Melb Music Venue Owner Blasts Council's Planned Smoking Ban: "People Will Just Stop Coming"

Melbourne's RMIT University is currently appealing to the Melbourne City Council to widen smoke-free zones throughout its precinct, which popular live music venue The John Curtin Hotel is directly based in, and the venue's owner has slammed the calls, insisting that not only will the establishment suffer, but bands will too.

"It will have an impact on what we do here because, whether people like it or not, people smoke when they’re at shows," venue owner Ben Russell tells theMusic.

"We’re not trying to push the pro-smoking agenda and we're not saying that RMIT and The City Of Melbourne can't impose these laws. What we are advocating is just to have our section of the footpath protected from such laws. RMIT can do what they like on their turf."

The Curtin currently hosts anywhere between 150-200 shows per year and Russell believes the venue will be hurt in a big way if the laws are passed, one of many reasons being that punters would have to walk two blocks away to smoke.

"People will just stop coming. It’s a fact," he says.

"We already have evidence of this today. One of the agents who we book shows through...he booked for December and he’s already calling the venue asking is this going to be a significant problem.

"It’s going to hurt our day trade for sure because people like to go outside and have a smoke, but the biggest thing is agents and bands aren’t going to want to put shows in this venue and take a chance that their punters can’t smoke."

Russell claims that there is virtually no alternative to combat the smoking bans if they are put in place.

"Unfortunately for us…this building is 100-plus years old and it’s a city venue," he says.

"City venues just don’t have beer gardens."

The council are currently engaging in conversation with those in the community about potentially widening the smoke-free zones until later this month when a verdict is expected to be delivered in November.

An online survey has also been launched which allows people to voice their opinions on the topic until 19 August. Check it out here.