AS the year draws to a close, we’ve heard from those who see nightclubs as a major negative in Papua New Guinea and those who have defended their presence.
There have many been vocal claims that nightclubs are a breeding ground for HIV/AIDS, for vice and for criminal activities.
Once again, we plead for some facts.
Where are the figures that will support these claims that nightclubs generate HIV/AIDS? And how often do the majority of those who attack the clubs actually visit these premises?
We suspect that many of those who are the most stringent critics of nightclubs are also those least likely to have visited them. They’re often dependent on hearsay and gossip in forming their opinions.
In Port Moresby, we believe that the major clubs are run well and are aware of the welfare of their clients.
Many of these clubs encourage the use of their premises for church functions and fund raising efforts on the part of charitable organisations.
If you’re cynical, you’ll respond by saying that naturally they would do so in order to set up a respectable façade; behind that front all kinds of evil lurks.
In the case of the biggest and best run of these clubs, we don’t think that is the case.
We know of huge efforts made by the managements of some of the longer established clubs that have resulted in large sums being raised for all manner of community charities.
We can recall, for example, the major organisation and the commitment of all the staff of a leading club that went into a fund-raiser for St John’s Ambulance some years ago.
Tens of thousands of kina were raised and the ambulance fleet, which at the time received no support from the government, was able to resume its life-saving duties in the settlements and on the roads of the capital.
Nightclubs are intended to be places where people enjoy themselves, the entertainment that is provided and meet with their friends.
A great deal of noise has been generated over wet T-shirt competitions and mud wrestling.
We agree that they are both undesirable and they shouldn’t be a part of nightclub programmes.
But we’re also aware of the large funds invested in promoting PNG musical and performance talents by these clubs, the sums raised for various sporting groups, notably boxing and the ball sports and the opportunities and support given to various other community groups.
We believe that there are many other far more offensive aspects of PNG society that should attract the attention of the National Government.
One of these is the inexorable growth of licences for trade stores to sell beer, spirits and wine.
It is no exaggeration to say that alcohol is more often than not the fuel that allows disagreements to become murderous confrontations.
Police stations throughout the country would be able to give a reasonably accurate estimate of the percentage of crimes fuelled by excessive alcohol consumption.
Why does the Government allow the endless granting of liquor retail licences throughout both urban and rural areas of PNG?
In the capital, even the most casual of observers could not help but be struck by the number of liquor stores available to the public.
They far outnumber other stores and are a sad reflection on our liquor licensing laws that have been the subject of accusations of corruption for decades.
Perhaps we could have an independent inquiry into the liquor industry and the volume of alcohol that reaches our people.
For it’s not just a matter of the nightclubs or even the licensed liquor stores; the black market network in PNG is one of the most far-reaching and well-organised aspects of commercial activity in the country.
It’s time the licensing authorities must stop the wholesale issuance of liquor retailing licences to anyone and everyone who applies.
The ease with which alcohol can be obtained through black markets and both licensed and unlicensed tradestores seem to us to pose a far greater threat to the morals and the health of our people and our communities than the influence of well-run nightclubs.