Brisbane venues turn away elderly tourists over ID scanning rules
As the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approach, one leading Brisbane hospitality operator says the city's mandatory ID scanning laws are already costing venues customers and risk embarrassing Brisbane on the world stage.
Andrew Baturo, co-founder of Dap & Co. Hospitality Group says the strict entry requirements recently forced one of his venues to turn away British and Irish Lions fans in their 50s, 60s and 70s who were in the city for last year's rugby tour.
"We're talking about 50, 60, 70-year-old professional people, lots of money to spend, being told at [The Gresham Bar], for example, after 10 o'clock that they couldn't come in because they didn't have any ID," Baturo said.
"For someone of that age, it's kind of a little bit embarrassing, but it's also a strange thing to have to happen."
Dap & Co. Hospitality Group also operates Naldham House, The Fifty Six and Popolo.
Baturo made the comments at the Committee for Brisbane's Feeding Our Games Ambition event, where industry and government discussed how to prepare Queensland's food and beverage sector for 2032.
He said Brisbane's dining and drinking scene now rivals Sydney and Melbourne, but argued the city's night-time economy is being held back by outdated trading rules and ID scanning requirements that don't exist elsewhere in the country.
"Nowhere else in Australia has that kind of ID scanning and they were expected to know, after turning up in the city for a short amount of time, that they had to have a passport or some form of ID with them," he told The Courier Mail.
The comments come after the Queensland Government declined to adopt recommendations from Night-Life Economy Commissioner John "JC" Collins AM to scrap ID scanning at smaller venues and introduce facial recognition technology to reduce queues.
Baturo called for the introduction of 24-hour trading licences to give operators more flexibility over opening and closing hours.
"People are going to want to have drinks, party, dance and have a great time, so we want to make sure that's as seamless and as easy as it possibly can be," he said.
"We want Brisbane to be safe, buzzy, and we want to be fun."
To help facilitate those sentiments, the state government says it has made progress under its Nightlife Action Plan, including $6.3 million to boost wheelchair-accessible taxi numbers, new Special Entertainment Precincts, an expanded Queensland on Tour program, and flexible parking in Safe Night Precincts. It is also developing a "Homegrown" music policy, a Nightlife Playbook, a Nightlife Precinct Activation Program, and regulatory reviews.
Youth Minister Sam O'Connor said the government remained open to further input from the sector.
"We're doing the work to make sure Brisbane and Queensland are ready to put on their best show when we welcome the world in 2032," he said.
"Our Nightlife Economy Action Plan is driving change to make it easier for small businesses and venues to thrive and for Queenslanders and visitors to make the most of our nightlife.
"We always welcome feedback from the sector and we encourage them to keep making the case for change."
Jonathan Jackson, 14th September
