THE state government began an audit of all licensed premises in Kings Cross last night as politicians, police, representatives of the liquor industry and community members gathered at a packed public forum to debate how to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence in Kings Cross.

The Hospitality Minister, George Souris, announced at a forum hosted by the Herald that the government would create a plan of management for the area, which the Premier's Department would draft.

He told the audience of more than 600 people the government was taking immediate action starting last night, launching a four-day compliance audit of 58 pubs, clubs and bars in Kings Cross.

Inspectors will interview all licensees and assess the effectiveness of incident reporting, security and surveillance, including CCTV coverage, and security patrols. Each venue's responsible service of alcohol register and log of alcohol-related incidents will also be scrutinised. Officers started their sweep at the Empire Hotel last night and continued into the early hours of this morning.