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Restrictions on the sale of takeaway alcohol have been lifted across Western Australia, with the WA Government praising good community behaviour for the rules being softened.
Key points:
- Limits on alcohol sales were introduced in late March in WA
- The Government wanted to prevent health and crime problems
- This is the first COVID-19 restriction to be lifted in WA
The restrictions were imposed in late March to prevent panic buying and stop excess drinking during the coronavirus outbreak.
The alcohol limit was originally introduced for a two-week period but was extended until now.
Under the restrictions, drinkers could only buy either three bottles of wine, one carton of beer, cider or pre-mix spirits, one litre of spirits or one litre of fortified wine.
People were able to purchase across two of those categories in a single transaction, under the rules.
It is the first restriction the WA Government has reversed as part of its pandemic response.
Conduct praised during restrictions phase
Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said the decision to lift the purchase limit was due to the community's good conduct.
"I would like to thank Western Australians for acting responsibly during this difficult time — helping to ensure no extra pressure was placed on our health system, police or community sectors," Mr Papalia said.
"These measures were put in place to ensure those essential workers could focus on the state's response to COVID-19 and the WA public has acted commendably during this period.
"I would like to thank the Liquor Stores Association of WA, the Australian Hotels Association (WA) and the industry at large for their cooperation.
"We ask all Western Australians who consume alcohol to do so responsibly, while practising social distancing and following all public health advice."
Mr Papalia also said the restrictions did not have an impact on the volume of sales, but there was a change in the frequency of customer visits.
"So people may have been visiting liquor outlets more regularly than they had, but they were only buying the same amount so there's no need for it any further," Mr Papalia said.
"The West Australian public demonstrated great maturity and responsibility."
Further restrictions being assessed
The announcement last month saw a rush of sales at some bottle shops in Perth.
The Government has previously said it would need to see very low case numbers continue for longer before social distancing rules can be significantly eased.
But the measures in place are being assessed on a month-by-month basis, with Premier Mark McGowan earlier flagging May 1 as the earliest date the State Government would consider relaxing restrictions.
The Government confirmed existing alcohol restrictions unrelated to COVID-19 in some parts of the state would remain in place.
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Topics: covid-19, infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, diseases-and-disorders, health, state-parliament, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, perth-6000, wa
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