The installation of the Terrigals’ Iemma
Government kicked off with gifts for ALP donors and it’s continuing in the same
theme.

If you’ve been waiting to see what the
payoff would be for the hotel industry’s generosity, it looks like it
will be
extended trading hours and less chance of neighbours complaining about
where hotels are situated and what noise nuisance they might cause.

The SMH’s Paola Totaro breaks the story
today of the government lifting trading limits on
Christmas, Good Friday and Sundays. Hang on, isn’t the sanctity of not working
Christmas one of the things the ALP is going to the barricades for over IR
reform? Obviously that concern doesn’t matter so much for workers employed by
hotels.

As Totaro reports, clubs, pubs and
individual hoteliers channelled nearly $1.7 million into State ALP coffers
before the last NSW election. That’s more than the usual big developers. And that’s only what we know about. Rumours
persist of donations without receipts.

NSW also doesn’t show much concern for the
health of bar staff with its M. Mouse application of phased in smoking bans.
While Morrie Iemma plays to the gallery over deadlines and legislation for
James Hardie, he’s happy to drag the chain on immersing young people in cigarette
smoke at work.

It’s easy to wonder what other trade offs
will eventually be made for the pubs and clubs before (or if) a full smoking ban
is introduced.