New P-Ng Liquor Changes

Papua-New Guinea will have shorter drink hours under a Liquor Licensing Bill introduced into the P-NG Legislative Council in February.

Two hours drinking time will be lost on week-days in hotel bars.

New hours will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. instead of from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. But the important change will be club hours—which have always been more liberal than hotel hours—and which are now to be brought into line with the new hotel hours.

However, all Sunday trading hours, which also have been brought into line, will be extended.

The Licensing Bill sets up a Licensing Commission with a full-time chairman and with two commissioners in each licensing district. The bill provides for the establishment of tavern licences (similar to hotel licences without the necessity of providing for sleeping accommodation) and for canteen licences for large undertakings more than 10 miles from hotels and taverns. All this is expected to lead to the opening of taverns fringing urban centres thus cutting down congestion in town bars.

The new bill follows closely the recommendations of last year’s Liquor Inquiry Commission.

The Council extended until September 30 the provisions of the temporary liquor ordinance which since last October has allowed NG natives to drink for the first time.

Price of imported beer also went up as a result of the Legislative Council meeting.

A Customs tariff amendment increased the import duty on beer from 7/6 a gallon to 9/6, to protect the two Papua-New Guinea breweries.

New Guinea people drink a great deal of Australian beer.