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Pub baron Arthur Laundy was handed a confidential excerpt from a statutory review of alcohol-related violence laws which his lawyers then used to fight a push by the Director of Public Prosecutions to impose a "strike" on one of his hotels.
The extract from a review of the "three strikes" law by former judge Ian Callinan was given to the NSW branch of the Australian Hotels Association by counsel assisting the review, Jonathan Horton, QC, after a formal application.
Mr Laundy's lawyers are now using the extract to bolster their case in a court battle against the DPP, despite it not having been tabled in the NSW Parliament.
The DPP is appealing a decision not to record a conviction against Stephen O'Sullivan, the former licensee of The Steyne hotel at Manly, after four underage girls were caught drinking there last year.
Mr O'Sullivan was given a bond, but the DPP wants a "strike" imposed on the hotel for breaching the conditions of its liquor licence.
A strike can cause banks to revalue a pub and seek more equity from the owner because if the hotel incurs three strikes it may lose its liquor licence.
The NSW AHA has been lobbying the state government to change how the three strikes law operates so a strike is imposed on a licensee, not a hotel, as is the case with registered clubs.
Mr Laundy – whose net worth is estimated at more than $300 million – told Fairfax Media he met with Mr Callinan after the DPP appealed in order to discuss the three strikes statutory review and The Steyne's situation.
The extract – a case study of The Steyne that forms part of Mr Callinan's review – was later tendered during the appeal hearing in the district court.
Mr Horton referred questions to Liquor and Gaming NSW.
A Liquor and Gaming NSW spokesman said the excerpt "was issued on a confidential basis by the secretariat [Mr Horton] of the independent review of liquor laws".
"This was done in the interests of fairness because information in the excerpt related directly to the Steyne Hotel."
He said others mentioned in the report had been provided with relevant information on confidential basis.
Police told the court the four underage girls arrived at The Steyne at 6.54pm and initially went to the bistro. They stayed at the hotel for four hours, during which time they were supplied with alcohol.
But in its defence The Steyne pointed out that it was a busy night, with a 21st birthday, two unauthorised buck" parties and a rugby prizegiving, meaning that security was unusually stretched.
At one stage, 117 people from the bucks' parties were ejected from the hotel.
Mr Laundy said he has never condoned underage drinking and had "cleaned up" the Steyne after buying it in 2010 with some associates. "The place was a mess when I took it over," he said.
