How’s that scan, Labor?

ID machines failing and hold-ups hitting revenue

GLITTER Strip bar boss fury at Labor’s “headache” ID scanners is spilling over with many IDs still needing manual entry and delays slashing revenue.

Nightclubs are using two queues – one for Australians and passport holders, and a “slow” lane for everyone else because of time-consuming manual entry of ID details.

The bar lobby agrees with the aim of scanning to red-flag patrons with bans but is fuming at lack of functionality five months after it was made compulsory. Ric Gibson, VIP host for popular Surfers Paradise nightclub Sin City, revealed they use separate patron queues once scanning kicks in.

“The Americans, Canadians and Kiwis we have to manually enter. The machine will scan and take a photo of the ID but then you have to manually input the name, licence number, the country, the date of birth, the expiry date, male or female.

“Think about that if you have a couple of hundred people in your queue,” Mr Gibson said.

“It used to take two minutes each. Security guys are quicker and it takes just over a minute.”

Matt Keegan, a partner in Sin City and Bedroom bar, said Labor’s laws – with last drinks two hours earlier, midnight shot bans and scanner issues – had slashed revenue 30 per cent.

“They’ve had a negative impact on business and jobs. We’ve seen a reduction of approximately 30 per cent to revenue. Many others are similar or worse,” Mr Keegan said.

Broadbeach’s Envy nightclub manager Peter Thomspon wants scanners turned off for the 2018 Commonwealth Games predicting big queues of foreigners.

“It is going to be the biggest embarrassment,” he said recently. “With all these nationalities the scanners will not keep up. People will be queuing for hundreds of metres.”

Labor made scanning compulsory from 10pm for venues open past midnight and approved two scanner providers. The Canada Day launch led to queues as Canadian IDs required manual entry. Passports work best but foreigners don’t tend to take them out clubbing.

Surfers MP John-Paul Langbroek said the LNP would examine trading hours and prioritise a scanner fix after a “flawed implementation”.

“But let’s do it together – not like Labor which have a quick media fix and leave front-end providers struggling with implementation.”

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath’s office said the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) was working with approved scanner providers to increase foreign IDs recognised.

Scanners were making a “real difference” to safety.

OLGR said ID scanners were tested by “third parties”.

“Scanners rely on templates. Due to the large number of different foreign driver’s licences and changing nature of these, it will never be possible to cater for every single licence.”