As if you needed any more proof that many of our politicians are scumbags, here’s some direct from the horse’s mouth.

When former New South Wales Premier and architect for their miserably failing lock out laws Barry O’Farrell was told that a popular music venue had been forced to shut its doors because of his draconian laws, he tweeted the curt “Thx for letting me know, #notearsshed.”

Forgetting for a second that the Liberal Party, of whom Barry O’Farrell is still a serving member, are constantly beating their chests about their business-friendly and job creating credentials; you’d think our politicians might have a little more tact.

But Barry O’Farrel’s disturbing attitude to the music community and industry is symptomatic of our political parties ignorant and short-sighted view of the entertainment industry, that is unless of course it’s classical music we’re talking about in which case the Government coffers are made readily available.

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The venue forced closed by the lockout laws is The Backroom in Kings Cross, which is well known for hosting numerous after-parties on tour including those for Snoog Dogg and Good Charlotte.

“Things haven’t been working for a while. Plain and simple, it is the lockout laws that have definitely affected our closing,” venue owner Raul Gonzales told Pulse Radio. “When you have a business model that relies on late night trading and you’re not getting it, then its just not feasible to keep it running. The foot traffic in the Cross has dropped significantly.”

The Backroom isn’t alone. Sydney’s music venues and nightclubs have been suffering all year under the oppression of tough lockout laws that were rushed through Parliament in January.

The city’s music scene has put up heavy resistance with NSW Government officials cracking down hard on venues that are struggling to comply with the implementation of 1:30am lockouts, 3am last drinks, and the statewide closure of bottle shops from 10pm.

The biggest impacts are being felt in entertainment district Kings Cross. According to a City of Sydney submission to the NSW Legislative Assembly inquiry into alcohol related violence, pedestrian traffic is down 84% compared with 2012 levels. Businesses have also reported up to a 40% loss in revenue since the lock-out laws were implemented.

At the same time, official Government research showed that there were 43 people who suffered assaults related to alcohol in Sydney City in February this year, before the lock outs came into effect. Immediately following the lockouts introduction, that number leapt to an increase 91 alcohol related assaults in March, and 85 in April.

In Kings Cross alone the number of alcohol-related assaults has risen from 20 in February, to 27 in March and 29 in May.

But those stats don’t really matter right now. What matters is that a business has been forced closed and many out of a job by a misguided government, and the best they can muster up is #notearsshed. Stay classy.

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