Australia’s Olympic host has been warned it may be left with a Games hangover without a change to “outdated” pub trading laws.
Queensland’s hospitality sector has hit out at public holiday rules, warning it would be red-faced while hosting the Brisbane 2032 Games and a string of major global sporting events.
Good Friday patrons cannot be served alcohol in a licensed venue unless they are seated for a meal in Queensland – defined in legislation as food normally eaten with a knife and fork in an area set aside for dining.
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That effectively closes bars to standalone drinking, with poolside service for hotel guests also prohibited without a meal order.
The laws, last updated in the early 1990s, have put the state at a competitive disadvantage as it prepares to host a surge of international visitors, the Queensland Hotels Association says.
“We’re inviting the world here over the next six years. Every sport from every country will come and check out Queensland before deciding where to base themselves before the Olympics,” chief executive Bernie Hogan told AAP on Friday.
“If you’re asking the Brazilians to come and then go home at midnight, it’s a bit ridiculous.”
The laws are bad for business, the hotels association argues, with visitors shut out of venues due to outdated rules dictating how, when, and where they can celebrate the public holiday.
“Most other states just open like every other day of the year,” Hogan said.
The industry argues that, during one of the busiest tourism periods of the year, visitors arriving in Queensland on Good Friday are met with confusing and disappointing service limits.
“They sit down by the pool and they can’t order a cocktail, can’t order a beer to the pool … Queensland’s supposed to be the home of the holiday, and the first opportunity we get, we disappoint people,” Hogan said.
With staff on double time-and-a-half and operating costs surging – particularly power, diesel and insurance – many venues say they cannot afford to open on Good Friday.
Exemptions to the rules only exacerbate the concerns of hoteliers.
State-owned stadiums can offer full bar service during major sporting events on public holidays, while nearby privately-run pubs and restaurants remain tightly constrained.
The laws reflect an older notion of Queensland as a Christian society that should restrict drinking on sacred days, but times have changed, Hogan said.
The sector argues that modernising the rules is essential if Queensland is to meet the expectations of international visitors and give local, often family-run businesses a fair chance to trade profitably.
Hotel trading laws for Good Friday vary significantly across Australia, primarily focusing on alcohol service and gambling restrictions.
In most states, takeaway alcohol sales from hotels or bottle shops are prohibited.
In Queensland, NSW, and the NT, licensed premises will offer drinks in-house on Good Friday but only with a meal.
Western Australia recently overhauled legislation to allow patrons to buy a drink at hotels, taverns, and small bars without needing to order a meal in line with Victoria.
There are no restrictions on alcohol sales or trading hours on Good Friday in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.
Comment has been sought from the Queensland government.
