It's Official: Sydney Night Time Economy Report Calls For Scrapping Of 1.30am Lockouts

A report on Sydney's night time economy has been released today which recommends a major overhaul of the city's contentious lockout laws. 

40 recommendations were listed in the report including the removal of the 1.30am lockouts, "prohibition on service of certain drinks after midnight" including shots and "the 3am cessation of service". 

It has also been recommended that trading hours be extended for shops that serve takeaway alcohol.

It comes after the NSW Government announced plans to remove lockout laws in Sydney's CBD earlier this month. Recent data obtained by the City of Sydney found that almost 500,000 fewer people under the age of 35 have visited Sydney each year since 2014, the same year lockouts took affect.  

A foreword issued in the report by Member of the Legislative Council, Natalie Ward, reads, "There was agreement from a vast majority of stakeholders that something needed to be done to control the rising levels of violence and antisocial behaviour, particularly in the Kings Cross precinct. 

"At the time of their introduction, the 2014 [lockout] laws were an appropriate circuit breaker and were successful in reducing violence in the Sydney CBD and Kings Cross. 

"However, in addition to the violence dropping, so did the City's vibrancy and the number of people engaging responsibly in the night time economy. It is now an appropriate time to consider whether the 2014 laws are still proportionate.

"As well as reviewing the 2014 laws, this inquiry has presented the opportunity to examine Sydney's night time economy more broadly and find ways to promote innovation and invigorate Sydney's nightlife."

On the live music venue front, the report recommends that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment investigate adopting the Agent of Change policy, already used in Melbourne, which protects live music venues from noise complaints by new residential developments, as well as "adopting provisions to allow the designation of entertainment precincts that may encourage new venues".

A number of major groups and were amongst the 793 submissions for the inquiry, including Live Nation Australasia, Live Performance Australia, Keep Sydney Open, famous Sydney venues Oxford Art Factory and Kings Cross Hotel and the Association For Electronic Music. 

Read the full report here.