Premier Mike Baird has spoken for the first time since his Facebook post about the controversial lockout laws. Courtesy: Nova FM/Fitzy and Wippa

A SMALL bar in central Sydney has enacted its own form of lockout laws by banning NSW Premier Mike Baird from its premises.

Arcadia Liquors in Redfern erected a sign on its window on Wednesday protesting the divisive legislation and declaring: “Mike Baird. You’re locked out.”

“Dear Mike Baird,” the poster read. “In response to your recent dismissal of the debate against Sydney’s lockout laws as ‘public hysteria’, you’ll be pleased to know you’ve made the list.”

The “list”, according to bar staff, includes former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, who management also reserved the right to refuse service.

“No Mike, Sydney is not doing fine, violence was never ‘spiralling out of control’ and using bogus statistics to push your personal agenda is downright shameful.

“Love live our Sydney, not yours.”

The message follows a week of backlash against Mr Baird from bar owners, musicians and most of all the revellers who say the majority are being punished for the actions of a few.

Australian DJ Alison Wonderland said she was embarrassed about the state of Sydney.

“You obviously don’t listen to anyone younger than you, so perhaps you’ll listen to someone who travels abroad more than you,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Our beloved Sydney’s reputation has taken a f**king battering & words can’t explain how embarrassed I am that my home, the most beautiful and once most vibrant city in the world has become a laughing stock internationally.”

Australian producer duo Flight Facilities followed with a passionate plea for common sense. On Facebook, the artists wrote that Sydney used to be a cultural and musical incubator but those days are long gone.

They listed venues they once played — including Soho, Tank Nightclub, Trademark, Yu, Hugo’s and the Piano Room — that have all since shut down. They said Sydney should take a leaf out of another thriving Australian city’s book.

“Take Melbourne, for instance. It’s perfectly comparable to Sydney in size. The night-life is thriving and Mayor Robert Doyle wants venues to trade later. He wants public transport to run longer. Music venues are being given grants to improve their soundproofing to coexist with residents.

“You want to know what a good night out is like? Go to Melbourne.”

Mr Baird tried to calm concerns in a Facebook post that backfired earlier this week.

“Let’s start with a statistic about Sydney’s night-life that matters: alcohol related assaults have decreased by 42.2 per cent in the CBD since we introduced the ‘lockout laws’, the Premier wrote.

“And they’re down by over 60 per cent in Kings Cross. But … didn’t we achieve this by shutting down the whole city and killing its night-life? Well, one last statistic: the number of small bars in Sydney has more than doubled in the same time period.”

He said there “has been a growing hysteria” about night-life in Sydney.

“The main complaints seem to be that you can’t drink till dawn any more and you can’t impulse-buy a bottle of white after 10pm. I understand that this presents an inconvenience. Some say this makes us an international embarrassment. Except, assaults are down by 42.2 per cent.”

Mr Baird spoke this morning with Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa. He told listeners he was surprised by the “huge outpouring” over the topic and again urged Sydneysiders to consider both sides of the story.

“When I think about this and I go back a couple of years, you can’t help but meet people like (one punch victim Thomas Kelly’s parents) and have your life changed. How senseless. A young man whose life was ahead of him ... out his first night down there lost his life.”

He said he will be reviewing the current lockout situation but will find it difficult to change course.

“What we will do is we will review it. It’s going to be difficult for me to change my mind because you’ve seen that less presentations means there’s potentially lives being saved. I want people to have as much fun as they possibly can but at the same time we want people to be safe.”