By Brendan Rees
Casey Council says it will take “due care and diligence” when considering locations of liquor outlets as new research showed a “clear” link to alcohol related social harms.
The research report, which was presented at Casey Council’s meeting on 19 May, revealed Casey and Cardinia was expected to see the “greatest increase” in drinking between 2016 and 2026 – with an anticipated average annual growth rate of three per cent and four per cent respectively or an increase of around 108,500 drinking-aged residents.
The report named ‘Alcohol density research project’, which was commissioned by SGS Economics and Planning for the South East Melbourne Councils Alliance and backed by data from Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria, said the rise in booze intake would therefore “likely” coincide with a “large portion” of new packaged liquor outlet applications for the municipalities.
In addition it found evidence of a “causal relationship” between the density of packaged liquor outlets and alcohol-related social harms including family violence, which Casey Council said was the first time “the link had been proven”.
The new data has alarmed Casey Council’s chief administrator Noelene Duff who said: “It reaffirms the proposition that council needs to be take due care and diligence when considering the physical locations of new liquor outlets especially when they’re in vulnerable communities.”
It comes as ex-councillors voted in September last year to lobby state ministers for greater controls over liquor retailers applying for a licence. However, the State Government refused Casey Council’s proposed planning scheme amendment which sought to provide a policy to limit the “proliferation” of density packaged liquor outlets going into disadvantaged communities under the Liquor Control Reform Act (LCRA).
Ms Duff said a push for a local planning policy would “need to be considered at a further time”.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation has advised Casey Council the LCRA was currently under review and invited council to forward any “relevant information to the LCRA as part of the review”.
Cancer Council Victoria senior legal policy advisor for alcohol, Sarah Jackson said changes to the liquor licensing system was needed “to give local communities more of a say”.
“At the moment nearly all licence applications are granted and there’s no effective scrutiny of the impact they’ll have in the local community and how they might contribute to alcohol fuelled harm,” she said.
“It’s really concerning and there’s not really an opportunity for the local council to have a say in this process – it’s very difficult to make objections.
“The more alcohol stores in an area the more people in the local community suffer from alcohol fuelled harm particularly family violence, but also street violence, and long term chronic health problems.”
