Queensland ID laws slammed
Queensland new ID laws have been criticised for embarrassing the state and putting people off from going out.
Under the new laws, which came into place at the beginning of July, people looking for a drink inside key Queensland venues after 10:00pm are required have their identification scanned on entry.
Using technology, venues will be able to share information about problematic patrons and prevent them from re-entering another club or bar.
The new laws are aimed at curbing alcohol and drug-fuelled violence and the government has put them in place so that people will feel safer.
But Ryan Lane, the manager of award winning bar Gresham, isn’t happy about it.
He claims it will stymie all the progress that the state’s night life industry has made over the last few years which has seen Brisbane bars picking up major category awards in the Australian Good Food Guide and Gourmet Traveller.
That includes the Gresham which had picked up four of the major categories for Australian Bar of the Year.
He said the new laws were “embarrassing” as his club was forced last week to turn away a group of French winemakers who were not carrying identification.
And they weren’t trouble-makers, he said.
"These guys were anywhere between 40 and 65 years old, sober, incredibly polite, lovely people," Lane told the ABC.
The problem with the blanket laws, he said, was they had a one-size fits all approach when what something more flexible would have been more appropriate.
He warned these new controls would hurt the local hospitality industry.
And he warned that the costs associated with installing and operating the compulsory scanning machines would force some venues to shut down.
As he put it, these controls were being put in place at the worst possible time for the industry.
"Brisbane is going through its greatest transformation when it comes to nightlife," he said.
by Leon Gettler, July 10th 2017
