Byron Bay In Alcohol Dispute On Eve of Festival Season

A lobby group who want to restrict the sale of alcohol in Byron Bay to 12 o'clock is ramping up its efforts to have its proposals implemented before the summer holiday, and therefore festival, season.

Spokesperson for the Last Drinks At 12 campaigners, Dr Blake Eddington has told local paper the Echo, that they want the existing Byron Bay Liquor Accord [BBLA] abolished and for the state government to establish a Precinct Liquor Accord [PLA] immediately.

As well as restricting alcohol service back to midnight, Last Drinks At 12 want themselves and other community members to have a equal, if not a stronger, say in decisions made by the PLA as representatives from licensed venues.

The call comes on the eve of the festival season, which, in particular, will see thousands of punters travel to Byron for the town's inaugural – and sold out – edition of the Falls Festival.

The BBLA's Chairperson Hannah Spalding told theMusic.com.au today that the Accord has already implements “some of the strongest restrictions on its members that any licensed premises has in the state” and that stronger restrictions could hamper Byron's reputation. Despite bitter legal battles between the community and festival promoters seeking to hold events on their land in recent years, Byron Bay is still regarded as one of Australia's premier festival destinations. A number of Falls punters are expected to travel up in the days leading up to New Year's.

“I do believe that stronger restrictions on trading times could have a negative impact on our town's reputation and also possibly lead to people choosing to drink and socialise in uncontrolled unlicensed areas, which would possibly lead to another range of negative social outcomes,” Spalding said.

“As at least 70 percent of the violence in Byron occurs on the street and not in venues, there is a large amount of the issues relating to how punters choose to behave in public spaces and the BBLA encourages punters to be responsible and respectful while enjoying our beautiful town.”

Spalding said that the BBLA, police and the Office Of Liquor, Gaming & Racing “all agree” that environmental improvements of the town, including lighting, night rangers and improvement of public spaces, would be more effective in curbing the town's alcohol violence issues than further restrictions.

Byron Shire Council Mayor Simon Richardson said that events like the Falls Festival would aid in reducing New Year's and summer holiday violence, which the town was subject to last year, when the event was announced.

“For Byron I think not only is [Falls] giving a great opportunity for residents of the area to see some great music but importantly it allows us to manage New Year's Eve so we don't have a repeat of what happened last year.”

Last Drinks At 12 also want to see greater control over take-away and discounted alcohol, that venue owners repay “the true public costs” of health and police resources related to their patrons and that the Office Of Liquor, Gaming & Racing lends the community the “same level of financial and other support it gives to the licensed premises.”

Dr Eddington added, “We believe such an organisation with its mandatory membership of licensed premises and immediately enforceable additional conditions is warranted by the ongoing levels of alcohol related harms and unacceptable levels of non-compliance by some licensed premises.”

The Falls Festival, which runs from Tuesday 31 December to Friday 3 January, will take place on Splendour In The Grass' North Byron Parklands site. North Byron was approved to hold events after a lengthy dispute in April last year.

Shortly after that music promoters still claimed that Byron festivals were 'at a crisis point'.