Property values in Kings Cross have dropped 20 per cent since the lockout laws. We are out to belatedly celebrate Penny's 40th birthday, an event I unfortunately couldn't make it up to Sydney for last month. Actually, after hearing how the night went, I'm kind of glad I missed it. The way Penny describes it, the night was no party towards its end. After a dinner with friends, the guests wanted to share a celebratory bottle of champagne nightcap. And why not? All the kids were secure at home with sitters and/or relatives and it was a milestone for Penny, who has always enjoyed a good time. And so they wandered along to a pub that was an old favourite from their pre-children days. I'll let Penny explain what happened next. "The place was closed! I couldn't believe it. It was a Sydney institution. Gone. So, we looked for somewhere else nearby and after walking a long time on what was supposed to be an entertainment strip finally found somewhere open but there was a long queue to get in. We decided to wait and after half an hour in the cold finally reached the door where a rude bouncer told us we wouldn't be able to enter. "I pointed out that NSW's lockout laws begin at 1.30am and it wasn't even 1am yet so legally we were good," she continues. "As he argued with us, he waved young hipster types in ahead of us. I suddenly realised we oldies were not cool enough to enter. The bouncer then proceeded to accuse us of being drunk when we weren't. I was so mad I asked Luke to take over because, as a lawyer, he would know what our legal rights were.

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox "Eventually, the bouncer reluctantly allowed us to enter. But it was hardly worth the hassle. We had to queue for luke-warm, overpriced drinks served in tacky plastic cups. It was horrible so I thought harrumph, we'll go somewhere else. Only problem was, there was nowhere else and if there was somewhere open, we wouldn't be allowed in, as it was now 1.30am. "I would have told everyone to come back to my place for some bubbles but we couldn't do that either as you can't legally buy alcohol after 10pm. Talk about buzz kill!" It has been two years now since 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks laws were implemented across the Sydney CBD. The new laws coincided with a NSW-wide ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm designed to curb alcohol-induced violence following two high-profile one-punch deaths in Kings Cross. And it has worked. NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reports most major crimes including robbery and theft had decreased for the 24 months to December 2014 and assaults in Kings Cross decreased by a third.

Hospital emergency ward admissions are also down, with St Vincent's Health Australia boss Toby Hall saying "far less people coming in who seem to be intoxicated." "There's a big change on the ground for the staff and most importantly people are seeming to be safer than they were before." However, this reduction in violence has come at a cost. More than 42 bars, clubs and small businesses have closed since the bans following takings drops of 40 per cent or more. Outspoken NSW businessman and campaigner against the laws, Matt Barrie argues the laws were not necessary in the first place as Sydney is more safe than Bordeaux, France or Lausanne, Switzerland for crime. "On average, an Australian dies every three days in Thailand," he notes. "You are far more likely to die falling over, out of bed or off a ladder than in anywhere near a licensed venue in Sydney." While there is no doubt the lockout laws have reduced crime and violent drunken thugs in the area, there is also no doubt these laws have seriously damaged Sydney's reputation as a 24-hour city and world-class entertainment destination. But at the same time, it has done a lot to show that Melbourne is just that, an inclusive, cosmopolitan and exciting hub where adults are treated as such yet can remain young at heart and party on their own terms.

Or, as my friend Penny describes it, "Melbourne deserves its reputation as the most livable city as it treats its citizens as grown-ups. In Sydney, I feel like I'm a naughty child and the city has become one big creche."