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This week NSW Premier Barry O'Farrellannounced a series of harsh new laws that will drastically affect Sydney's vibrant nightlife and clubbing culture, including mandatory 1.30am venue lockouts, a 3am ‘last drinks’ policy and also a freeze on new liquor licenses - affecting the areas stretching from Kings Cross and Surry Hills down to Wolloomooloo, the CBD and The Rocks. If these new laws pass when Parliament reconvenes on Wed 5th/Thurs 6th February, they will be in effect by April 2014.
We reached out to DJs, musicians, venue owners and club promoters - all whose livelihoods will be drastically affected if these laws come to pass - to share their thoughts, feelings and opinons on these draconian laws.
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Angus McDonald (Sneaky Sound System) – musician, DJ
King hits have taken the lives of 91 people across Australia since 2000, 28 of those in NSW...this is national problem, a national disgrace. We have a deep rooted problem within our society when unprovoked random acts of violence against unsuspecting innocent people become the norm. The community is outraged and rightfully so.
The proposal from the NSW government to introduce draconian licence restrictions to venues across the Sydney CBD/Kings Cross area sure did grab the headlines, and will no doubt appease those in the community who have never stepped foot into these areas.
But these proposed laws are nothing short of a disgrace. Where is the commitment to educating the greater community on the widespread problem of dickhead-fueled violence? Where is the commitment to increasing police presence on the street? Where is the commitment to zero-tolerence towards aggressive and drunk thugs ? Where is the transport solution? Where is the national campaign?
This is a national problem and it needs a national solution, not a small minded knee jerk reaction where the vast majority in one area are punished for the actions of a few uneducated thugs across the country.
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Chris Emerson (What So Not) – DJ, producer
Barry O'Farrell cancels the 'Golden Age of Australian Dance Music'
I feel safer in Kings X every weekend than I do at my local bus stop on the northern beaches. This whole thing is a is a quick fix to please people consumed by media hype, completely removed and laking understanding of the true circumstances. Assaults are down 30% since 2008 in the CBD, look at the figures (see below).
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I don't know if people understand the rollon effect lockouts cause. This will 100% damage our current music culture and set businesses broke. That's what this type of legislation does and it's unlikely to stop in Sydney.
It's the promoters/venues taking risks, pushing boundaries and encouraging a world class music youth culture, that i see suffering most. They already tread a fine line of profitability for the greater good of the scene, acts and events they believe in.
Amazing International artists may find it hard to tour here, because venues wont make enough money across the night for their fee to be viable. Clubbers will not become educated on these artists and as a result festivals won't be book these ground breaking acts as they won't pull numbers.
As for the lockout 'stats', yes, you may slightly reducing reported violence, but only because you are heavily reducing the amount of people in the area and the amount they are there (I stress reported, as there is such great police/security presence in the Cross, that most incidences are dissolved or intervened and documented. I very much doubt this will be possible i the sparse areas of the suburbs). You are not stopping these people from being violent elsewhere. You're just masking violence with misleading statistics and severely punishing nightclubs and the music culture of sydney.
We don't want violence on our streets or in our clubs either. "Punish Thugs, Not Clubs"
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Dane Gorrel – promoter/former owner of The Abercrombie
I think the new proposed laws will not only have a negative impact on those working in the industry but the whole economy will suffer & we will see a backlash in Sydney. Locking people out of venues at 1:30am will mean there will be more people on the streets and the likelihood of alcohol related violence increased as disgruntled punters compete for public transport with over crowding on the streets.
The no service of alcohol after 3am will destroy the business model of many Sydney businesses that that have spent years building this trade. These proposed new laws are not the answer as it is destroying the livelihood of not just the hospitality & service industry but Sydney's booming economy. The solution to the problem is more police on the streets, making the environment safer by having a heavy police presence on every corner and bringing in tough new laws to deal with alcohol related violence so these people are made an example of.
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Simon Caldwell - DJ
The lockout and 3am closing aspects of these proposed new laws are poorly thought through and will serve only to punish the innocent while doing nothing to address the root causes of the problem of violence in our society.
By all means target violence, but to assume that having a drink will naturally lead to violence is ridiculous. People need to take responsibility for their actions whether they have been drinking or not. These laws will have a huge negative effect on many legitimate, safe venues. The assumption that anyone out late is up to no good is offensive.
More police on the streets, acting as a prevention, with proper training in conflict management, and targeting specific venues with poor track records would be a good start. Prohibition in any form is bound to fail, and may well have unintended consequences.
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Kerry Wallace (S.A.S.H) – promoter
"What would you do if you were NSW Premier?"
I've thought about this quite a bit lately, as this directly affects myself and many friends in the industry. My personal solution is somewhat a copy of what New York did, put a policeman on every corner and within the hot spots (Kings Cross, George St) and on every venues' door, to be paid for by the venues. I'm sure any venue owner would rather pay the cost of one policeman on their door rather than losing the thousands they stand to lose by a 3am closure.
I realise that the current law intending to be passed is not a 3am closure, but that the sale of liquor is to be stopped at 3am. The reality is no venue will be able to afford to pay staff, security and entertainment following 3am, as there will be no revenue coming in, hence all will shut shortly after 3am. I would increase the minimum sentences for "king hits" and any violent crimes fuelled by alcohol also. If people know there is a policeman nearby when considering a violent act and the penalties are excessive, i believe they are much less likely to commit them. Now hand me the keys to the city....
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Carly Roberts & Andy Webb (Picnic) – promoters
It's ridiculous that we are being forced to live under such ignorant, short-sighted laws. The focus should be specifically on venues with high rates of violence and on the troublemakers themselves rather than the late night community as a whole. Spend taxes putting more police on the street in areas where violence is more common - don't penalise everyone, it’s lazy and doesn’t address the root of the problem. Lockouts and early venue closures will result in a mass of intoxicated people spilling out onto the streets all at the one time, which is a recipe for disaster. Culture and entertainment are an important part of our society and should be protected.
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Robbie Lowe – DJ
These new laws are a joke...talk about a ridiculous government knee-jerk reaction. I understand there’s been heartache with idiots on the streets of Kings Cross throwing devastating cowardly punches, and no one definitely likes seeing people looses their life from this, but why should our industry be punished because of this? Especially when most of these incidents happen early in the night away from clubs. These aggressive idiots roam around the streets looking for trouble - I've seen it happening for years. The answer? One good start would be putting more police presence in the affected areas and come down way harder on these criminals. The Lock out and drinking curfew is a waste of time that will ultimately put strain on the livelihood of many people in the industry. Not to forget also take away the freedom and given right for us decent people to go out buy a drink and have a dance when we please.
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Raul Gonzales – Owner, Backroom Sydney
Backroom Sydney has been known to be a venue that caters for hospitality workers, musicians and celebrities and hosting plenty of international acts - so much so that we have established a place where they know they can go and drink in a safe environment. What’s going to happen now when we turn away these entertainers at 1:30am?
This lock out digs deeper into the music culture. What’s going to happen to that young kid that wants to become an up and coming DJ? Most of those slots are early in the morning after the regular slots.
What’s going to happen to the clubs that now won’t afford to be able to pull these international DJs anymore as they won’t be able to afford it? You will be killing the music scene slowly and painfully.
Where will the hospitality industry (Bartenders, chefs etc) go for drinks after their shifts? They aren’t intoxicated they’ve just finished work and want to go to a safe environment where they can have some drinks after work. It’s not right.
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Dave Stuart – DJ, Promoter
Firstly, and probably most obviously anyone who's been anywhere near the CBD around 2am to 4am knows it is neigh on impossible to either catch a taxi get home via public transport (no trains and buses that do not run frequently enough or to suitable areas). With the proposal to close all drinking establishments at 3am this is going to result in thousands of people trying to get home and will undoubtedly cause more frustration and violence than there already is. Sydney's public transport system is bad enough during the day, let alone the early hours of the morning.
Secondly, the violent attacks that have been so heavily publicised in the media have happened during the early hours of the evening (between 9pm and 11pm), on public streets, by people who have been reported to be drinking at their own residences in the suburbs prior to heading into the CBD. The proposed lock out would not, and will not have stopped any of these attacks taking place. Even O'Farrell himself stated; "The slogan put forward by my opponents of 1am lockouts, of 3am shutouts, is of no comfort to someone who was assaulted just after 9pm when that would have had no impact." [Barry O'Farrell, 3rd January, 2014] He was correct, these proposals will have no impact whatsoever.
Due to the earlier closing times there will be a large number of people that will become unemployed, or at the very least have their hours cut back. This includes, bar staff & managers, security staff, cleaners, entertainment staff, DJ's, event managers, etc etc. Most of which all provide patrons with a safe fun environment to relax and enjoy themselves with. This has a knock effect with the local economy with higher unemployment, youth engagement, and issues with tertiary study as it will be more difficult for students to find part time work.
Then there is the impact on Sydney tourism, especially events such as Mardi Gras which brings in thousands of people from all over the world to our city. As im sure you can imagine i doubt that at 3am Sunday 2nd March people will want to be going home at 3am.
I have been DJ'ing around Sydney for over 6 years, and been involved with event management in venues in these so called "danger zones" and have very few issues over the years with any patrons drinking too much. Maybe i've been lucky....i'd be more than happy to take Mr O'Farrell out with me and see for himself how "dangerous" a nightclub can be in the early hours of the morning.....when people are happy, smiling, dancing and enjoying music. I'm sure that 100 people dancing to some loud music is less harmful in the long run than the casino's that seem to have magically avoided any trading bans.
We as a society have moved past the days when our lives are ruled by the 9-5 slog and then spending all weekend at home with a family, people have changed, peoples ideas of fun has changed. I'm not going to suggest that what i want to do from 10pm to 8am is for everyone, but i really do enjoy it. Whilst some people would prefer to go watch a sporting team preform violent acts against one another there are a huge number of people who get together to share a love of music, dancing and enjoying each others company.
3am closure is NOT addressing the issue of two kids dying at 9pm.
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Harris Kospetas - Licensee and venue owner (Civic, Vbar and Vault Hotels)
It is really sad that we live in a democracy that has lost itself. People’s values, beliefs and moral compass is just way off and frankly I think it is disgusting!
The community only have themselves to blame and Australians in general should really take a long hard look at themselves because we are really starting to lose control of who we are. We are spoilt and unappreciative! We have no respect for ourselves and what makes us unique. We have no respect for this country or the law or how good our quality of life is.
The media and the community pushed the measures and I guess the government had no choice but to act. I don’t think such harsh measures will improve what is currently happening, I actually think and assume it to worsen at an incredible and shocking rate. But this is what the people have asked for and this is what the people will get. I just hope the culture and the “idiots” out there can really improve the scope on life and what it means to be an "Australian."
Everyone that I know and my family included just want the best for everyone. We want people to be safe, our business to be healthy and our patrons to enjoy what we offer. We do everything in our power to ensure this above all else.