TIME TO SOBER UP PUNCH-DRUNK BEHAVIOUR
Disturbing video footage of hotel security pushing patrons down a flight of stairs highlights the need for a review into the way night-life venues operate
IT was that classic Aussie literary character Les Norton who redeemed the reputation of bouncers.
Penned by the late Robert G Barrett, the series of novels on the rough-and-tumble life of Les are so quintessentially Australian that they should be introduced into the school curriculum.
On second thoughts, maybe 12-year-old boys should not be exposed to Les’s legendary womanising feats and his colourful language.
Nevertheless, Les showed what being a bouncer was all about – his silver tongue doing the talking to avert violence, unless of course it was a lost cause and then his pugilistic skills came to the fore.
And boy could Les fight. This week, when I saw the vision of two patrons being pushed down the stairs at The Grand Hotel, Labrador, I wondered aloud – what would Les have done?
Take it from me, he would never have pushed people down the stairs. Instead, he would have tried to talk them around.
If that didn’t work, he would have taken them around the corner – away from prying view of CCCT footage – and given them a good old-fashioned walloping.
When it comes to dangerous and thankless jobs, being a security guard would have to be right up near the top of the list.
Police have a tough job, so too paramedics. Portaloo maintenance guys would probably take the cake, as the movie Kenny demonstrated.
But as a security guard, having to deal with drunken, unruly patrons is but one of the many facets of keeping the peace at pubs, clubs and major events.
With the emergence in the past decade of high-quality CCTV footage, and phone cameras, we are seeing more and more examples of overzealous actions from law enforcement.
Police are not immune from being held to account. The most obvious in recent times has been the George Floyd death in the United States, where the main perpetrator, policeman Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of murder.
The Labrador incident sparked a lawyer’s call for a state review of the responsible service of alcohol and security guard laws.
Gold Coast-based Queensland compensation law expert Bruce Simmonds says the video, recorded by a bystander and widely shared among the news media, shows an incident that should never have happened.
In the footage outside The Grand Hotel at Labrador, three male security guards and two patrons – a man and woman – are seen in a heated discussion after the pair were reportedly ordered to leave the premises. It’s been claimed they were affected by alcohol.
Mr Simmonds said the subsequent video is confronting but while there’s been a rush to condemn the security guards’ actions, he thinks wider issues need to be considered.
“This should never have happened, and if a patron was injured as a result of such action, you could expect lawsuits with the bouncers, their employers and the hotel being dragged into it,” he says.
We know that with the
impact of the pandemic, hotels and clubs are using minimum staff numbers now to cut down on costs.
If there are not enough guards, then the risk of violent confrontations with drunk patrons escalates.
It’s time for a full review of state licensing and alcohol laws, taking into account full risk assessments of venues and events.
The problem of unruly patrons could also be reduced by merely enforcing responsible management and guidelines for the sale and supply of alcohol.
Surely, the onus must come back onto the proprietor when somebody is so drunk that they don’t know what they are doing.
There’s an old saying that nothing good happens in a hotel or nightclub after
midnight, when people are as full as a state school bus.
But it is during these times when people are at their most exposed and susceptible and they need more protection from legislators.
They also need protection from over-enthusiastic crowd controllers, some of whom let the power go to their heads.
Dealing with drunks is never easy. They can be irrational and unable to process sensibly.
But that’s all the more reason for police and security guards to be empathetic and on their best behaviour.
We need a proper review of the way security guards and police handle those who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In the long run, it will protect not just the drunks, but everybody involved.
It’s time for a full review of state licensing and alcohol laws, taking into account full risk assessments of venues and events