Sydney Mayor Calls For Drastic Changes To Sydney Night-Time Economy Ahead Of Lockouts Review

A full review of Sydney's highly contentious lockout laws are expected to be delivered this month and ahead of its recommendations, Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has called for changes to be made to Sydney's night-time economy in a bid to end the legislation and still keep people safe. 

Writing for The Guardian, Moore believes Sydney should adopt a 24-hour train service on weekends, as London introduced this past weekend. 

"What we’ve seen in Sydney is that the problems start when transport options don’t exist and crowds are left stranded out on the streets," Moore writes.

"With buses parked for the night and train stations inexplicably shut, nights out in Sydney have traditionally descended into pitched battle for cabs or long walks home. Services like Uber and GoCatch have increased the options, but they’re not cheap.

"We’ve been urging successive state governments to run trains 24-hours for nearly a decade. In fact, we’ve either implemented or advocated for a number of night-time policy measures other global cities are now getting plaudits for. But in Sydney, it’s the state government, not the City Council, that has power to make the key changes."

Moore insists there are better ways to keep Sydney safe than through lockout laws such as replacing lifetime liquor licenses with renewable liquor licences and the introduction of new 'saturation zone' rules, that "consider the number and type of licensed premises in a given area, along with relevant crime data and transport options".

"It’s a fact that lockouts have hurt Sydney’s cultural life and led to the loss of jobs and the shutdown of businesses, including live music venues, small bars and restaurants," Moore continues.

"It was a sledgehammer when what we needed was a well-researched, evidence-based, flexible response using transport, planning, licensing and police."

Moore's comments come just months after anti-lockouts activist group Keep Sydney Open called for the appointment of a night mayor in the city.