Curtin Hotel publican Ben Russell has slammed the proposal, saying it will negatively impact the venue’s live music efforts.
“As I am sure you’re aware, we don’t have a beer garden. This is going to make the likelihood of agents and bands putting their shows in this venue pretty slim, knowing their punters, engineers and the bands themselves can’t have a dart.”
“This is about much more than just being about to smoke though. Changes like these will dramatically effect what we do here. And we bloody love what we do.”
If the ban were to be implemented, punters would need to walk two blocks to leave the smoke-free zone surrounding RMIT to light up.
Currently, Melbourne City Council has rolled out the project across multiple areas in the central city including the Causeway, Howey Place, Block Place, Equitable Place, Goldsbrough Lane, QV Melbourne, City Square, The Tan and Princes Park.
Russell has called for the live music community to voice their opinion through an online Council survey.
“I am pleading with the music community who believe in The Curtin to take ten minutes out of your time, and fill in the questionnaire provided by the Council. We really can enact some change here – if enough people respond to the survey, and tell them how fucked up the idea is. This will mean we can continue to hold kick-arse shows for many years to come”
First implemented in 2013, the Smoke Free campaign aims to de-normalise smoking and support people who are trying to quit, or have recently quit smoking, as well as shield the community from passive smoking.
