WA Police apply for full-strength beer ban in Port Hedland
Updated
A ban on the sale of takeaway full-strength beer and premixed alcohol is part of a raft of new restrictions being sought by Western Australia Police in Port Hedland.
Police also are asking for limits on the amount of other takeaway alcohol and the times it can be bought, in an application to the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor director general.
A letter from police details a litany of alcohol-related harm in the Pilbara town, before requesting the list of restrictions to be introduced.
As well as the ban on takeaway sales of full-strength beer and premixed drinks, police also are asking that takeaway sales of spirits and fortified wines be limited to one bottle per customer per day, and wine to three bottles.
Police would like the times that takeaway alcohol can be sold be limited to between 2pm and 8pm Monday to Saturday.
The application by police has been sent to licensees and government agencies in Port Hedland, along with an invitation to provide feedback on the proposal.
Inspector Ricky Chadwick, from Pilbara District Office, said police could not stand idly by and watch a whole generation of people destroy themselves.
"We are mindful that it may well impact on people's convenience of choice and the like, but the reasons behind it are very valid," he said.
"The reality is at some point in time people have got to make decisions, and certainly from a police perspective I'm more than comfortable with the action we're taking.
"Ultimately the outcome will be a matter for the director [of liquor licensing] himself."
Concern ban would move problem 'down the road'
The Shire of East Pilbara is concerned about the flow-on effects of the proposed ban.
President Lynne Craigie said there needed to be more co-ordination across the region when it came to liquor restrictions.
"We know that if we ban something in one area, it just moves the problem down the road," she said.
"It needs to be across the board. For example, if we have restrictions in Newman then they go to Hedland, and if they ban it in Hedland they'll just go to Newman."
Government agencies and stakeholders have been given until April 7 to lodge feedback with the department on alcohol-related harm.
Topics: alcohol, police, port-hedland-6721
First posted
