The Huge Inquiry Into Sydney’s Lockout Laws Say We Need To Scrap Them With “Urgency”
The committee recommends scrapping the 1.30am lockout and the 3am 'last drinks' rule - with "appropriate urgency."
Throughout August music industry representatives, health organisations, politicians, and musicians appeared at hearings for a parliamentary inquiry into Sydney’s controversial lockout laws.
The full report from the inquiry has now been handed down, and it recommends a comprehensive overhaul of the laws — including scrapping the 1.30am lockout and the 3am ‘last drinks’ rule. It also recommends an extension of the takeaway alcohol hours and the removal of prohibition on shots after midnight:
It advises that any removal of these 2014 laws, however, be reviewed after 12 months — with “particular focus on alcohol-related violence, alcohol-related accidents, and the night time economy”. Additionally, the inquiry advises reducing the hours of operation for ID scanners to after 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights only.
The report, which runs to 146 pages and contains 40 official recommendations, also puts forward a range of ideas to help with late-night public transport — one being that Transport NSW should look at options for 24-hour public transport, another that they should find ways to incentivise taxis operating after 1.30am.
A small section of the report deals directly with late-night entertainment, stating that the government should actively take steps to “support the growth and innovation in the night time economy”, and investigative ways to support new and existing venues. It also recommends allocating funding to promote Sydney’s nightlife both domestically and internationally.
You can read the full report into Sydney’s night time economy here.
The report follows encouraging comments from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who told The Daily Telegraph a few weeks ago that it was time to “enhance Sydney’s nightlife.”
“I’m more than happy to relax or even repeal the laws depending on the committee’s findings…but [they] have demonstrated we need to find a better balance,” Berejiklian said. “Sydney is Australia’s only global city and we need our nightlife to reflect that. The nighttime economy is a key driver of jobs in our city and we need to do everything we can to strengthen it. Community safety will always be a major focus for my Government, but we certainly need a balanced approach.”
One hundred and seventy-six venues have closed since the laws were introduced at the beginning of 2014, including beloved clubs like Goodgod, Backroom, Soho, and Hugo’s. Foot traffic in the CBD has dropped by 80 percent, Kings Cross was decimated — and while violence fell in the lockout zone, it significantly increased in other suburbs like Newtown and Bondi.
Photo: Kings Cross via Sardaka under Creative Commons License 3.0