No ID, no wine: Hotels association gave go-ahead for Port Augusta cask wine walk-in sale ban

A trial at a Port Augusta hotel that requires walk-in customers to present ID before buying cask wine, and has since been adopted by other liquor outlets, was given the go-ahead by the state's hotels association.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a person involved in the trial said the procedure "overwhelmingly impacts" the local Indigenous community.

The Australian Hotels Association South Australia (AHASA) manager of government relations and policy, Wendy Bevan, said the association had been briefed on the trial, but was not "prescriptive about what that procedure should be".

She said the Port Augusta Alcohol Management Group (PAAMG) had identified the issue, and the procedure was initiated by Ian's Western Hotel proprietor Mark Davies.

Mr Davies is also the AHASA representative for Port Augusta and the far north on PAAMG, a local liquor accord.

"The licensee in Port Augusta did speak to the AHA and talked about the issues they had with walk-ins through their bottle shop," Ms Bevan said.

"The walk-ins, as well as buying alcohol, were disruptive and potentially harassing staff at that premises.

"They've taken the issue to the liquor licensing accord that operates at Port Augusta that has representatives from police, all the licensees and Consumer and Business Services, and discussed a practical trial to address this issue."

At a recent PAAMG meeting all other outlets in the town agreed to a 12-month trial.

Mr Davies directed ABC questions to the AHASA before giving interviews to other outlets as the owner of Ian's Western Hotel.

He has not returned further ABC requests to comment as a local hotel owner.

Cask wine policy

Customers who walk in to bottle shops in the town are now required to show identification when purchasing cask wine as part of the 12-month trial.

Their name, their address and purchases are recorded and kept on physical in-store registers.

South Australian Police and the Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services can access the information upon request.

The trial does not extend to customers who purchase cask wine in cars at drive-through outlets or customers who purchase other types of cheap alcohol.

Ms Bevan said AHASA had been told the trial was a "blanket rule" which applied to all walk-in customers and allowed staff to keep track of who had purchased cask wine.

She said the trial could be extended to drive-in customers if the initial trial did not address issues of anti-social behaviour at bottle shops, and the liquor accord agreed to amend the trial.

"It's not the intention to apply restrictions to everybody who comes in their car as well because they take their wine and drive away, I suppose," Ms Bevan said.

"This is about the walk-ins and the harassment at this stage."

Local response to a local issue

The AHASA manager did not rule out using trial results to implement a new recommended best practice of service elsewhere in South Australia.

"We have a number of different agreements among regional areas," she said.

"The trial happens, the trial is assessed with other accord members — remembering that's not just the AHA.

"That's local police enforcement, all the licensees in town, members of Alcoholics Anonymous organisations and Consumer and Business Services.

"Upon assessment you would look at what worked, what didn't work — an evidence-based approach that can be brought in to address any issues of alcohol-related harm."

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