A bid to buy one of Alice Springs' most notorious late-night venues has been knocked back, after a hearing before the Northern Territory Liquor Commission revealed the would-be buyer had just 40 hours' experience working behind a bar.
Since opening in 2009, the NT Rock Bar, located on Todd Street near four other premises with late-night trading authority, has become a hotspot for tourists and locals seeking a nightclub experience.
Like several other bars in Alice Springs, in recent years the venue became the site of a "disturbing pattern of unsafe and often unlawful trading", according to the commission.
Dozens of incidents "of concern" recently occurred at Rock Bar, with several violent incidents requiring police attendance, including one resulting in a 48-hour licence suspension in August 2021.
In July, the licensee was fined after approximately 270 patrons were observed exiting the bar at close, despite only 90 persons being allowed on the premises at that time.
Earlier this month, local businessman Sandeep Singh went before the commission with an application to take over the liquor licence, after striking a deal with the current owner to buy the business for a "substantial sum", pending the commission's approval for the licence transfer.
The commission heard Mr Singh, who owns a nearby pizza shop and beauty salon, had recently begun working at the bar on a casual basis after obtaining his Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA).
Based on his evidence, the commission concluded Mr Singh had "only minimal knowledge of the requirements of the [Liquor] Act" and "only a rudimentary appreciation of the responsibilities of a liquor licensee".
"Mr Singh stated that a licensee can ask an intoxicated patron to leave the premises but can not force them to do so, a view that conveys a fundamental misunderstanding of the powers conferred on licensees and the duties imposed on licensees by … the Act,"the commission's acting deputy chairperson, said in a decision handed down on December 6.
"In the view of the commission, the business plan lodged by Mr Singh is sketchy and lacking in depth."
Mr Singh proposed appointing a man, identified only as "Mr A", as the business manager of Rock Bar and as the licence nominee, meaning he would be responsible for upholding the premises' liquor licence.
The commission heard Mr A had 20 years' experience in the tourism and liquor industry, including as the full-time bar and restaurant manager at the adjacent Bojangles Saloon between 2018-2020.
Mr A's employer at Bojangles was Tony Habib, who the commission disqualified from holding a licence for 10 years, after he was caught bootlegging alcohol out the back of his taxi during a forced closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Under Habib's watch, there were several licence breaches, with community concerns raised about failures to remove intoxicated patrons and brawls that threatened public safety.
"The commission does not find or suggest that Mr A bears responsibility for the trading practices of his former employer," the decision read.
"However, having previously managed premises for a significant period during which his former employer repeatedly engaged in very poor trading practices, Mr A has not demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commission that he has the authority or capacity to prevent another employer from engaging in poor trading practices."
Based on his dealings, the commission concluded Mr Singh failed to "pro-actively and realistically identify the risks and challenges associated with the operation of the licence".
"For example, in the applicant's written submissions to the commission prior to the hearing and signed by Mr Singh, the applicant stated 'the purchaser (Mr Singh) is not aware of any community concern over the conduct of the sale of alcohol at the business'," the decision read.
"Whether or not this statement is disingenuous, it is starkly at odds with the concerns that would be raised in the mind of a reasonable person who has been apprised of the recent trading history of Rock Bar.
"When those risk and challenges have been brought to the applicant's attention, the applicant's responses have been unsatisfactorily belated, vague and inadequate."
In refusing the transfer, the commission concluded Mr Singh or Mr A did not have the "knowledge and ability and a proper appreciation of the responsibilities required to equip the applicant to properly fulfil the role of licensee of Rock Bar".
Mr Singh did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the ABC.
