Premier Mark McGowan slams Carnarvon business ‘hold-outs’ as ‘greedy’, last-minute liquor accord as ‘pathetic’

Premier Mark McGowan has launched a blistering attack on certain “greedy” Carnarvon businesses who held out against a liquor accord until he visited town and then agreed to measures that were “beyond pathetic”. After his trip to Carnarvon earlier this month, the Premier vowed his Government would consider imposing measures, including alcohol restrictions. In Parliament last week, Mr McGowan explained why he was so motivated to move quickly on Carnarvon’s alcohol-fuelled dysfunction and crime wave. He said a liquor accord was only agreed to the week before his and Racing Gaming Minister Reece Whitby’s visit and described the measures — 2L wine cask limit with a minimum price point of $15, a minimum price point for bottled wine pending ACCC approval, no taxis allowed in bottle shop drive-throughs without patrons first exiting the cab for an intoxication test, takeaway limit of one six-pack after 8pm and removing glass products if canned equivalent is available — as “beyond pathetic”. “That is it. That is the response to what has been going on. To describe this as pathetic would be a compliment,” Mr McGowan told Parliament. “As if that will make any difference whatsoever to what is going on there. Clearly that is not acceptable and clearly if they think a last-minute capitulation to an accord because the minister and I were visiting Carnarvon will somehow pacify or resolve the issue, they are wrong.” “They had the opportunity for years... to do something about it and they did not. To come up with this pathetic list of things that it calls an accord obviously shows that they had no intention of improving their behaviour. This is why the Government will now look at it far more closely.” Mr McGowan took aim at three last-minute “hold-outs” who had a sudden change of heart to the accord, which he understood to be two bottle shops and one hotel. “Why did they do that? The advice that was given to me was greed,” he said. “The community can either continue on the current trajectory or it can take action.” But family run business Al’s Liquor Bottlemart manager Nathan Condo said the Carnarvon Accord had done more than others around the State and restrictions were similar to those in Port Headland. “We’ve been voluntarily doing liquor restrictions for nearly two years on top of COVID and have always complied with what the police ask of us. For (the minister) to turn around and say we’re being greedy business owners who aren’t playing the game is disappointing to hear and unfounded,” he said. “We still have bills to pay and staff to pay and we’re a local business trying to stay afloat. When we don’t see any support from the Government for two years we begin to get disheartened.” Mr Condo said he was exhausted mentally and felt there was no communication between the Government and stakeholders. “We get the blame for everything and then when we ask questions we don’t get the answer,” he said. “For someone who came to town and didn’t bother speaking to any businesses involved in the liquor accord and then to say that stuff I thought it was pretty poor form.” So far this year, Carnarvon’s liquor businesses have been restricted to selling one carton of mid-strength beer or a bottle of wine per customer three times. Mr McGowan told Parliament that Carnarvon could be used as a “test case” for what action the government could take in a community that has had no measures in place before. “Carnarvon has never had restrictions, certainly not in living memory, and so it is a bit different (to other troubled parts of the State). It is essentially open slather in that community,” he said. Mr McGowan said while in Carnarvon he met with Aboriginal leaders from five language groups and many of them came up to him to relay a message. “They were so keen to get their community back on track,” he said. “They said to me... the kids are not the problem; the parents are.”