Is NSW Government Ready To Back Down On Lockouts?

A debate held at NSW Parliament House in Sydney yesterday to discuss the city’s lockout laws has been considered a tremendous success by all involved, after 12,000 people signed a petition calling on the government to cull the contentious legislation.

Members of the Labor, Liberal and Greens parties were present at the debate, which filled two full galleries within the lower house.

Speaking to theMusic today, Keep Sydney Open’s Tyson Koh said the discussion gave everyone an opportunity for people to see the current stance held by the political parties on the drinking laws.

"They’re certainly a long way from where they were at the start of the year when they were pretty staunchly supporting the measures, where as now they are leaving it to the review," Koh said.

"They’re going to base everything on evidence, which presumedly means all evidence, not just from one side."

Koh noted the presence of Deputy Leader of the State Labor Party Michael Daley as an interesting development and applauded the speech he delivered on the day.

"He [Daley] took us back two years ago, back to when the legislation was first being hastily rushed through the parliament," Koh recalled.

"He acknowledged it was indeed pushed through without adequate discussion, consultation. And he said that what we need to do here moving forward is to get the balance right, suggesting that as it stands, the balance isn’t right."

Greens MP Jenny Leong was another present on the day who delivered a powerful speech which also cleverly referenced a number of popular dance tracks including The Presets’ My People, Beastie Boys’ (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

"My speech gave a nod to musicians and creative communities, as we know that they provide the beating heart to our city," Leong told theMusic.

"The lockouts have already had a significant impact on live venues and the musicians and DJs that play in them.

"It was fantastic to be joined in parliament by a couple of hundred people who were all there to send the message that it is possible to keep Sydney safe but open.

"The petition was signed by nearly 12,000 NSW residents who agree that we needed to address problems with violence and anti-social behaviour, but who don’t agree that the only way to do that is to lock people out and shut down our nightlife."

Though NSW Premier Mike Baird wasn’t present at Parliament House yesterday, Leong said, "It was impossible for him to ignore the overwhelming response from the community, the strong opposition to the blanket lockouts, and we’ve seen a shift in the government’s position".

Check out Leong’s full speech here.