Here's How Australia Has Reacted To Mike Baird's Defence Of The Lockout Laws

It's been barely 48 hours since NSW Premier Mike Bard inadvertently threw himself in the firing line, after thousands slammed the politician's defence of lockout laws in a Facebook post and the reactions haven't died down either, with yet more musicians and online users blasting Baird's comments. 

Baird's controversial statement irked responses from local artists including Nina Las Vegas and Alison Wonderland and now, electro duo Flight Facilities have released their own lengthy statement regarding the debate and have suggested punters are better off heading to Melbourne for a night out. 

"It’s perfectly comparable to Sydney in size," the Facebook post reads.

"The nightlife is thriving and Mayor Robert Doyle wants venues to trade later. He wants public transport to run longer. Music venues are being given grants to improve their soundproofing to coexist with residents! You want to know what a good night out was like? Go to Melbourne."

"Why was this vote never put to the masses of Sydney? Some of our best friends, who provided us with some of our best nights out, have lost substantial amounts of money, along with their businesses," the post continues. 

"How much longer are we going to all sit here and pretend the Casino, and subsequent stamp duty on the newly developed properties, have nothing to do with this? It’s the most blatant grab for cash we’ve ever seen, and yet we have smile politely as more businesses fold, and the creative industry drowns. We can’t understand how these laws are justified, any more than we can expect a government official to understand that people find solace on a dance floor at 3am."

Read the full statement here.

Meanwhile, fellow dance duo Yolanda Be Cool have released a remix of Skepta's Shutdown entitled Skepta's Casino Mike Bootleg — give the track a listen below. 

If that doesn't necessarily make any sense to you, it is of course in reference to the recently trending hashtag, '#casinomike', as Baird has been accused of being in cahoots with the Sydney casino's The Star and the soon-to-be-opened Barangaroo, who conveniently fall outside of the city's 'lockout zone'.

The Premier appeared on Sydney radio breakfast show 'Fitzy & Wippa' this morning to discuss his comments and dismissed accusations that his team had deleted comments posted by thousands on the thread. 

"Just go through all the comments that are there, there was a lot of constructive feedback, I was called many things...Why on earth would I delete them?" he said. 

"Every comment is there, have a look."

Check out some of the choice memes and comments from those who clearly feel strongly against Baird's stance on lockouts below.

Stay tuned to discover if #IronBoyAU can really save Sydney from the dastardly plans of #CasinoMike.

— Lindsay McDowens (@doctormcdougall) February 10, 2016

I'll be honest, it made my decision way easier #casinomike https://t.co/wNcDO3PKGP

— ubes (@Uberjakd) February 10, 2016

 

Enjoying some of Sydney's flourishing atmosphere. Thanks #casinomike

A photo posted by Danny Clayton (@dannyclayton) on Feb 10, 2016 at 4:42am PST