A Dunedin City Council district licensing committee considered an application yesterday to renew the liquor licence for Branson's Hotel, in central Dunedin.
The committee members were chairman Colin Weatherall, Cr Andrew Noone, and member Colin Lind.
At the hearing, alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant Ian Paulin said police had attended two separate incidents at the hotel, the night of the All Blacks and Wales test match and a private 21st birthday party.
The party was the first time he had been abused by patrons when doing a compliance check.
Mr Lind said the party sounded like ''a powder keg ready to go off''.
Sgt Paulin said police left the party because they believed officers would have been assaulted if they stayed any longer. The problems at the two incidents included intoxicated patrons, an underage patron and a lack of controls stopping people entering the premises or exiting with alcohol.
Both incidents could have been minimised if the licensee Les Scott had ''appropriate staff and systems in place'', Sgt Paulin said.
Police were concerned Mr Scott believed door staff were unnecessary, Sgt Paulin said.
Sgt Paulin requested a one-year truncated renewal period and conditions for door staff to be required for high-risk events. If the committee did not impose any conditions on a renewed license, Sgt Paulin recommended the bar be ''thoroughly'' monitored by police.
Dunedin City Council licensing inspector Antony Mole said good door staff were ''vital cogs'' of licensed premises.
The visibility of door staff moderated the behaviour of patrons, he said.
Mr Scott said the bar had a licence to host 235 patrons.
About 140 patrons were in the bar on the test match night, which was about as busy as the bar got.
On the night, he had three ''experienced'' staff working - a bar manager, a barman and himself as ''a floater'' serving food, clearing tables and assessing patrons.
On a busy night, such as after a test match or concert, up to five staff were needed, but not a doorman, Mr Scott said.
''How can a doorman, who is standing outside, with his back to the bar, do anything?''
Mr Scott disagreed with police observations some patrons were so intoxicated a law had been broken, he said.
''My duty manager and I have 42 years' experience in running a bar. We should know if someone is intoxicated or not. If I don't then you can throw the licence away.''
The underage patron entered the bar by jumping into the smoking area so he should not be blamed for the 17-year-old being there.
Sgt Paulin said some patrons entered the bar by jumping into the smoking area but he doubted the underage patron was one of those people.
Cr Noone asked if Mr Scott could stop people entering the bar by climbing into the smoking area.
''It is a weakness in your operation,'' Cr Noone said.
