The past few days have been unsettling regarding New South Wales’ ever increasing heavy handedness when it comes to the ability to enjoy our nightlife.

From weekly sniffer dog operations to ineffective roadside drug testing and even wine bars being hassled as ‘promoting heavy drinking’ it’s all getting a bit stuffy here in Sydney.

The lockout laws put in place nearly two years ago to ‘protect’ us from alcohol fuelled violence has actually decimated the nightlife we seek to enjoy. In turn the archaic laws have punished the 99% who more often than not did the right thing in allowing adults to be just that, adults.

There is no denying the tragedies that occurred from two seperate coward punches and deaths of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie, both will never be forgotten and also a solemn reminder that life can end all too early.

It’d be silly to think this is a us verse them situation when in reality WE ALL agree that violent individuals should be punished with the utmost seriousness of the law and send a stern message to offenders that violence is never the answer and you will be put exactly where you should be if you choose to use that as a solution.

This along with various other methods would help manage alcohol fuelled violence including 24-hour transport, education about where violence can get you (hint: prison), better lighting, police on the streets helping and assisting revellers as well as a nation wide system banning unfriendly and violent offenders.

Like everyone you knew, you felt that stir of anger last week when reading through freelancer.com owner Matt Barries write up ‘Would The Last Person In Sydney Please Turn The Lights Off’ that basically tore apart any reasoning for this knee-jerk reaction and implementation of unproven laws.

It was a heavily researched article that pointed to sources and the Governments own discrepancies when it came to report.

In an effort to bring out the best we trawled through the hefty read and linked everything that really made our jaws drop and hopefully, something you can share too.

• The lockout laws have reduced foot traffic in Kings Cross by 80%
• Foot traffic on Oxford Street is down by 82%
• Inconsistent reporting by the government on businesses hurt by lockout laws (source two)
• Sydney was already a relatively safe place when compared to other major cities in the world
• You are more likely to die from falling out of bed or off a ladder than alcohol-fuelled violence
• The only two venues exempt from the lockout laws are Star City Casino & Bangaroo
• Both have 24-hour alcohol licenses and one already boasts the highest rate of violence of any Sydney venue
• While gambling attributes $73 billion to the NSW economy it also ravages families and can lead to suicide (1 in 5 suicidal patients linked to gambling).
• Venues closed: Flinders, Q Bar, Bar Century, Soho/Yu, Hugos, The Landsdowne, Goldfish, Trademark, Backroom, Exchange Hotel, The Imperial, Jimmy Liks etc
• McDonalds shut down sites at George and Bridge St due to downturn
• On a global scale London, Paris and Amsterdam are figuring out how to improve their nightlife with the introduction of night mayors.
• Melbourne offers 24-hour transport and easily accessible small bar licenses
• The NSW government admits 3am is the PEAK time for incidents so why give people a reason to leave a venue?
• You can legally walk around with a beer in North Korea without fear of incident
• The NSW Liberal parties ethos is far from what they are toting ““We believe in individual freedom and free enterprise and if you share this belief, then this is the Party for you”
• The ‘Alcohol Linking Program‘ tracks things such as a last drink or lost wallet from a victim and with enough strikes this venue can be closed down regardless of what happened in between
• The man behind the laws NSW Premiere Mike Baird cannot distance his " target="_blank">religious beliefs and those duties entrusted to him by the people.
• The Gay & Lesbian community have been directly affected with Oxford Street night and day clubs under serious scrutiny
• Boat parties are non-viable after operators were warned of serious consequences if anything was to happen, even without any previous issues.
• After a decade finally imposing old DA laws on kebab shops in the inner-west that encourages the balance between drinking and eating
• Revision of Australia’s Liquor Act that paints venues who serve alcohol after midnight as ‘High Risk’ and in turn open to much harsher laws
• Re-look at Australia’s ‘Three Strike Policy’ that doesn’t actually prevent crime or violence
• Instead of pro-actively looking at issues it creates or increases fines.
• Barry O’Farrel, behind Sydneys lockout laws resigned after accepting a bottle of wine
• The 2am lockout in Melbourne actually increased violence and was subsequently removed

Feel free to include any number of these points in your email to Lisa Simone who is the Chief Executive Officer overviewing the ‘Alcohol Restrictions Review’ this week.

Who: Lisa Simone
Email: [email protected]
Subject: Review of alcohol restriction zones

The above doesn’t directly work with the Lockout Laws, we have been told to talk directly with the NSW Premiere and his office regarding the laws and their current review.

Until then keep supporting your favourite venues, promoters, DJs and anyone else fighting the good fight including Keep Sydney Open and Reclaim The Streets Sydney.

Watch what went down at the last Reclaim The Streets.