A DUBBO publican has welcomed a campaign highlighting the hefty fines patrons face if they do not leave licensed premises when asked.
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Pastoral Hotel licensee Greg Pilon said the new STOP! Is it worth $550? campaign, which aimed to ensure a safe environment, was already in place at his venue.
"It puts the onus on the patron to do the right thing," he said.
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) NSW said the "fail to quit" campaign would see posters, beer coasters and flyers placed in prominent places throughout local hotels this week, warning out-of-control patrons they could be fined $550 if they did not leave when asked to by hotel management.
AHA (NSW) Director of Policing and Membership John Green said licensees were as fed up as police were with people who did not accept the umpire's decision and leave.
"If you want to play up at any licensed premises and won't go when told, police will be called and you will be dealt with - the message here is clear - enjoy your holidays and a drink but stop before you get drunk and are asked to leave," he said.
Mr Green said assault rates at hotels across the state's central west were at their lowest rates in more than a decade due to the hard work of publicans, police and the local community, a sentiment Mr Pilon echoed.
"We have an excellent relationship with the police and the more this is enforced the more people will tell their friends and think twice before doing the wrong thing," he said.
Mr Pilon said patrons were given plenty of chances to do the right thing before further action was taken.
"The staff point the posters out to them in full view of security cameras so if we have to call the police they don't have any recourse to say we didn't try to tell them," he said.
"People who turn up intoxicated or who have already been barred are generally the ones who get a fail-to-quit notice.
"Then if they argue with our security guards the police will come and the police will even give them the chance to go peacefully.
"I've never seen police kick someone out of here without a good reason."
Mr Pilon said while there was no particular age group that was asked to leave more frequently than another, it appeared that younger people were a lot more informed when it came to what rules were in place.
"The young ones know that if they are intoxicated they won't be served," he said.
"They know if they leave straight away they can come back. If they go out the front and carry on then they become the sort of people we don't want.
"We don't want to go on that list of most dangerous pubs."