Catholic Group Told To Back Off After 'Mad' Call For Nationwide Lockout Laws

Anti-lockout activist group Keep Sydney Open have slammed calls made by Catholic not-for-profit health provider St Vincent's Health Australia for lockout laws to go nationwide as "mad" and a "mistake".

According to ABC, St Vincent's Health CEO Toby Hall also believes the country should adopt higher alcohol taxes and ban alcohol sponsorship in sport in an effort to reduce alcohol-related harm by 20% by 2025. 

"The evidence has shown where bottle stores close earlier and clubs close earlier there's less domestic violence, there's less violent assault," Hall said.

"This is not about being wowsers, this is not about a nanny state, it's saying 'Let's learn to have fun, enjoy ourselves, go out to nightclubs, go out to sport, but let's not associate alcohol with that'."

However speaking to theMusic today, KSO's Tyson Koh dismissed the notion.

"St Vincent's are to be applauded for the work they do with sick and injured people, but it's a stretch to suggest that they are in any way qualified to dictate on complex cultural and urban planning issues," Koh said.

"Sydney has already been savaged by these reckless laws, and now St Vincent's are suggesting that Australia's most vibrant city Melbourne go down the same path. It's quite mad, really. It's a mistake to think that the lockouts address alcohol when so many retail businesses, restaurants, theatres, taxi drivers and music venues have also been hit. Concert ticket revenue declined 40% in the year after the lockouts were introduced in Sydney, which is an absolute disaster. 

"Youth drinking is at its lowest point since the early 1960s and violence in Sydney was in decline prior to the lockouts. A cultural shift had begun long before the lockouts, making St Vincent's latest attempt to create alarm completely exaggerated."

Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Jane Garrett, also rejected the idea of all states adopting lockouts, insisting that they did not work for Melbourne when they were trialed in 2008.

"Unlike other cities, Melbourne has 24-hour public transport, a liquor freeze on big beer barns and inspectors out on the beat making sure licensees are doing the right thing," Garrett told theMusic.

"Of course as a community we have to respond to alcohol-related problems. It requires a comprehensive approach and that’s why we are working closely with Victoria Police, local government and the commission on ways to encourage responsible drinking. We are building on the best of our nightlife by making it easier for smaller venues, boutique bars and live music to flourish."

A debate regarding lockout laws was held in Sydney just last month ahead of the review of the legislation, expected to be delivered in August by former judge Ian Callinan.