Pubs and patrons across New South Wales and Victoria continue to incur fines, venues facing closure and court appearances as authorities plead for all to “take responsibility for safety”.
This week the Garry Owen Hotel in Rozelle was labelled by Liquor & Gaming inspectors as perhaps the worst seen so far, for its list of COVID-19 safety breaches. The pub was issued with two fines, totalling $10,000, for: not being registered as COVID-safe, not having an up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Plan, sign-in procedures not being enforced, drinkers standing and mingling and physical distancing not being enforced.
Inspectors report at the time of their visit the venue was packed with patrons and only three staff, noting a lack of COVID hygiene processes.
“In fact, the venue was essentially being operated as though there were no restrictions in place,” stated Liquor & Gaming NSW director of compliance, Dimitri Argeres.
“The venue was letting down its workers, the community, and all the other businesses trying to do the right thing to keep their doors open.”
Another eight venues were fined this week, including the Garry Owen. These were: Riverview Hotel Balmain, Dry Dock Hotel Balmain, Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow Bowling Club, Marrickville Ritz, Royal Hotel Randwick and restaurant Yai Thai in Gosford.
Six of the fines were issued by Liquor & Gaming, one by SafeWork NSW and one by NSW Fair Trading, on behalf of the Department of Customer Service. This brings the total number of fines issued by the Department to 29, amounting to $152,500.
Last week the Unity Hall Hotel Balmain and Bondi Junction’s The Eastern were each fined $5,000. The Unity Hall was said to have been failing to enforce social distancing between tables and chairs, had an out-of-date safety plan, and inadequate recording of patrons’ details – not detailing patron time of entry in the physical register and not digitising the register within 24 hours. The Eastern Hotel was fined for allowing gaming machine players to sit side-by-side.
Argeres says compliance monitoring is only getting stricter at the moment, and there are no second chances.
“Hospitality venues cannot disregard these requirements. If we visit again and observe further breaches, at this premises or any others that have already been fined, they may be temporarily shut down.”
Police handed out fines to two pubs in regional NSW. On Saturday night the Bellevue Hotel Tuncurry was fined for several safety breaches.
On Friday a $5,000 fine was issued to the owner of a pub on the Bruxner Highway, near Casino, the hotelier blaming a broken printer for the absence of his COVID safety plan.
But police returned Tuesday to find no change, and the publican was this time issued a notice to appear in Casino Local Court on 8 October.
The Stage 4 restrictions introduced in Melbourne last week mean people cannot leave home between the hours of 8pm and 5am or venture more than five kilometres from home, except for permitted reasons such as work, essential medical or care-giving.
Victorian police issued a total of 268 COVID-19-related fines on Saturday, including to 38 people not wearing masks in public and 77 breaching curfew. A total of 8,126 vehicles were stopped at checkpoints and 3,841 checks conducted on people in their homes, businesses and public places.
One of the hundreds of people ticketed was a man found walking through the CBD at 2am after drinking at a hotel, admitting he lived more than 20 kilometres away.
Victoria continues to record hundreds of new COVID-19 cases each day, but Chief Health Officer professor Brett Sutton has expressed hope the peak of infections has passed.
Since midnight on 8 August tighter border restrictions have made access into NSW from Victoria far harder, although up to 15,000 people are said to have crossed heading north in the past two weeks.
Liquor & Gaming, SafeWork and NSW Fair Trading continue to conduct both uniformed and undercover inspections of licensed venues throughout the state, able to issue on-the-spot fines or temporarily close businesses as necessary.
NSW chief medical officer Kerry Chant, the state’s most senior doctor, describes restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars as “high-risk environments” for exposure to the virus. This was in the wake of three recent cases who between them visited 17 venues around Sydney, necessitating orders to self-isolate for hundreds of people in Sydney and Newcastle, as contact tracers scramble to determine sources and potential spread.
Citing the growing trend of restaurant and pub hot spots, Greg Dore – professor at the Kirby Institute UNSW and specialist in infectious diseases – wants all pubs, clubs and restaurants in Sydney to be forced closed again for another four-weeks, suggesting the move would be “economically more advantageous” than the prospect of rising infection numbers and a longer closure that could extend until summer.
The decision about further containment measures, such as a second lockdown, is in some dispute with state officials repeating that policy must be guided by medical advice rather than economic concerns, while Dr Chant says any discussion on tougher restrictions was a matter for state cabinet.
Director Argeres stresses all pubs and licensed venues must ensure their staff are constantly checking people are complying with all conditions in their COVID safe plans.
“If you want to continue operating, if you care about the health of your community, then take responsibility for safety in your space,” he said. “This goes for customers too.”
Suspected COVID breaches can be reported to NSW Police.