Lucas v Graham

This case involved an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The appellant, Anthony Lucas, was the holder of an Australian wine licence and was charged with permitting liquor other than wine to be brought onto his licensed premises. The liquor in question was stout, purchased by a waiter on behalf of a customer who provided the money for the purchase and consumed the stout on the premises with a meal. The Court of Petty Sessions had dismissed the information, but the Supreme Court made an order absolute to review that decision.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether section 32(1) of the *Licensing Act 1906* (Vic.) applied to liquor brought onto the premises for a customer's consumption rather than for sale by the licensee, and whether the section applied to a holder of a licence that was originally a "colonial wine licence" renewed after the commencement of the 1906 Act but before the Act's assent. The appellant contended that section 32(1) was limited to liquor intended for sale by the licensee and that his licence, being a renewed colonial wine licence, was not subject to the restrictions of the 1906 Act.

The High Court affirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court. The Court held that section 32(1) of the *Licensing Act 1906* was not limited to liquor intended for sale by the licensee or liquor owned by the licensee, but applied generally to any liquor other than wine brought onto the premises. Furthermore, the Court determined that section 31(1) of the 1906 Act effectively changed the name of a "colonial wine licence" to an "Australian wine licence," and section 32 imposed the same restrictions on holders of both types of licences, regardless of when they were originally granted. Therefore, the appellant, as the holder of a licence that was now an Australian wine licence, was subject to the prohibition against permitting other liquor to be brought onto his premises.