Hall penalties concern

WARBURTON/ Millgrove Sporting Complex administrator Rob Morter says that a proposal to increase bonds at shire halls would disadvantage those who follow the rules.
Complaints of anti-social behaviour and excessive noise in Yarra Ranges’ public halls caused councillors to call on tougher penalties and conditions of use last month.
But Mr Morter said not all halls are facing the same disruptive behaviour.
He said that by introducing tougher conditions of use for halls, including increasing bonds, was not fair to those who followed the rules.
“We want to encourage young people to use our halls, not push them away,” Mr Morter said.
“We have a responsibility to look after the community.”
Mr Morter said the primary users of halls and the sporting complex were young people.
He said that while there have been minor incidents, most young people followed the rules.
“They have a sense of pride and we encourage them to follow the legal guidelines,” Mr Morter said.
“We have to look after the young people in the area, otherwise they are forced to go into the city.”
Last month councillors unanimously voted to review the usage of the shire’s public halls. They also decided to further investigate the issue of binge drinking in the shire.
“It’s not a simple issue, it needs serious discussion,” councillor Graham Warren said.
“Throughout the state there is a problem with underage and binge drinking.
“It seems that even parents in our own shire are happy to drop off their 13-year-olds to a party and forget about them for the rest of the night.”
Mr Morter said the Millgrove/Warburton Sporting Complex was not faced with the same issues as other halls throughout the shire.
“A positive of the complex is that we have full bar service,” Mr Morter said.
“People can’t bring in their own mixes and we are able to limit how much someone drinks.”
Cr Monika Keane said it was important that young members of the community did not think that they were being pushed out of the halls.
“We are not trying to stop youths using our halls,” Cr Keane said.
“But we are trying to keep the community safe.”
Councillors also agreed that the council should seek external funding for initiatives to respond to the issue of alcohol misuse by young people and that the council write to both the State and Federal government acknowledging the attention currently being given to this issue.