Bars bucking council await decision

Des Wallace, owner of Whangarei's Bacio Bar, is one of two bar owners who have rejected a Whangarei District Council proposal for a one-way door policy. Photo / File

The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority has reserved its decision on licence renewals for two Whangarei bar owners who are refusing to embrace a one-way door policy proposed by Whangarei District Council.

Bacio on Bank St and Head Office on Water St have rejected the one-way door system in Whangarei District Council's Liquor Licensing Agency's 2010 liquor policy.

A two-day hearing before authority member, Judge John Hole, heard submissions from the council and the directors of both bars in Whangarei last week. The authority reserved its decision.

The authority had earlier accused the Liquor Licensing Agency of failing to comply with the 2010 liquor policy by "parking" licence renewal applications.

Judge John Hole has already ruled that Killer Prawn on Bank St, which applied to renew but refused the system, had to use the one-way door, when all other bars complied.

WDC had not referred the non-complying applications to the authority, and had "parked" them in the hope they would comply when they saw agreeing bars have their licences renewed. Judge Hole said this was in breach of the 1989 act and was "illegal".

During last week's deliberations, council lawyer Julian Dawson said only 10 applications have been unresolved.

He said according to a council survey, 65 per cent of participants felt the central business district was unsafe after dark.

He said police reported a 10 per cent increase in alcohol-fuelled crime between 2008 and 2009.

Mr Dawson said the policy helped minimise alcohol-related crime and applied consistency in terms of holistically addressing issues such as drinking behaviour.

Des Wallace, director of Bacio, said patrons would be more inclined to leave if given a timeframe of two hours prior to closure rather than enforcing a one-way door policy. The bar owners could appeal the authority's decision to the High Court.