By ANEEKA SIMONIS AND MELISSA MEEHAN
UNDER 18s have been banned from entering a Cockatoo store without adult supervision.
But shoppers are assured the restrictions won’t last long as the IGA supermarket awaits review by the state’s head liquor authority.
Local police joined representatives from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) last Thursday to ensure local businesses understood the new legislation.
Acting Sgt Brett Hore said that it was found that a number of IGA supermarkets throughout the state had an error in their licence applications meaning that children could not be in the premises unless accompanied by an adult.
“The licence they have currently prevents the service of children, and this is what needs to be amended,” Acting Sgt Hore said.
“We were there to ensure everyone was up to speed.”
Since opening over 30 years ago, Cockatoo IGA’s entire supermarket has been encased by red-line restrictions preventing youngsters from entering without an adult.
Business owner Nathan Pasco said liquor inspectors had had no issue with store operations in the six years he had been in management.
But that all changed last Thursday when the store was given little choice but to enforce entry restrictions.
“Since 2008, we would have had between five and six liquor inspections and each time we have been told we are fine. We had one as recent as 12 months ago. But last Thursday we were told our red-line policy needed to be changed or else no under 18s were allowed in,” Mr Pasco said.
“We submitted for the changes the next day. If we were told six years ago to make the change, we would have but up until this point, we were told we were fine.”
Mr Pasco suspects the ruling may be due to underage drinking problems in the area.
“I think they may be cracking down on any business not doing the right thing by liquor legislation as there is a problem in the area with underage drinking.”
While liquor is sectioned off from the rest of the supermarket goods, all transactions run through the same registers.
Mr Pasco said as part of the review, Cockatoo IGA would introduce a dedicated register for liquor purchases to separate sales from each department.
The store expects the restrictions will be lifted by the end of the week.
