Calls to limit alcohol availability in Ashfield

Murray McFayden is alcohol and gambling mentor program leader for local welfare organisation the Exodus Foundation. In the past, he’s also been a client – one of many in Ashfield.

McFayden knows the consequences of addiction well, and volunteers his time to mentor others with alcohol and gambling problems.

“I had everything. I used to own vending machines; video game [machines]. And I had a family. I’d collect $7,000 to $9,000 a day!” he said.

Long hours, jealous competitors and escalating business debts made McFayden a casual drinker. But when he caught his wife playing up, his affair with alcohol became illicit.

McFayden says his story is not dissimilar to others in the Ashfield area, where he says liquor licenses are being approved without enough community engagement.

“We (the Exodus Foundation) heard through another retailer that Woolworths were opening up their bottle shop. We started making a noise about it, and they were all, ‘How did you find out?’ Sadly, the councillor that was really involved in this had to move on, so without his input and pressure it appeared all of a sudden,” McFayden said.

Drug and Alcohol Program Co-ordinator, Mark Stevens, runs the in-and-out patient alcohol groups at Ashfield’s Wesley Hospital. He says the main offenders are the bottle shops attached to Woolworths.

“The people who are quite susceptible to buying alcohol do that when they are buying their groceries,” he said.

Woolworths Community Relations Manager Simon Berger says that Woolworths complied with licensing requirements by putting up signs informing the community of their intentions, distributing information to all businesses and residents within a 100-metre radius, and discussing their proposal with the community.

“Woolworths adhere to a strict ID25 policy, which requires all our employees to ask for identification when customers appear to be aged 25 or younger,” Mr Berger said. “This is also done in conjunction with a prominently-displayed ‘Don’t buy it for them’ campaign, to assist our staff ensure there is no secondary supply to minors.

“Our premises are under constant CCTV surveillance.”

The addition of Woolworths Liquor late last year means Ashfield now has eight bottle shops, one of which is located opposite a public school and a daycare centre.

“They (Coles-owned Choice Liquor) are right opposite a school. How that got through I’ve got no idea… they should be closed down. It’s just immoral,” said Exodus Founder Bill Crews.

Ashfield Public Primary School and Ashfield Boys High School are located on a main road, opposite a Choice Liquor and two doors down from a brothel. Principle Daisy Kokkalis is fed up.

“Just like the brothel further down, we put our concerns in [to Council] and we fought against them, and they still ended up coming here,” says Kokkalis. “It looks like schools don’t carry any weight anymore.”

But Ashfield Council isn’t responsible for granting liquor licenses; the governing body is the Casino, Liquor and Gaming Control Authority. Liquor licenses are approved based on Community Impact Statements (CIS) these statements are mandatory for hotels, clubs, on-premises outlets and packaged liquor stores like Woolworths and Coles. A CIS outlines the effects the potential license could have on the community and how these concerns would be addressed.

It also gives Council the opportunity to review and “influence the outcome of a liquor licensing application”.

Ashfield Mayor Ted Cassidy doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. Cassidy doesn’t think there’s a problem with alcohol in Ashfield.

“I’m not an expert on alcohol but it’s just about supply and demand,” Cassidy said.

Ashfield Business Chamber spokesperson Kerry Bush says the only way she finds out about Development Applications is if she reads all the Council meeting minutes and looks in the newspapers once a week.

“Now that Ashfield Council doesn’t have their economic development officer who used to keep us informed, we don’t hear anything,” says Bush.

McFayden, meanwhile, says that Exodus is using its resources for the mentor program rather than lobbying Ashfield Council, who do not recognise the existence of a problem.

by Marie-Eunice Alarcon