ID laws serious blow for venues

QUEUES and costs are piling up at clubs and bars across Cairns as frustrated licensees come to grips with mandatory ID scanning laws.

The expensive and timeconsuming measure has been compulsory after 10pm for venues in the Cairns Safe Night Precinct since July and business operators are feeling the pinch.

Salt House owner Fintan Rafferty said the bar and restaurant would have to spend an extra $150,000 a year on extra security as a direct consequence of the new laws.

He has unsuccessfully applied for an exemption and plans to open a new pizzeria serving food until 1am in an effort to increase the chance of success when he reapplies.

“It is really inhibiting our business and costing us a lot of money to implement,” he said.

“We’ve been open for 8½ years and we have a squeaky clean history with liquor licensing.”

Salt House has a special facility licence, which only applies to casinos, airports, convention centres or other non-sporting facilities that make “a significant contribution to the tourism development of the state”.

Mr Rafferty hopes that designation will help him gain the all-clear to can the scanner.

“Sometimes our international customers can’t come in because they don’t have ID on them – who carries their passport around with them 24-7?” he said.

“When the Mountain Bike World Championships were here, we had teams from around the world come and they had no ID so we had to turn them away.

“It’s terrible. It’s a loss of business and a loss of an experience for them.”

The bar’s sprawling openplan design also makes enforcement a nightmare.

“It’s a totally open venue and we’ve got a hideous fence up now,” Mr Rafferty said. “It really breaks my heart.” The Jack owner Ken Harris said the scheme had been poorly advertised, especially with the middle-aged crowd.

“Two weeks ago we had 15 people arrive but one didn’t have her ID. All the girls turned on their heels and went to the casino, because they wouldn’t need ID,” he said.

“We just lost 15 patrons and it’s discriminatory because the casino doesn’t have to have scanning. But the casino is the State Government’s cash register, so it’s not surprising.

“The middle-aged market still isn’t aware of it.

“It’s discriminatory, it’s adding extra costs and it’s been poorly marketed.