Daylesford community members have welcomed the decision handed down by the Victorian Liquor Commission on 14th August, overturning the Liquor License granted to The Endeavour Group Ltd to establish a Dan Murphy’s on the corner of Bridport Street and Central Springs Road.

“It was always going to be a huge battle to go up against a corporate entity as big as Dan Murphy’s but we felt we had to stand up and let the Liquor Commission know how this was going to impact our children, our teenagers and the broader community,” commented Jen Bray, local resident and Hepburn Shire Councillor. (Ms Bray participated in the hearing as an individual community member and did not represent Hepburn Shire).

The Liquor Control Reform Amendment Act 2021 changed to include a new definition of harm arising from the use and misuse of alcohol and much of the hearing before the Liquor Control Commission centred around the potential for “harm”. Importantly, this legislative reform was triggered by the Parliament’s commitment to implement all 227 recommendations that came from the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2016.

In a landmark decision, the Commission overturned the granting of the Licence concluding that granting the licence would be conducive to or encourage harm to the local community, especially minors.

Lynda Poke, a Daylesford resident who gave evidence at the hearing said, “We are seeing that the levels of violence against women and children were clearly linked with the harms induced by alcohol consumption. The regulatory reforms to address the issue appear to be finally working and giving decision makers the capacity to change how laws are interpreted and implemented. This will change peoples lives for the better.”

Hepburn Shire CEO, Bradley Thomas said, “Council welcomes the Victorian Liquor Commission decision to refuse Dan Murphy’s a licence to operate in Daylesford. Council strongly advocated for the refusal during the submission process and at hearings, along with a number of committed community members who contributed their time and presented evidence. This is the first time the new definition of “harm” under the Liquor Control Reform Act has been used to refuse a licence, making it a landmark decision.”

Hepburn Shire Council initially approved an application for a supermarket and packaged liquor outlet on the site. When the application was changed to a liquor outlet, a Council officer approved the change but over 220 community members formally objected to the application, principally due to the already substantial number of packaged liquor outlets in the town.

The proposed site was also seen as inappropriate as it is located opposite the kindergarten, primary school, swimming pool, school bus stop and Lake Daylesford where young people frequently congregate. There were concerns for the potential increase in underaged drinking and the further normalising of alcohol consumption and its associated impacts on health and wellbeing.

After the Licence was issued, the community had the opportunity to challenge the decision submitting objections to the Liquor Commissioner to review the decision. A cohort of the original objectors and local expert witnesses with skills and expertise in in public health and medicine, education and youth services presented critical evidence. The hearing ran throughout October and November 2023, with final submissions being heard at the end of January this year.

When appearing at the Commission Lynda Poke gave testimony on the density of packaged liquor outlets in the Daylesford after consulting Professor Michael Livingston, an expert in packaged liquor density research.

Lynda said, “Daylesford already has three times the number of outlets per capita than the state average. A new Dan Murphy’s would make it four times more. In other words, we are awash with packaged booze.”

Although the Commission did not think the proposed store would detract from the local amenity, it did recognize that it’s location would put minors at significant risk. As stated in the official decision, “The Commission concludes that granting the Licence would be conducive to or encourage harm, specifically to minors. In particular, the Commission concludes that there is an appreciable risk that granting the Licence would result in an increase of secondary supply of alcohol to minors in Daylesford and (therefore) an increase in alcohol consumption by minors and (therefore) increased harm from the misuse and abuse of alcohol by minors. This conclusion is driven by the accumulation of a number of factors outlined above, deriving from the particular local, social, demographic and geographic circumstances of Daylesford.”

These factors included:

  • the existing problem of underage drinking in Daylesford;
  • the relative proximity of the Premises to “generational” drinking spots such as Lake Daylesford,
  • the proximity of the Premises to the town’s swimming pool, and the bus stop, with the consequence that significant numbers of young people (some under and some over 18 years of age) will congregate near the Premises thereby increasing the opportunities for secondary supply;
  • the lack of a 24-hour police presence in Daylesford; and
  • the Licensee’s policies and procedures not being able substantially to mitigate those risks.

They also acknowledged research which demonstrated that an increase in alcohol outlets within an area results in an increase in alcohol consumption and the impact this would have on local domestic violence and drunkenness.

In its conclusion the Liquor Commission stated, “in light of all of the evidence in this case that the appropriate decision involves giving greater weight to the primary regulatory object of minimising harm, and that this outweighs the positive benefits of granting the Licence.”

Resident Michelle Stephenson said “This has restored my faith in due process. Sometimes you feel like you are going up against Goliath and you haven’t a chance but there was a process in place which we pursued by going to the Liquor Commission and we really didn’t give up the fight.”

Related Stories:

Local Dan Murphy Application Rejected by Victorian Liquor Commission

Liquor Licence approved for Dan Murphy’s

Daylesford vs Dan Murphy’s Dispute Continues

Dan Murphy’s in Daylesford: The Bigger Picture

This article is based on media releases from the Daylesford community action group and Hepburn Shire Council.