Hospitality giant Iris Capital’s licence to sell alcohol in Alice Springs is under investigation by the Northern Territory government after police suspended trading twice in two weeks over “threats to public safety” at two of its venues.
The suspensions come after the NT Liquor Commission warned the company in early January that any further breaches “will be sternly dealt with”.
Police suspended trading at the Iris-owned Gap View Hotel for 48 hours last week after allegations of multiple domestic violence attacks taking place on or near the premises.
“Police are satisfied that the actions of this licensee constitute breaches of the Liquor Act and pose a threat to public safety both on premises and in the vicinity of the licensed premises,” the acting commander, Mark Grieve, said.
Police suspended trading for 48 hours at another Iris-owned outlet, the Todd Tavern, for similar breaches in late January.
The police suspensions come after the commission ordered the Gap View Hotel’s bottle shop to close for 24 hours for contravening the act “189 times in a single nine-hour period” by failing to use the banned drinker register scanner to check who should be permitted to buy alcohol. The register requires anyone wanting to buy takeaway alcohol to show photo ID.
In its decision handed down in early January, the commission said it was Iris’s first breach but was “among the most serious of its type”.
“Over 37% of all liquor sales conducted by the licensee on 11 September 2022 were in breach of the law,” the commissioner Russell Goldflam wrote.
On the day of the contraventions, only two staff members were on duty at the bottle shop, serving both drive-through and walk-in customers, with “a sale being conducted on average once a minute” over a nine-hour period.
Goldflam said the Iris group “did not submit that the events … were isolated or exceptional”. He warned Iris that “any further contraventions of the act, the regulations or licence conditions by Iris Gap View Operations Pty Ltd or any Iris Capital Group licensee will be sternly dealt with”.
Since that warning was issued, police have suspended trading at Iris-owned premises twice.
The NT director of liquor licensing, Phil Timney, is investigating the matter that led to the police-imposed suspension.
“If the investigation reveals breaches of the legislation, these will be referred to the Liquor Commission as a disciplinary matter,” an NT government spokesperson told Guardian Australia.
The commission has the power to cancel a licence and disqualify a person from holding a licence.
Iris Capital has been approached for comment.
The Sydney-based investment group owns 53 hotels and pubs around Australia, including five in Alice Springs. It bought the Lasseters casino in Alice Springs for $105m in 2021. In June last year it also bought the Mercure, the Stay at Alice Springs Hotel, the Gap View and the Todd Tavern.
The police crackdown on liquor trading comes as Alice Springs struggles with a rise in alcohol-related harm, violence and crime that has shattered the town.
“Alcohol-related harm is a catalyst for a huge range of issues facing our community, predominantly affecting our most vulnerable,” Grieve said.
“Domestic violence, property crime, road incidents and antisocial behaviour are all often symptoms of this wide-ranging problem.
“The responsible service of alcohol is a legal requirement and police will hold businesses to account.”
On Monday the NT government said it will “urgently” bring forward legislation in the next sitting of parliament for alcohol bans after a snap review recommended tighter restrictions.
The federal government also agreed to $250m in extra funding for a number of measures, including youth engagement programs, job creation, improved services and support for on-country learning.
Aboriginal people living in remote communities and town camps in the Northern Territory will not be able to buy takeaway alcohol, although communities will be able to lift the bans if 60% of residents vote in favour of an alcohol management plan.
