ppn liquor licence, page-4

Further to my previous post, here are some quotes that indicate pressure being applied to VCAT from the power brokers and failed politicians to apply "policy" rather than the law.

A request under the Freedom of Information Act may show an electronic trail leading back from VCAT to those with a vested interest in closing BAR20, but I bet the FOI request would be "stonewalled" before the ink had time to dry.

1. NEVERLAND [30/10/09]
".....Premier John Brumby has expressed dismay at a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision to approve a huge 1500-patron nightclub in South Melbourne, Neverland, to open next month with a licence to serve alcohol until 5am....."

"..... The venue was approved despite a freeze imposed last year on new venues trading past 1am, and the Government's Alcohol Action Plan aimed at curbing violence and harm caused by excessive alcohol use......"

"...I intend to examine the manner in which VCAT operates, the criteria, the rules and the regulations under which they operate to see if we can ensure a closer consistency......"

2. EXFORD HOTEL [10/3/10]
"........ Cr Doyle said the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) had "taken a holiday at the North Pole" when granting the Exford Hotel permission to keep serving take-away alcohol 24 hours a day from its Russell Street premises.

The ruling was a "poke in the eye" to the Liquor Licensing Panel and Victoria Police, who said they had recorded a litany of drunken violence outside the bottle shop, Cr Doyle said...."

"....."Courts are meant to represent the people of the community and take some notice of public sentiment and public conversation. I mean, this senior member (of VCAT) seems to have overruled all the police evidence, the finding of a Liquor Licensing Panel, because it might damage the business. That ... to me is just not a reason for it."

He was also surprised that VCAT had noted that drinking on the street was legal, he said......."

3. CORRUPT COPS [7/12/10]
"...........This morning the County Court heard former police Sergeant Stuart MacDonald, 51, had been put on a month of Safe Streets patrol, where he led a team of junior officers targeting King St venues for breaches of liquor licenses and other illegal activities.

Crown Prosecutor Claire Quin told the court on three weekends between March 13 and April 25, 2009, MacDonald telephoned a manager at Showgirls Bar 20, whom he had known for 10 years, to tell him police plans for the sting over the weekends.

MacDonald told the man about operational orders where Bar 20 was underlined as a target for the night, when undercover police would be patrolling the venue, and on another occasion warned undercover police would be targeting party buses.

Police were monitoring the manager's phone for a separate investigation during this period, Ms Quin said, and conversations were captured on tape between MacDonald and him.

The man was also recorded calling John Trimble, owner of Bar 20, to relay the information given by MacDonald.

In one conversation the man told Trimble Bar 20 was being targeted because of a VCAT case against the venue, but added "at least I got someone givin' us a bit of a tip off nowadays"......."