New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian says she will try to “find the right balance” on Sydney’s nightlife, after a report recommended the government scrap the city’s controversial lockout laws.

On Monday a government inquiry released its report into the laws, which critics say have decimated Sydney’s nightlife and pulled billions out of the city’s after-dark economy.

Five years after they were introduced following a run of so-called “one-punch” attacks in the city, the inquiry recommended scrapping restrictions such as the 1.30am lockout and a ban on shots after midnight across most of the city.

The proposed rollback has already been criticised by some health-related organisations though, who say it will lead to more alcohol-related violence.

The government has yet to formally respond to the inquiries findings, but the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has already indicated her willingness to repeal the laws.

“We always need to find the right balance between community safety and boosting the night-time economy,” Berejiklian said in a statement on Monday.

Chaired by Liberal party MP Natalie Ward, the joint select committee on Sydney’s night-time economy released its report on Monday morning, making 40 recommendations including that the government should lift the restrictions “with appropriate urgency”.

Bans on serving high-alcohol content beverages after midnight and the 3am cessation of service should also be lifted, the report recommended.

But the recommendations have been criticised by groups including the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education and St Vincent’s Hospital.

The inquiry found that there were 1,921 fewer non-domestic assaults in the Kings Cross precinct – a decrease of 52.8% – between January 2014 and March 2019, as a result of the laws.

Paul Preisz from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney said removing lockouts would lead to an increase alcohol-related violence and said the public still supported the laws.

“All the evidence tells us, for every extra hour alcohol is made more accessible there’s an associated increase in harms, including alcohol-related violence,” he said.

“It’s what’s happened overseas and it’s likely to happen in Sydney if the government abolishes 3am last drinks in the CBD and extends the opening hours of bottle shops, as the committee has recommended.

“The NSW government must not succumb to this false narrative that the public is crying out for these measures to be repealed, when it’s really a vocal group of vested interests.”

“Yet the NSW government appears at risk of buckling to these vested interests and letting them sell more alcohol, but at what cost?”

While the inquiry said the laws should be lifted for most of the city including Oxford Street, it recommended they remain in place in Kings Cross.

Once the heart of Sydney’s nightlife, Kings Cross was also the scene of the one-punch attacks that led to the deaths Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie, which sparked the introduction of the laws in 2014.

The report stated that due to the “historical nature” of Kings Cross and the high number of venues in the areas there was a “high risk” that if the laws were removed “violence would increase and the rate of assaults would begin to rise again”.

Instead, it said the government should consider ways to look at ways to “deconcentrate and diversify” Kings Cross, and consider reviewing the laws again in 12 months.

“So what we have said is that Kings Cross, if given better streetscape, better lighting, if it diversifies its licences, if it offers different approaches and it works with residents, [it] can absolutely have a way forward [to removing the restrictions],” Ward said on Monday.

The report stated the inquiry had heard evidence that the laws were costing the economy $16bn a year, and that the city’s night-time economy could increase from $27bn to $43bn if the laws were softened.

The government has previously indicated it is willing to rollback the laws. This month the premier said she agreed it was “time to enhance Sydney’s nightlife”.

“Sydney is Australia’s only global city and we need our nightlife to reflect that,” she said.

Alex Greenwich, the independent MP for Sydney and the deputy chair of the inquiry, said he welcomed the report’s recommendations and urged the government to endorse them as quickly as possible.



“It’s my hope that by Mardi Gras 2020 our night time economy will once again be flourishing and fun,” he said.



“Good things can happen after 1:30am. I met my husband on the dance floor in a gay bar on Oxford street. With the repeal of the lockouts, I hope others in Sydney will be so lucky.”



Greenwich also said he supported the eventual repeal of the lockout laws in Kings Cross.

“We need to make sure we get the balance right between density of venues and diversity of offerings,” he said.

“These recommendations have been carefully considered and will make Sydney a safe, vibrant and global city that all Sydneysiders can be proud of.”

In a statement after the report’s release Labor’s shadow minister for the night time economy, John Graham, said the party support the inquiry’s recommendations including continuing the lockouts in Kings Cross.

While the introduction of the laws in 2014 was “justified” it was “time for a more measured approach,” he said.

“While ensuring the level of alcohol fuelled violence does not return to pre-2014 levels, there is an opportunity to reshape and revitalise the nightlife in Sydney,” he said.

However Graham said Labor believed the reforms “should be staged”.

“Any reform of the 2014 laws should be introduced in stages, monitored and tested as it is introduced,” he said.

“On Kings Cross, we believe that it cannot be allowed to return to how it was. It will remain heavily regulated.”

