Lock out Laws may Die!
Words by Emma Goldrick
The ghost town that is Sydney’s nightlife will be revamped with the Premier looking to abolish lockout laws across the CBD. For Sydney's youth whose excessive drinking and partying tendencies resulted in the Premier's hardline lockout stance lasting for five years, today's news calls for a celebration.
Sydney's controversial lockout laws look to be retracted in an attempt to strengthen the nightlife economy. The legislation which was introduced in early 2014 to reduce alcohol-fueled violence required a 1.30am lockout (meaning no new patrons were allowed to enter) and a 3 am last drink, at venues across the Sydney CBD entertainment precinct.
In a statement she claimed that the lockout legislation needed to be loosened in order to reinvigorate the night-time economy, and save the jobs and businesses that make this up. The Premier ensured that her main focus will continue to be the city safety that “It’s time to enhance Sydney’s night-life”. Following on by claiming “Sydney is Australia’s only global city and we need our night-life to reflect that”.
Berejiklian is looking to move the lift of 1.30am lockouts in the CBD entertainment district but still impose the legislation in Kings Cross. The move has come after a report released data regarding Sydney’s night-time economy in which more than 800 submissions addressed the devastating monetary and atmosphere loses that have come with lockout laws. The lift will not only benefit the night-life businesses of the CBD but will promote socialisation among a youth that is becoming detached from the idea.
The move to uplift the highly contentious legislation has come with much criticism, with leading organisations such as the Keep Sydney Safe campaign that claims it to be ‘premature’. Keep Sydney Safe which represents the emergency service workers of New South Wales claims the consequences of dismantling these “modest laws” will see a rise in alcohol-fueled violence.
The legislation was enforced in a bid to address alcohol-fueled violence after the deaths of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie. Both Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie were young males who were the victims of one-punch deaths fueled by intoxication in Sydney's CBD.
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research claimed while the laws notably reduced the number of assaults, that the benefit was diminishing since its conception. Furthermore, BOCSAR found that non-domestic assaults in Kings Cross have in fact dropped 53% since the lockout legislation was introduced. However, in the CBD assaults have only dropped 4% with lockout laws and have instead caused an excessive loss of jobs and the closing of many businesses. The reduction of violence in the CBD and King Cross suggests that Sydney's lockout laws have served their intended purpose, now it seems the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
Many early skeptics of the lockout laws questioned whether the restrictions would only relocate assaults rather than address the issue. Since the laws were introduced in 2014 there has been a 30% increase in assaults in alternative nightspots accessible from the city including Newtown.