altered to provide greater flexibility to any licensee in any regard, our solid reputation on health and safety as well as our overwhelming commitment to community means the same benefits should be afforded to clubs.
In short:
We demand that if any license type is to be provided greater flexibility in trading hours, the same changes must be applied to clubs.
