Violent venues
Despite a dramatic drop in the number of pubs and clubs being blacklisted by the NSW government in some areas the problem is moving from one hotel to another.
The Minister for Hospitality, George Souris, says the latest Violent Venues List reveals the lowest figure of blacklisted clubs since the scheme began.
But at Byron Bay the number of incidents rose with Woody's Surf Shack's 18 violent incidents, replacing Cheeky Monkey's record of 15 from last year.
In 2010 the problem was at the Beach Hotel where there were 11 violent incidents.
At Taree there's been a similar pattern with alcohol related violence moving from one hotel to another.
The Royal Hotel at Taree is on level two restrictions as a result of recording 12 violent incidents in the past year.
The year before the alcohol fuelled problems were at Taree's Victoria Hotel where 17 incidents occurred.
The Coffs Harbour Hotel is on level two restrictions as a result of recording 12 incidents last year.
The troubled Mary Gilhooley's in Lismore has been dropped from this year's list altogether.
Earlier this week there was debate about the issue after an outbreak of aggression on the streets of Byron Bay over the weekend.
The Byron Shire mayor believes businesses which profit from alcohol need to take responsibility for violence in Byron Bay.
Jan Barham says most of the time the town is peaceful but after midnight the vibe gets nasty.
She says the problem is clearly about alcohol and those who make money out of alcohol need to help fix the problem.
"What we're seeing is a lack of action from those who profit from alcohol and those venues taking on board other measures to make the place safe," Councillor Barham said.
Police are calling for CCTV cameras to be installed as a way to curb the violence.
Superintendent Stuart Wilkins from the Tweed Byron Command says he supports calls for CCTV in Byron Bay.
He says an early lock-out is another measure police are in favour of.
But he says extra police won't resolve the problem.
"I now have to send a significant amount of the resources of this command to Byron Bay to quell the violence late at night on a Friday, Saturday night to the detriment of the rest of the community," Superintendent Wilkins said.
Source: ABC News, 1 June 2012
