While New South Wales might be the core protagonist in the government’s efforts to lock down our nightlife, the spotlight now turns to Queensland, potentially facing similar late night lockout laws. Queenslanders are obviously not taking this lightly, and a series of protests will be taking place this weekend.

Earlier this year, we reported that the Queensland government were considering implementing lockout laws not unlike those seen in the Sydney CBD: 1 am lockouts, 3am closing times. The proposal actually looks to go further than NSW, enforcing the rules at ALL venues in Queensland – not just core areas or specific hotspots for late night violence.

The Queensland laws have been championed by Attorney General for the Labor Party, Yvette D’Ath, who told ABC News that “there is a community desire and expectation out there that we tackle alcohol-fuelled violence… Shifting the service of alcohol hours makes a difference, we have seen the evidence.”

Last weekend, the streets of Sydney came alive with the hugely successful Reclaim The Streets rally. Now, Queensland will be following suit with not one, but three protests taking place this Saturday, September 19. So if you’re in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast or Airlie Beach, get the hell down and fight for your right to party.

The protests have been curated by group No Curfew – we recommend keeping tabs of their movements via their Facebook page. Speeches, live performances and more will be taking place across the three venues, from an exciting variety speakers, musicians and others opposed to the idea of lockouts.

Each event also has its own Facebook event page, follow them for times, speakers, performing artists and housekeeping details.

Fortitude Valley
Surfers Paradise
Airlie Beach

Have a read of the full press release  here: