People convicted of violent offences in Perth entertainment precincts face being banned from entering those areas for up to five years under new legislation to be introduced next month.
Key points:
- Offences covered by the law will include murder, rape and drink spiking
- A breach could be met with five years in prison or a $12,000 fine
- Police will also have the power to exclude people for ‘anti-social behaviour’
The state government says much of Northbridge, Fremantle, Scarborough, Hillarys, Mandurah, and a large swathe of the Perth CBD including Elizabeth Quay will be included on advice from WA police.
Those exclusion areas will be labelled Protected Entertainment Precincts, or PEPs — an abbreviation designed to honour nightclub manager Giuseppe “Pep” Raco, a nightclub manager who was killed in an unprovoked one-punch attack in Northbridge in 2020.
In a statement, the government thanked Mr Raco’s widow, Enza Raco, for campaigning for the new laws.
Offences set to be covered include murder, sexual penetration without consent, unlawful assault causing death, and drink spiking.
It is expected it would apply to a convicted person for up to a five-year period following their release from prison and a breach of the new law could be met with up to five years in prison or a $12,000 fine.
Police to issue bans for ‘antisocial behaviour’
A government spokesman said police could also order someone to be excluded from a PEP for six months, and “further apply for an order for up to five years”.
Those orders could be applied when “a person behaves in an unlawful, antisocial, disorderly, offensive, indecent and threatening way in a precinct; and the person being in the precinct could cause violence or public disorder or impact the safety of others”.
The penalty for breaching such an order would be up to two years in prison and a $12,000 fine.
Exemptions to PEP exclusions will apply for work, residential, education, health and other approved purposes.
Lord Mayor welcomes crackdown
Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas told ABC Radio Perth the City of Perth had been calling for tougher measures targeting anti-social behaviour for some time.
“These tougher new laws will effectively say to people, if you’ve got a history of carrying on like a boofhead and you want to come to one of our entertainment precincts and carry on like a boofhead, not only are you no longer welcome, in fact now it will be illegal,” he said.
“The tougher we are on these sorts of people, the better, and that’s what our community want.
“People and families should be able to go out into Northbridge, into Scarborough, into Fremantle and not worry about coming home safely at the end of their outing.”
Mr Zempilas also said an increased police presence in the city and Northbridge had already made a difference.
