Lockout laws needed to change, but vigilance is required
Seven and a half years after teenager Thomas Kelly was killed by a random drunken punch on the streets of Kings Cross, NSW has just gone back to the future. The NSW government has repealed the tough alcohol licensing laws in the CBD, which were introduced in 2014 in response to attacks such as the one that killed Mr Kelly.
No more will pubs in the CBD have to close their doors to new customers from 1.30am and stop serving alcohol from 3am. The sale of takeaway liquor will be permitted from Monday to Saturday until midnight rather than the previous 11pm. It will be possible to buy shots of alcohol after midnight. While many pubs and bars have greeted the news with elation and are throwing late-night parties to celebrate, there must also be a sense of caution and even apprehension. No one wants to see a return to the conditions that prevailed in 2012.
The Herald, which campaigned strongly for the lockout laws five years ago in sympathy with the Kelly family, has come to agree with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian that there was need for change. The laws went too far and did not justify the economic damage they were clearly causing to the city’s night-time economy. A study commissioned by stakeholders said the laws reduced economic activity by up to $16 billion.
But if this change is to work, it must be managed carefully. Health workers and police are worried that the longer drinking hours will provoke a new spike in assaults both around venues in the CBD but also at home as a result of the easing of takeaway liquor rules across the whole state.
In the first instance, it is up to the people of NSW to behave responsibly and make sure that does not happen. Men, and it is overwhelmingly men, must learn when to stop or pace their drinking rather than using the longer opening hours to get trashed and aggressive. There is still a dangerous culture of binge drinking which will have to change. While the onus is on individuals to do the right thing, authorities must also keep up their guard and be prepared to fine-tune the measures if needed.
Licensing laws must be used to rein in problem venues if there is a spike in assaults around particular locations. Police must put more officers on the streets of the CBD to prepare for a possible upsurge in violence and catch any danger signs. They will be helped by the government’s decision not to relax the licensing laws in the Kings Cross precinct where Mr Kelly was attacked.
In the CBD area, it is a different story. The effect of the lockout laws on the level of violence in the CBD was only temporary anyway and violence has almost returned to pre-2014 levels. A new spike of violence is possible now.
Some things have improved. The City of Sydney, for instance, has eased late-night trading laws for all businesses in the area in the hope it will give people something else to do in the city. The new light rail through the CBD and the use of ride-sharing apps also make it easier for drunk people to get home.
But this is a complicated situation. The NSW government has sensibly promised a review of the laws a year from now but, in the meantime, it must monitor developments closely.
- The Herald’s editor Lisa Davies writes a weekly newsletter exclusively for subscribers. To have it delivered to your inbox, please sign up here.
Since the Herald was first published in 1831, the editorial team has believed it important to express a considered view on the issues of the day for readers, always putting the public interest first. Elsewhere, we strive to cover a diversity of views without endorsing any of them.
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