Victorian pubs would gain the automatic right to stay open until 3am under a pledge from the state government, the ABC reports — one of a suite of election commitments aimed at the hospitality sector and the night-time economy, all contingent on Labor being re-elected in November.
The headline change ends what the government itself calls an "onerous" process for venues wanting to trade past 1am: instead of applying, pubs would simply have the right to pour until 3am. The quirkier change sits in the Food Act — Labor would amend it to overturn the ban on dogs inside pubs, leaving the decision to publicans, with consultation to determine whether dogs can be where food is served.
The paperwork gets faster too. The wait for a standard liquor licence application would drop from 11 weeks to six — nearly halved — and venues with a strong compliance history would gain options to apply for multi-year licences.
"Pubs know what they are doing, and these are commonsense decisions to let them get on with business," Premier Ben Carroll said, adding that Victoria has the best pubs in the country — "let's keep them that way".
Beer tourism, bands and the rest of the round
The pledge lands days after the government committed $3 million to a Regional Brewery Fund — being developed with the Independent Brewers Association to help breweries improve accessibility, signage, marketing and infrastructure — as part of a push into beer tourism. Alongside it: a $2 million fund for live music festivals and regional cultural festivals, and $4 million to help promoters bring musical acts to regional centres.
It joins a rapidly lengthening list of pre-election offers from the Carroll government — police search wands, a wider Western Freeway — with this one aimed squarely at the counter of the local. The ABC's report carries no reaction from the opposition or the health lobby; what Victorians get for now is Labor's version of the offer.
If the pledge survives November, the practical translation is this: your pub can stay open two hours later without asking permission, your licence comes through in six weeks instead of eleven — and whether the kelpie gets to come in out of the rain is finally the publican's call.
