Queenslands’s Labor government will move forward with harsher lockout laws that include 1am lockouts, no shots or cocktails after midnight and 3am closing time.

Having learned nothing from the frigid and archaic laws introduced in New South Wales that have seen a stunt on nightlife precincts such as Kings Cross and Oxford Street as well as club closures the Queensland government will move ahead.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said police would also have the power to breathalyse punters “so they have the evidence they need to prosecute licensees, managers and patrons who are breaching the Liquor Act”.

“We’ll back these laws up with intelligence-led policing and increased liquor licensing inspections as well as education and awareness campaigns,” she said.

According to the foundation of alcohol research and education up to 80% of Queenslanders supported the measures;

“Not only are these policies supported by the evidence, they’re also supported by everyday Queenslanders. The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education shows over 80 per cent of Queenslanders support 3am closing for pubs, clubs and bars and over 60 per cent support a 1am lockout.”

Again, these laws and powers look to punish the end user, those providing the entertainment and not the individual who causes the damage.

Head of the Valley Liquor Accord Nick Braban, who has led campaigning against the heavy handed laws isn’t convinced and states some of the obvious inflictions the lockout laws will have;

“It is a reaction to a problem which will not go away if some venues close earlier,” he said.

“Anti-social behaviour is a cultural problem, not an operational one. People will still engage in poor behaviour because of societal attitudes to drinking. Our concern is that closing the Valley down will simply kill small business, the majority of which are helping to change how adults consume alcohol by offering a quality over quantity experience.

“3am closures, 1am lockouts and 12am cessation of high alcohol drink service will force small, interesting, cutting edge businesses out and allow larger businesses predicated on quality offerings to survive, as they will be best able to ride out the medium term reset in attendance habits.

“We also think it is unrealistic to expert young people not to continue their ‘partying’ habits when bars and clubs close at 3am, or they are locked out at 1am. The party will continue in residential areas, with little to no supervision or control.”

In February we spoke with No Curfew, a group based in Brisbane that was looking to fight the laws and pointed out hard facts;

“You will hear many people talk about the Newcastle solution which achieved a drop in incidents of around 30%. What people who say this won’t tell you is that this is exactly the same rate as the state average, as reported in the NSW Liquor Act review. In other areas, like the UK, removing lockouts and curfew has resulted in a decrease in violence.“

“In Melbourne in 2008, they trialled a lockout and experienced a spike in violence and decided not to proceed. The 2010 QLD parliamentary committee report into alcohol-related violence said that “assaults can occur on any day at any time and are most likely to occur whenever the venue is busiest, not just during very late trading hours. It is appropriate to implement more direct harm minimisation initiatives” – source.

This seems like another case of what seems easiest to implement rather than a more consistent campaign to educate users on the harm drinking does to themselves and others and the potential windfall of alcohol fuelled violence (jail time).

A very sad state of affairs.

source: Brisbane Times