Perth restaurants may soon be allowed to serve alcohol without food if Premier Colin Barnett keeps his pledge to end restrictions that prevent bar patrons from carrying their own drink from a licenced zone to an alfresco area.
Barnett also wants restaurants with less than 120 people to responsibly serve alcohol to seated patrons without having to serve them a meal.
If Barnett is re-elected, he said he would reform many of the “outdated” liquor licensing regulations so that people can enjoy a drink at a restaurant instead of a bar or tavern.
Read the post below from News.com.au that explains further:
“This change will mean that people who would like to have a drink at a restaurant, for instance after a show or event, can do so without having to order a meal,” he said at Wembley eatery Three Five Three this afternoon.
Mr Barnett said venues like The Flying Scotsman, The George and the Belgian Beer Cafe were currently under the strain of restrictive laws and would benefit from his proposed changes.
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said ensuring diners were seated was an important distinction between restaurants and bars, hotels and taverns.
“The policy eliminates unnecessary red tape for restaurants wishing to offer a drink without a meal and removes the requirement for a special permit,” he said.
If Barnett gets his way it is possible that waitrons who previously never served alcohol will begin to do so and therefore must undergo responsible service of alcohol training.
RSA training will enable servers, whether in a pub, hotel or restaurant to understand their obligations in serving liquor responsibly and the types of strategies that can be implemented to make a venue more responsible in its supply of alcohol to customers.
Some of the subjects covered by the responsible service of alcohol training includes who you can and cannot serve alcohol to and why, the consequences of serving intoxicated patrons and how to safeguard yourself, your venue and patrons from the negative consequences of alcohol abuse.
Anyone who works in the hospitality industry or is involved with the service or supply of alcohol must undergo this training including: licensees, approved managers, staff, including promotional staff, involved in the sale, supply and service of alcohol, volunteers, including club directors, who have liquor service responsibilities and security officers with crowd control duties, even restaurant staff who serve alcohol.
Another post on TheAustralian.com.au sums up Barnett’s promise:
The Premier said his pledge ahead of the March 9 election would end the restriction that prevented bar patrons from carrying their own drink from a licensed zone to an alfresco area.
He said it would also allow restaurants with less than 120 people to responsibly serve alcohol to seated patrons without serving them a meal.
If the Liberal Party was re-elected, it would reform the outdated liquor licensing regulations so people could enjoy a drink at a restaurant instead of a bar or tavern, Mr Barnett said.