Sydney’s lockout laws crushed city’s nightlife for little gain and spread violence into suburbs
Sydney‘s highly controversial lockdown laws did little else than ruin the Harbour City’s most famous venues and defer violence into surrounding suburbs, new statistics show.
A report from the Journal of Addiction show a decrease in violence in the popular nightspot and Sydney’s CBD have coincided with increased numbers in fringes just a walking distance from the precincts.
A 10-year period from 2009 to 2019 in the years pre-dating the pandemic show the city’s controversial mandates have had little to no impact, instead deferring the violence issues into other suburbs.
The manipulation of Sydney’s lockdown statistics have reared its ugly head after figures showed depleted assaults in Kings Cross have spilled into surrounding areas
The lockout laws were instituted following the high profile deaths of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie, which occurred in July, 2012 and December, 2014 respectively.
The laws were established less than two months after Christie’s death, but assaults had already started plummeting well before the rules were introduced.
Assault incidents had decreased from 42 incidents in July, 2012 to 31.5 in December, 2012 following the tragic death of Kelly due to an unprovoked one-hit punch from Kieran Loveridge.
Christie was killed on December 31, 2013 after a fatal coward punch from Shaun McNeil, which saw assault incidents drop from 34 in January of 2014 to 24 in June.
Lockout laws were established at the end of January in 2014, but the numbers had already been in two years of decline.
The lockout laws were instituted following the high profile deaths of Thomas Kelly (pictured) and Daniel Christie, which occurred in July, 2012 and December, 2014 respectively
Don Weatherburn, a professor at the University of NSW’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, told SMH lockout laws were doing nothing but shifting the burden to surrounding suburbs.
‘Right now no one notices that because COVID is around and we’ve got endless lockouts, but when and if nightlife returns to the city, I’d expect this to reappear,’ said Professor Weatherburn, the former head of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, which provided the data.
‘I’m totally sympathetic to the idea of wanting nightlife to return – it’s a balancing act. But if they imagine that we’ve got this balance right now, I think they’re making a mistake because I think it’s COVID that’s holding the line.’
Data shows a rise in assault charges coincided with lockout laws imposed in 2014, with higher numbers in the nearby Surry Hills, Chippendale, Darlinghurst, Ultimo and Pyrmont.
However, Bondi, Coogee, Newtown and Double Bay didn’t see an increase in assault incidents despite being a short taxi or ride-share drive away.
Kings Cross was once the bustling centrepoint of Sydney’s nightlife, but instead now is virtually deserted after lockout laws saw its famous establishments closed
The government brought in a demerit system in January, 2021 that awarded points to ‘violent venues’ which included ‘three strikes’ mandates and ‘minor sanctions’ systems,
The city’s 24-Hour Economy Commissioner said the rules weren’t about ‘policing’ the Harbour City but instead ‘working’ to ensure people could get into venues ‘safely’.
‘Public safety isn’t just about policing,’ Michael Rodrigues said.
‘It’s also working with Transport to make sure people can get to and from places safely; it’s working with Planning to design safe, well-lit streets and working with Liquor & Gaming to make sure regulation strikes the right balance.’
They are looking to follow in the footsteps of London’s successful ‘Purple Flag’ program which sees popular areas rewarded with laws based on their management of incidents in vibrant destinations for partygoers.
Mr Rodrigues says the pandemic has helped de-centrilise the city’s nightlife areas and that has helped the control of previously troublesome spots.