JUDGMENT
1 GREG JAMES, J: This is an appeal on a question of law arising under s.146 of the Liquor Act 1982 (as amended).
2 The plaintiff is the applicant for the grant of an Off-Licence (Retail) for premises at 20/566 Gardeners Road, Beaconsfield. These premises are located within an industrial estate in South Sydney. They compromise 15 square metres in office space and 117 square metres in warehouse space.
3 At the time of making his application, Mr. Black explained that he was then presently the licensee of a business at Pacific Highway, St. Leonards known as St. Leonards Cellars. This business was owned by B. & S. Fine Wines Pty. Limited and had built up a substantial corporate client base offering a unique service by way of allowing corporate clients to order liquor by telephone, facsimile or e-mail and by delivering liquor to corporate clients at nominated addresses pursuant to these arrangements.
4 In his affidavit of support sworn 31 May 2000, Mr. Black said:-
"To avoid affecting any business in or around the vicinity of the proposed licensed premises, B. & S. Fine Wines Pty. Limited proposes to sell to corporate clients by requiring them to order their liquor by telephone, facsimile or e-mail and delivering the liquor to them at their nominated address. It is not proposed to sell liquor to any passing trade, ie., customers who attend the proposed licensed premises. Only clients who have opened an account with B. & S. Fine Wines Pty. Limited would be serviced."
5 The first defendant is the Licensing Court of New South Wales and it has filed a submitting appearance. The second to eighth defendants were objectors to the application. The second defendant was the Chief Executive Officer of the Liquor Stores Association; the remaining defendants were operators of existing liquor businesses.
6 It is important to note that the conditions of development consent relating to the proposed use of the Alexandria premises - no doubt imposed because of the zoning involved - included the following:-
"There shall be no direct retailing to members of the public at the site; all retail sales to be via internet, e-mail, phone, mail, facsimile, courier or like means."
7 On 8 March 2001, the second defendant gave its decision in the matter. It refused the application. The Licensing Court noted that in New South Wales stand alone bottle shops (licensed as off licenses) (retail)) had evolved in their present form over a number of years. Further, the court noted that modern methods of marketing such as internet, e-mail and fax had not been addressed by the Licensing Court "in any substantial or exclusive fashion". Although a number of applications that highlighted this method of service to the public had apparently been dealt with by the Licensing Court on an ad hoc basis in unopposed applications, the plaintiff's application presented the court with the first occasion on which, following substantial objections, the court might determine the issues set out in the decision. These issues had been raised not only by other licensees but by the Liquor Stores Association which represented some 750 to 800 members.
8 The Licensing Court's decision is annexed to Mr. English's affidavit as Annexure A. I shall briefly summarise the matter considered by the court in its decision.
9 First, the Licensing Court set out in considerable detail the nature of the applicant's proposal, the facilities that would be available at his premises and the precise details of his intended method of operation. The court observed that in his oral evidence the plaintiff had indicated that he proposed to focus on four main business areas, being Chatswood, North Sydney, Sydney and Parramatta. He conceded that he had no clients in Mascot and that he would aim to meet the needs of his existing client base, that is, corporate customers.
10 Secondly, the court spent considerable time in defining the neighbourhood in which the premises were located. This was ultimately defined as an industrial area with residential premises a considerable distance away. The court expressed its surprise that there was an issue over the boundaries of this neighbourhood. It said the boundaries need only be found "as a formality". It said that "this determination will not have the slightest bearing upon the outcome of the case". So far as I can tell, this surprise was expressed because, although the court acknowledged that it was bound to determine the neighbourhood for the purposes of the objections which had been taken, the neighbourhood was likely to be, whatever its boundaries, an industrial area with little or no residential component.
11 The court also had to determine the "public in the neighbourhood" for the purposes of the objection. In this regard, the court said:-
"A determination of a slightly varied neighbourhood makes no difference to the public in the neighbourhood. We note it is not in dispute. There are only one or two residences and therefore only a handful of residents. The balance of the public in the neighbourhood comprises guests at hotels and workers in the industrial area. The precise numbers are not known. We see no reason to find members of the public simply passing through that neighbourhood as being members of the public in the neighbourhood. We accept that we should include in the public in the neighbourhood the small number of proposed visitors to the applicant's premises should this application be granted."
12 Thirdly, the Licensing Court had to consider the needs of the public in the neighbourhood. It did so by reference to well established principles (Toohey & Ors v. Taylor (1983) 1 NSWLR 743 at 745C; 749D). The court also considered the dicta in a decision of the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court of South Australia (Liquor Stores Association Inc. v. Wine Net Aust. Pty. Limited (unreported 16 June 1999)); and a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (Liquor Stores Association of WA (Inc.) v. Manya Holdings Pty. Limited (unreported 17 February 2000)).
13 Finally, the court addressed the principles stated in a decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (Hunter v. Reyneke (1986) 6 NSWLR 576).
14 The Licensing Court concluded that the effect of the decision in Hunter (supra) (similar to the views expressed in Wine Net (supra) and Manya (supra)) was that the public outside the neighbourhood, such as those in the whole of the State or the country, "do not fall within the test". The court said it would disregard the needs of the present and proposed customers of the applicant who were not members of the public in the neighbourhood within the test espoused in Hunter (supra). It said this, notwithstanding the applicant in his affidavit in support deposed to having a substantial client base which he wished to continue serving at the new location.
15 I have difficulty following the reasoning of the court at this point. I do not understand why the court is saying that it will disregard the needs of the present customers of the applicant who are not presently members of the public in the neighbourhood. At this stage, the applicant himself is not in the neighbourhood. That is why he is seeking the licence. Once it is granted, then surely the present customers of the applicant who follow him to the new site will become members of the public in the neighbourhood within the meaning of the test in Hunter v. Reyneke. Surely they should be considered?
16 The Licensing Court then purported to apply the statements of principles in Cross, J.'s decision in Silkman v. Kendall [1982] 1 NSWLR 133. This entailed a consideration of the facilities offered by existing liquor outlets both within and outside the neighbourhood. This decision had been approved by the Court of Appeal as a correct statement of the proper legal test (Travis v. Jackson (1987) 10 NSWLR 601).
17 It should be observed that the statement of the meaning of "needs" enunciated in Silkman (supra) by Cross, J. was not expressed in precisely the manner in which it had been later expressed in the majority decision in Toohey (supra). At 748G-749B, Samuels and Priestley, JJA. said:-
"In Silkman v. Kendall the Licensing Court had interpreted s.29(1)(e) in a way similar to that adopted by Mr. Bartley in the present case, that is, as raising the question whether the demands of the public in relation to liquor outlets cannot be met without extreme hardship or difficulty. Cross, J. gave detailed attention to the meaning of the word 'needs ' in s.29(1)(e) and formed the opinion that the legislature had intended to use the word in the sense of 'needs arising from or caused by a want in the sense of lack - in relation to the public, a lack of things or qualities which a reasonable man would regard as usual or desirable to have, or a condition reasonably requiring relief'. While we are in general agreement with the line of reasoning which led his Honour to his conclusion, we think it should be expressed somewhat differently. In our view, in the overall context 'needs' means 'the reasonable demands or expectations of the public'. We recognise that judicial attempts to elucidate the meaning of words in statutes do not replace the words of the statute themselves. There may be more than one formula which can adequately state the meaning of 'needs'. However, of the various ways of construing the words which were canvassed in the thorough submissions before us, the one we have just set out seems to us most appropriate to reflect the intention of the statue."
18 The Licensing Court then set about detailing the facilities made available by the Southern Cross Hotel at St. Peters, the liquor store at Alexandria and liquor stores at Mascot and Botany. There was also evidence of the facilities available at the Lakes Hotel, Mascot. There was further evidence from a Mr. Piasevoli in relation to the facilities offered by the retail division of the Australian Liquor Group. This was an organisation based in Victoria with substantial liquor operations in New South Wales. It provided a full range of services through the web site accompanied by a substantial metropolitan delivery service. There was similar evidence from Liquorland Direct, a division of Coles Myer Limited. This organisation had a direct mail and e-commerce division with its own web site. Evidence was also available of the Vintage Cellars Corporate Customers Services, the majority of which duplicated those which had been proposed by the plaintiff.
19 Fourthly, the court expressed its conclusion at pp.18 and 19 of its decision in relation to the needs grounds of objection. It was the Licensing Court's clear view that the applicant must fail on the needs test. The court said this:-
"The applicant does not set out to establish a need for the public in the neighbourhood. For the reasons expressed above, and in accordance with the authorities we have quoted, the applicant therefore must fail on the needs test. We find that the applicant has failed to demonstrate any need for the public in the neighbourhood at all on the basis of the operation he proposes. …
To the extent that the applicant may have demonstrated any need by reason of his proposed manner of operation, we find that the existing facilities inside and outside the neighbourhood meet that need.
In determining the existence of any need, we have considered the changing community requirements for liquor, the need to address modern marketing techniques and to give careful consideration to needs designed to meet small niche markets. We do not, however, find that this applicant has demonstrated any facts for the public in the neighbourhood or indeed generally which would require us to find a need. To the extent that the applicant has sought to establish by evidence the quality or unique nature of the services he provides, we are prepared to make a finding, based upon the evidence given, that some weight should be given to this evidence. However, this additional level of service does not establish any need. In any event, to the extent that a better service is provided, we are satisfied that generally the level of service provided by the objectors and demonstrated by their evidence is of a high level and that any consideration of needs does not require a level of excellence and nor can that level of excellence demonstrate a need of itself."
20 The Licensing Court indicated that it made this finding based upon New South Wales law. It said that, in relation to the decisions cited from South Australia and Western Australia, they were "highly persuasive and might be applicable in New South Wales in other cases and on other facts".
21 Finally, the Licensing Court considered at length public interests grounds of objection and discretionary matters which had been raised in the proceedings. The Licensing Court was not satisfied that the objectors had made out the public interest grounds nor were they satisfied that there was any aspect of the public interest which warranted the granting of the application on discretionary grounds.