Name-and-shame scheme recommended for bars in Australia

Australian pubs and clubs accused of breaching liquor licences would be "named and shamed" under a recommended plan from the Auditor General's offiice. Pressure is growing to tackle an explosion in alcohol-related crime.

The Auditor-General's report, released last week, recommends the naming policy and finds there is no way of telling whether government education campaigns for hotel and club owners have worked. The report also criticises the way police are allocated to deal with the problem.

The report looks at how police and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing have worked with the state's 14,000 licensed premises to reduce alcohol-related crime. The rate of such assaults has doubled over the past 10 years, although it has stabilised in the past two. Most incidents at pubs and clubs took place between midnight and 3am and involved 18- to 25-year-old men.

The report recommends that action taken by police and liquor and gaming officials against licensees should be posted on the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing's website by December. It says police should allocate more officers to deal with trouble spots.

For the rest of this item from the Sydney Morning Herald, click here.