Earlier this month,Chopping applied significant alcohol restrictions on the town to combat violence after a voluntary liquor accord that included many of the town’s licensed premises failed to come up with restrictions that met the government’s expectations.
Smith has been campaigning for years for government intervention in the town and welcomed Chopping’s move.
In his letter,Smith claimed he had been unfairly vilified by some in the town for supporting the restrictions and criticised people within the accord.
“There has been a concerted effort to vilify myself by a number of people that are very quick to take my statements out of context to benefit their agenda,by informing the community that the Shire President is responsible for implementing the restrictions,” he told Chopping.
“Whilst this is disappointing as it impacts the entire Shire Council as a whole,I want to reiterate my support for the restrictions as I believe the majority of the community are accepting the parameters of the restrictions and like any change it will take time to become the normal.
“I resigned from the liquor accord this morning as I believe there is an element within the accord that is not interested in working collaboratively and has an agenda that is not for the community good.”
Smith said since the restrictions had been implemented there had been a notable difference in behaviour in the town.