Should Sydney’s lockout laws be lifted?
The joint select committee on Sydney’s night-time economy has recommended that the lockout laws be lifted in the CBD and Oxford Street.
The Committee found that the 2014 lockout laws adversely impacted Sydney’s night-time economy and the NSW Government now needs to take proactive steps to revitalise Sydney.
It has proposed that the Government appoint an overarching coordinator for the night-time economy, with the responsibility of developing a night-time economy strategy and providing advice on a range of regulatory matters within 60 days.
“There were very real problems with alcohol-fuelled violence and anti-social behaviour in areas like Kings Cross six years ago, but the collateral damage caused by the lockout laws is unacceptable, with 50 per cent of live music venues closing since the introduction of the laws,” Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
“The lockout laws were a sledgehammer to crack a nut, when what was needed were policies to create a safe and diverse nightlife deserving of a global city. We needed 24 hour trains to allow people to get home, we needed tougher licensing laws, including incentives for good management of venues and penalties for badly managed venues, and we needed policies that spread venues out across the city, not concentrate them in places like the Cross.”
What do you think? Do you think violence will return to Sydney’s streets if the lockout laws are repealed? Were the quixotic lockout laws damaging to Sydney's reputation?
The more laws you force on to people, the more they go undergound. Then the underground economy flourishes and more crimes are committed.