Melbourne’s 1am Club Closure Proposal Slammed

Melbourne deputy lord mayoral candidate John Elliott's pledge to close all nightclubs in the city by 1am has been slammed by live music stakeholders today.

Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan told theMusic.com.au said that he thought the proposal was ill-advised and would set a dangerous precedent for legitimate live music venues.

“The call is completely out of step with the council's strategy to become a 24 hour city,” he said. “Many live music venues would be hit hard by such a move, as they stay open until 3am or 4am to supplement the bar revenue they lose when bands play. And where would everyone go after 1am? The state's ill-advised 2am lock out was a failure, and surely they will learn from that.”

Elliott's original comments came at his campaign launch last week, where according to The Age he said that, “There is a lot of talk about night-time and people with knives and all the trouble we have on Friday and Saturday nights. I think we have got to go to the state government. I am all in favour of closing all of the nightclubs by 1am.”

Elliott is running on the same ticket as mayoral candidate Gary Morgan, who focused on parking and transport at the launch.