Source : Perth Now news
Dogs will be allowed to lap up a cold drink with their owners in a punter-friendly pre-election pitch that also allows pubs to stay open later.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll announced a suite of hospitality reforms on Thursday he said would breathe new life into the state’s night-time economy.
Should Labor win a historic fourth term at the November state election, pubs would be automatically allowed to trade until 3am, no longer required to apply for the right to operate beyond 1am.
Dogs would also be allowed inside at the venue owner’s discretion while licence applications would be fast-tracked and extended for proven operators.
“Our local pubs are the best in the nation,” Mr Carroll told reporters at Richmond’s London Tavern on Thursday morning.
“We’re also, though, going to move with the times … all over Europe, pubs have been dog-friendly for years.”
On the front lines of the battle to allow dogs into Melbourne’s pubs is the Rose Hotel, a beloved watering hole on Fitzroy’s Napier Street.
Council officers ordered the venue to bar the four-legged patrons from entry earlier in 2026, after receiving a complaint.
They were enforcing a more than 40-year-old Victorian law banning dogs from indoor parts of premises where food is handled or served.
General manager Neil Spark launched a petition to overturn the rule, which has since attracted more than 24,500 signatures.
He said he woke on Thursday morning to find his phone inundated with messages alerting him to Mr Carroll’s announcement.
“It was a nice surprise,” he told AAP.
Mr Spark said the extended trading hours would be a lifeline to certain venues though his venue was unlikely to stay open so late, except on special occasions.
But he said he was delighted to learn publicans including himself would be entrusted with deciding whether dogs are allowed inside.
“If you’re someone that doesn’t like dogs in pubs, you can always wander down the street and find somewhere else,” said.
Exactly where dogs would be allowed under Labor’s proposal is not yet clear, but Mr Carroll said it would be informed by consultations.
All Australian states and territories have agreed to enforce a food safety code prohibiting dogs, except service animals, from kitchens and indoor dining areas.
States and territories then enact the code through legislation and it is up to individual councils to enforce it.
But enforcement can vary widely between council areas, with canines a common sight at some venues despite the risk of penalties.
The pitch to extend trading hours for pubs has won the backing of Victoria Police deputy commissioner Bob Hill.
Historically, he said, he would have been concerned about an uptick in violence, but the community’s relationship with alcohol had changed.
“The alcohol-fuelled violence we might have seen a decade ago is not playing out,” he told reporters on Thursday.
But not all are convinced allowing pubs to trade later into the evening is without risks, including Sandy Petrovic-Defteros, founder of community group Reclaim Chapel Street.
The Prahran mother has long been warning of rising crime in Melbourne’s inner-south, particularly related to venues in the popular night life district.
“It flies against everything we’ve been campaigning against for the last few years,” she told AAP of the extended hours pitch.
“All the worst shit happens after 1am.”
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said she was not opposed to the extended trading hours or rules allowing dogs to enter pubs, but stressed more needed to be done to entice patrons.
“Just because you open the pub to 3am doesn’t mean you’re going to see another pint being bought,” she said.
The hospitality industry has claimed the changes are worth celebrating, arguing businesses will benefit from less red tape and longer hours.
“This is a great day for the pub industry,” Australian Hotels Association Victoria chief executive Paddy O’Sullivan said.
