Southern Metropolitan Region
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:44): (277) My matter today is for the attention of the Minister for Consumer Affairs. It is information provided to me from a number of sites around the state, but particularly in this case the City of Melbourne in my electorate, and it is the issue of Liquor Control Victoria and its failure to process applications in a timely way. Lodgement takes up to 10 weeks, legislative assessment four weeks and determination and finalisation up to eight weeks. I have been provided with a series of examples of three months, 2½ months – long periods for small businesses that are seeking a licence. In particular, the City of Melbourne example was submitted on 16 November 2022, and no determination was made until 25 January 2023. That is a long period for small businesses waiting where they have signed a lease or where they have got arrangements for some short, brief amount. So what I am asking the minister to do is look into the slowness and delays at Liquor Control Victoria.