A GROUP of community organisations have labelled the liquor application for Newcastle's upcoming Supercars event as "grossly inadequate".
The Newcastle 500's special event limited liquor license application, made under the name Gema Group, provides a map of Newcastle highlighting the general event area.
But the Newcastle Community Groups Network is demanding more detail, calling for the "locations of all alcohol outlets to be clearly marked".
It also wants more information on the event's plans for COVID-19 management as well as the responsible service of alcohol.
"There are both strong alcohol harm and COVID safety reasons why this application should be rejected or heavily modified," University of Newcastle sessional lecturer Tony Brown said on behalf of the network.
The network Mr Brown represents is made up of community and resident groups including Newcastle Inner City Residents Alliance, Hunter Community Forum, Newcastle East Residents Group and Newcastle West Community Group.
There has been speculation the Newcastle 500 may to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Hunter but Supercars said last week the March 4-6 event remained on track.
Gema Group's liquor application puts the maximum number of patrons for the Supercars event at 70,000.
For Mr Brown, these numbers present substantial risk in terms of alcohol related incidents and "the elephant in the room", COVID-19.
"The sparse application provides no mention of the high COVID risk history for Newcastle's licensed premises," he said.
"Alcohol and COVID aren't a good mix and patrons congregate in small areas to get the best views, yelling and barracking over the noise."
Another concern is that the increase of unspecified venues in the city will exacerbate Newcastle's "troubled relationship" with alcohol.
"The application fails to acknowledge the history of high levels of alcohol crimes in the Newcastle CBD and the high levels of existing outlet density," Mr Brown said.
However, a NSW Police spokesperson said "crowd behaviour has been extremely positive" during previous Supercars events.
"As with previous years, specialist units assist Newcastle City Police District during the event operation," the spokesperson said.
"The safety of attendees remains the priority for police, with officers focusing not only on relevant COVID-19 safety plans, but also maintaining a high-visibility operation within the event footprint to target anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related violence."
Liquor and Gaming NSW said community submissions, being taken until January 25, will be carefully considered before a determination on approval is made.
"All information provided as part of the application process is assessed to ensure its validity and that it meets statutory obligations and legislative requirements," a spokesperson said.
"All events operated in NSW are required to comply with the Public Health Orders in force on the date of the event."
In some instances, liquor applications of this type require imposed license conditions to address alcohol related harms. Liquor and Gaming will look to impose a suite of conditions on the Newcastle 500 in addition to considering recommendations put forward by NSW Police.
Mr Brown said, given the cancellation of recent music festivals, there appears to be a double standard for large events around Newcastle.
"The event will have entertainment, which no doubt involves singing and dancing," he said.
"There is blatant favoured treatment for these types of events which have been extended unjustified leniencies from the start."
