The Victorian premier announced on Thursday that if Labor is re-elected in November, the state's food safety laws would be amended to overturn the ban on dogs in venues. Currently, dogs are only allowed to dine with owners outside in limited circumstances in Victoria.
The government stated that it would be up to individual venues to decide if they want to permit pets. Consultation will be conducted to determine where exactly dogs will be allowed.
Additionally, if re-elected, Labor would legislate for venues to have an "automatic right" to stay open until 3am. The government also committed to reducing the wait time for standard liquor licences from 11 weeks to six, allow staff under 18 to clear tables, and consider more underage gigs at pubs and venues.
Earlier in the week, Labor announced plans to create live music precincts and committed funding to the arts and regional beer tourism and festivals. These announcements follow two polls released this month showing Labor's primary vote has sunk to between 24 and 25%.