Article in the Courier Mail

QUEENSLAND paramedics want pool cues and glass ashtrays banned at pubs and clubs to reduce the risk of being attacked by drunks.

A survey of 142 ambulance officers showed 94 per cent had been assaulted in the past five years.

Of those, a third were punched or kicked and about half were spat at or had an object thrown at them.

The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, which represents paramedics, says drunken violence is getting worse and called for curfews on offenders.

In the submission to a parliamentary inquiry on booze-fuelled violence, the union said it supported harsher penalties, more security cameras and police, advertising restrictions, education campaigns and metal detectors and ID scanners for late-night venues.

It agreed with the State Government’s glass ban, which will be rolled out in up to 75 high-risk venues next month, and said pool cues and other glass items such as ashtrays should be phased out.

LHMU assistant secretary Michael de Brenni said the risk of injury through alcohol-fuelled violence was “just not tolerable”.

“All steps have to be taken to remove that risk,” he said.

“A whole range of measures need to be implemented, including the removal of potential weapons.”

But Normanby Hotel owner Mark Lassman said it was going too far.

“What next – salt and pepper shakers … bar stools fastened to the floor?” he said. “The answer lies in personal responsibility. We need harsher penalties, not just for violence but anti-social behaviour.”

Bond University criminologist Professor Paul Wilson said banning pool cues and ashtrays was discriminating against the majority because of the behaviour of a few.

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