[Greens-Media] Greens to Cut the ‘Culture Cops’ from Liquor Licensing

[Franks, Office]

Embargoed till 18 August 2012
Greens’ SA Arts spokesperson Tammy Franks MLC will introduce a Bill to remove definitions of ‘entertainment’ from the Liquor Licensing Act when State Parliament resumes. The move was first called for by the Raise the Bar campaign - http://raisethebarsa.good.do/
“In South Australia if a person performs in person on licensed premises – that is defined as ‘entertainment’ and regulated, but if you broadcast sport, gamble, or have recorded music, that is exempt from the strict, erratic and often archaic entertainment approvals process. Yet across the rest of Australia live performance is considered a normal activity in hotels, bars, restaurants, clubs and cafes. It beggars belief that SA persists with such old-fashioned liquor licensing laws,” Ms Franks said.
“I agree with the Raise the Bar campaign that laws that regulate creative people and yet exempt screens and machines in community spaces have no place in a creative culture. Unbelievably, here in SA the ‘culture cops’ are wasting precious police time monitoring licensed venues to assess the nature and genre of live performances. It’s an incredible waste of public resources and a punitive approach that kills creativity, punishes small businesses and discriminates arbitrarily for no good reason.
Examples of obsolete entertainment criteria imposed on licensed venues SA include:

·         Any live entertainment provided on the licensed premises shall be appropriate to, and compatible with,  the operation of a themed Irish bar or British pub

·         Entertainment shall not include any disc jockey activity

·         At no time shall there be any blues, heavy metal or grunge bands

·         No live entertainment will be played on Monday and Tuesday.  Any live entertainment played on Wednesday will be limited to solo, duets, or one and two piece bands

·         The licensee shall always advertise/promote the venue as an “over 30’s venue” and shall not advertise, promote or conduct the premises as a rock band or heavy metal venue.

·         In 2008 one venue was prosecuted in court for not playing ‘folk music’ as was specified in its license.

·         Another venue is currently before the courts because its license specifically precludes its live performances from being advertised. Police prosecuting have used posts on the venues’ Facebook page promoting its entertainment options as evidence against the venue.

“Why are scarce public resources being wasted by ‘culture cops’ investigating and prosecuting such cases?
A change to liquor licensing laws that removes definitions of entertainment would facilitate vibrant venues for punters and support businesses that want to provide jobs and opportunities for our musicians, artists and performers. Issues of noise would continue to be regulated by Section 106 of the Act and would be unaffected by my Bill,” Ms Franks concluded.

     For further comment contact Jamnes Danenberg 0457 549 938