“We’ve had a good look at that. Queensland is a tourist location and this is actually a point of difference. You can come here and enjoy this great state," he said. "We advertise the Gold Coast. As far I am concerned a great part of a holiday is being able to go out and enjoy some nightlife. We don’t want to be a place that kicks people out and shuts down early. "... I have already seen some problems with what’s happening interstate. You can go and have a look yourself. They are concerned about their jails just filling up." Under the draft 'safe night out strategy' released by the government on Sunday, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, which had previously been criticised by state's Auditor-General, will be given increased powers to carry out "covert" operations to check licensed venues are complying with responsible alcohol serving regulations and enforce penalties for non-compliance. "There will be things in the liquor licensing regulatory framework which will involve mystery shoppers so we’re literally going to go and test whether venues are doing the right thing," Mr Newman said.

"We will be making sure that we have the compliance people out there and we will make sure that places that serve alcohol comply with their obligations under the liquor act." The definition of 'unduly intoxicated' will be amended to include patrons who may be under the influence of illicit drugs, putting greater responsibility on bar staff and licensees not to serve them. Police would be given greater powers to remove those they judge as overly intoxicated from the streets, either by committing them to a 'sober safe centre' - a drunk tank - if they are in the Brisbane CBD, or through increased penalties for public nuisance and refusal to leave a licensed premises. The plan will be open for consultation and comment for a month. Mr Newman said he wanted "Queenslanders to get behind us". "... This framework is about targeting people who do the wrong thing and letting other people enjoy a great night out. It’s also about saying Queensland is a place where we want people to be able to let their hair down, enjoy a great night out. We are not making judgments on peoples’ partying or drinking habits,” he said.

“It strikes the balance between education, setting the right standards, having tough but fair laws, having the police involvement, the liquor licensing people, the licensees themselves. “... We want to change the culture. We want people to be able to have a great night out." Outside the licensed areas, the plan calls for a compulsory education program to be included in the school curriculum. If approved, this year's program would be quickly pushed through to target Year 12s before they headed off to Schoolies. In future years, the program would form part of the lesson plan for Years 7 to 12. Matthew Stanley Foundation founder, Paul Stanley, who's 15-year-old son was killed outside a house party in 2006, questioned how effective teachers would be in getting students to listen. Mr Stanley said taking his message to schools through the foundation and the N2C (no second chance) campaign, he had learnt the difficulties of appealing to the students and believed safe drinking messages needed to start in primary school.

"The one thing I really want to see is the education part of it is done well, so the kids aren't getting bored before they get in the door," Mr Stanley said. "They are not going to listen to teachers, just the same as they don't listen to police officers when they go in there, they don't listen to their parents. They might listen to me for a while. "... What we have to be working hard on is getting to the kids young, and then reinforcing the message across their entire lives." The government hopes to have its new laws in place by August, and extended the moratorium on late-night trading hours decisions until August 31, when the new legislative framework was in place. Included in those decisions is whether to allow late night trading to clubs, pubs, hotels, nightclubs and restaurants outside of designated entertainment districts.

Loading Under the proposed reforms, the Commissioner for Liquor and Gaming would have to give "greater weight" to recommendations from the police about public safety when considering an application to extend trading hours. The government also envisions giving communities a "greater say", through their local council when a licensee applies to extend its liquor licence trading hours. Applications would be considered on a "case-by-case basis". The draft strategy is available here.