New alcohol ban for festivals

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Tue 9th Jun, 2009 in Local News

Under new guidelines currently being drafted, the sale of full-strength beer and bottles of wine will be banned from Queensland festivals. According to The Courier Mail, the proposed rules are part of a push by the State Government’s Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing to target binge-drinking.

The revised guidelines include designated areas for consumption of alcohol and one ‘crowd controller’ for every 142 punters. Licensing officals will also have the authority to ban the sale of drinks with an alcohol concentration of over four percent.

The Courier Mail spoke to several festival promoters, all of whom condemned the new rules. A spokesperson for Gold Coast Big Day Out told the newspaper, “These new conditions will make it harder for us to keep going. Surely a patron attending a concert can decide for themselves… what happened to personal responsibility?”

Do you think these measures will help curb binge-drinking at festivals or just fuel the problem? Let us know in the comment field below.

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Kefuan

Kefuan said on the 9th Jun, 2009

ripped off!! how am i going to enjoy a nice rum and coke at parklife if this goes ahead!

Juzzzy

Juzzzy said on the 9th Jun, 2009

it will mean more drugs.. simple :s

hotcar1600

hotcar1600 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

thats all we need - more of an excuse for young people to do drugs cause they cant get drunk

Ichiban

Ichiban said on the 9th Jun, 2009

Dont matter they all be on drugs anyways

slatts69

slatts69 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

All this will do is mean people get more boozed before they get there, and take more drugs when they are there!

GrEnNo

GrEnNo said on the 9th Jun, 2009

I think it will stop binge drinking, but will increase the use of illegal substances. well thats my thought on the idea. Who wants to be stuck in a cage while you drink a beer. I love the fact you can dance or watch an act while having a beer.

mr_doobi

mr_doobi said on the 9th Jun, 2009

hmmmmmmm oh well...... pills anyone?

Darrenz76

Darrenz76 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

I agree with you all - this is a sure fire way to ensure young people take more drugs into festivals which seems to me to be totally counter-productive. Just another example of politicians being totally out of touch with the 20-something festival culture

jarrardscott

jarrardscott said on the 9th Jun, 2009

4% is stupid. what drinks are under 4% say bye bye to smirnoffs. sucks in qld lol

larrisajones

larrisajones said on the 9th Jun, 2009

there were bottles of wine to start with?

Noticeably F A T

Noticeably F A T said on the 9th Jun, 2009

No doubt other states will be looking on with interest, not least WA. I agree that politicians are completely out of touch - and probably proud to be so.

ellaplane

ellaplane said on the 9th Jun, 2009

What a bad idea...

VOITY81

VOITY81 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

There will be more fights in the line outside before people even get in coz people will be smashin down a bottle (probably rum) before they get to a festival to get a head start on their drinking... what a stupid dumbfuck idea this is. But then again, its

Henry Johnstone

Henry Johnstone said on the 9th Jun, 2009

So they'll end up having people absolutely wasted when they arrive. What a stupid decision. Well done QLD Govt, you're now up there with NSW on silly laws in regards to alcohol.

JDeli

JDeli said on the 9th Jun, 2009

Stupid..... I already see people Oding at the start of festivals because they dump all their shit when they see dogs. Now im going to have people vomiting on me in the line because they decided to smash down some spirits beforehand. Then they are going t

oc_dancermaholic

oc_dancermaholic said on the 9th Jun, 2009

everyone will just get wasted before the festival and then take drugs while they're there. dumbest idea ever.

chris_b91

chris_b91 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

binge drinking only became an issue when someone on the news said it was.

matzta73

matzta73 said on the 9th Jun, 2009

It all comes down to everyones individual and social responsibilities, stop carrying on like muppets when on the booze and drugs and maybe none of these draconian laws will be forced into place.... KNOW YOUR LIMITS!!!!!! But then again who am I to tell af

Mattel

Mattel said on the 9th Jun, 2009

Looks like all the Queenslanders are going to be on G now..

DJ_LG

DJ_LG said on the 9th Jun, 2009

Does it include all age raves that have an over 18 area?

MertroSexual

MertroSexual said on the 9th Jun, 2009

i agree, ill get more boozed before i go, rely more on drugs, sneak booze in, or drink more booze rappidly then head back to the action... Its once a year or a life time you get to see these acts you would do anything not to end up stuck in a drinking are

Space_man

Space_man said on the 9th Jun, 2009

far out, this is horrid!

Lost Baggage

Lost Baggage said on the 10th Jun, 2009

another ridiculous australan law ...

jamesc1987

jamesc1987 said on the 10th Jun, 2009

i thought evry1 just snuck in flasks of spirits..screw lining up for beers u miss all the acts

Neil UPP

Neil UPP said on the 10th Jun, 2009

Many alcohol companies sponsor these events. Without their involvement and investment we wont have festivals. Even smirnoff sponsors ITM.

serj-thyy-mad

serj-thyy-mad said on the 10th Jun, 2009

so mid strength is going to stop people getting totally blind how? they're still selling the booze, they'll just have to be a teeny bit more dedicated and drink a couple of extra cans. wtf! how about personal responsibility. if they don't want totally bl

Brad Lee

Brad Lee said on the 10th Jun, 2009

Sux to be them!!

manuka

manuka said on the 10th Jun, 2009

so what's gonna happen to the groove and grape festival? hmmmm i don't think this is such a bad idea if it extends to the caxton st seafood and wine festival (which is a massive piss up against the wall)

mattyninethree

mattyninethree said on the 10th Jun, 2009

orange sales will go through the roof in the days before qld parties! unless they've allready banned bringing oranges into festivals...

singleton

singleton said on the 10th Jun, 2009

people who normal drink will do pills instead

Brad Lee

Brad Lee said on the 10th Jun, 2009

"People who normal drink will do Pills instead". That doesn't make sense!!

tylerj23

tylerj23 said on the 10th Jun, 2009

Majority of the sponsored drinks ie. Smirnoff are above 5%. How are the festival's supposed to keep these sponsors if they can't sell the drinks? Sounds like getting drunk before hand and taking more drunks is going to be the consensus to overthrow this.

J-radical

J-radical said on the 10th Jun, 2009

it just gets worse! Europe & the UK you can take booze into festival campsites, Glasto for example you can actually drink your own booze anywhere on the site, no alchol zones, and it works fine. People are still going to write emselves off if they want to

LittleMissPixie

LittleMissPixie said on the 10th Jun, 2009

Worst Idea Ever !! so the government is curbing biinge drinking and with the same hand .. Increasing the amount of kids od'ing on illicit substances !

DaCookieMonster

DaCookieMonster said on the 10th Jun, 2009

why does the Government keep putting stupid,stronger rules on festivals. There the only place were people can really enjoy themselves these days. But now with , weaker, shitty drinks, more dogs, where can we have some simple good old fun? instead have bet

little_nicki

little_nicki said on the 10th Jun, 2009

designated alcohol areas only make sense if its an all ages events. consumption of a drink does not offend other non-drinking patrons or affect their health or wellbeing. (its the after effects that are the potential problem) less alcohol will mean more

kelvy_gee

kelvy_gee said on the 10th Jun, 2009

I wonder before they pass these laws if they think of the consequences on both sides to the party, if what they are trying to do is to reduce alcohol related incidents won't this just flare up the situations. More people coming to festivals s*** faced and

ironchefadz

ironchefadz said on the 11th Jun, 2009

Epic petition anyone? Urge to binge drink rising!

jac_graham

jac_graham said on the 11th Jun, 2009

man fuck this shit seriously is anyone else just so sick of people trying to govern how we unwind and relax and spend out weekends...if people pop pills and run around off chops for 5 hours let them..if people want to get so drunk they dont remeber a thi

turkman

turkman said on the 11th Jun, 2009

you know that wouldn't actually be a bad idea if most of them where on drugs (not so much ice etc), what would you rather an aggressive rowdy drunk crowd or a friendly "reach for the lasers" loved up crowd? and dont say "oh, i dont get like that when im

samgirl

samgirl said on the 11th Jun, 2009

personally I think this is just a ploy to make more money.. halve the strength of the alocohol and continue to sell it at the same price. may take people twice as long to get drunk but I can guarantee they'll still do it.

clinton_01

clinton_01 said on the 11th Jun, 2009

Isn't paying $11 for a smirnoff was discouraging enough?! Hello to excessive pre-drinks...

Boastie

Boastie said on the 11th Jun, 2009

I think a lot of u are missing a very serious point made by the Big Day Out spokesperson. There is more at stake then issues of how wasted people will be before and how many drugs get taken during an event. Alcohol is 1 of the main sources of income for a

tamz06

tamz06 said on the 14th Jun, 2009

this doesnt mean more will use drugs for anyone who stated that.. drugs are used regardless at events. i do think people will get smashed b4 hand though. people will do anything to have a good time.. at winter sound system the other week in melbourne, mor

Suga05

Suga05 said on the 14th Jun, 2009

well isn't this a bit unsocial? having a bunch of people stuck in a supervised area instead of them being out there and actually enjoying the festival it will encourage people to drink more and faster at each time.....Might aswell not even sell alcohol

richierich

richierich said on the 7th Jul, 2009

Can buy 1 beer at 3% at festival for $6. Can buy 15 slabs or more (no case limit) from Dan Murphy for less than most Australia Liquor "wholesalers" list prices. Where's the issues here?