Published
Thu, Dec 4, 2014, 22:00
- The harbour city will have their controversial licensing laws loosened for the one night.
Sydney's contentious lockout laws will be loosened for New Year's Eve.
The licensing restrictions, which were implemented back in February, include a 1:30 AM lockout for venues across the city's CBD as well as 3 AM 'last drinks' and were introduced as a tactic to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. It was announced this week that the lockout time would be pushed back to 3 AM for New Year's Eve, though last drinks would remain unchanged, as would venues' trading hours.
Tony Grant, the state's Deputy Premier, has explained that the reason for tweaking the legislation for NYE is for safety, with large volumes of partygoers rushing to reach venues before the cut-off time. He says: "We recognise people want to celebrate the start of the New Year—but we also want to maintain there will be no change to the last drinks at 3 AM or the tough measures we have implemented to protect the community."
Criticism of the tough approach has remained high, especially from Sydney's music scene which has seen at least one Kings Cross venue being forced to close due to reduced revenue and others having to cull staff to cope. While evidence that the new measures have corresponded to drops in violent crime are still a source of debate, the State Government remains firm in its stance.