Licencing red tape puts iconic West Coast pub in the firing line

ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says the situation facing the Blackball Hilton pub on the West Coast is a clear example of alcohol regulation gone mad, and proof that District Licensing Committees are imposing rules that go well beyond what is reasonable or necessary.

A routine licence renewal has resulted in the removal of the pub’s long-standing outdoor seating area. Locals and tourists have used the tables for decades, but the DLC has now decided the space sits outside the licensed boundary. The pub faced fines of up to $20,000 if anyone drank at them.

“Blackball is a community of about 300 people," says Mr Luxton. "It is not Queen Street on a Friday night. The idea that a table on a quiet roadside verge poses a serious risk to public safety simply does not stack up. This is regulatory overreach that kills local character and makes it harder for small pubs to survive.

“Small towns rely on their local pubs. They are part of the social fabric and part of the local economy. Yet we see rules applied in ways completely disconnected from the reality of places like Blackball.

“Down the road in Greymouth, the same council allows licensed premises to build permanent structures and outdoor dining on footpaths. But the Blackball Hilton cannot keep a table six metres off the centre line of a quiet road. That is bureaucratic nonsense.

“Minister Nicole McKee’s upcoming reforms to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act will give applicants a fairer process and limit objectors' ability to impose ideological agendas through licence conditions. On top of that, David Seymour is leading a hospitality review to tackle the wider regulatory clutter that is holding back venues, creating costs, and threatening the viability of iconic businesses.

“The Blackball Hilton should never have been put in this position. We need rules that target genuine risks, not rules that punish responsible operators for long-standing, harmless community traditions.

“If you are battling these kinds of conditions, now is the time to speak up. ACT is listening, and in Government we're taking action.”

The Ministry for Regulation's Hospitality Sector Review is due to report back shortly, and will identify unjustified rules holding the sector back.