A call to introduce lockout laws in Melbourne has been put forward by an influential Victorian medical expert. Writing in the Herald Sun, Toby Hall, CEO of St Vincent’s hospital group, says he would like to see strict lockout and last drinks laws introduced to curb alcohol-fuelled violence.
“It’s time to take Melbourne’s alcohol problem seriously,” Hall writes in his editorial, via InTheMix. According to Hall, Melbourne has seen a 53 percent rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions since 2003. In his opinion, the best solution would be for Melbourne to “revisit lockout laws”.
Melbourne had previously trialled lockout laws, like those permanently introduced in Sydney and soon to be introduced in Brisbane, back in 2008. Hall would like to see the Victorian capital follow Sydney’s example and introduce “1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks”.
Hall cites statistics which indicate alcohol-related assaults have dropped in Sydney’s lockout zones, arguing that Melbourne should adopt the same measures. He also claims that if properly instituted, such laws shouldn’t have a significant impact on Melbourne nightlife.
“Done properly, 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks won’t curtail any reasonable enjoyment of alcohol on a night out,” he writes. Readers can view the full opinion piece via the Herald Sun here.
As Tone Deaf reported last month, Queensland will soon be the latest state to introduce lockout laws, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reportedly pushing ahead with plans for a 1am nightclub lockout law to be imposed statewide.
While Queensland currently has a 3am statewide lockout, the proposed new laws would impose further restrictions on pubs and clubs, including a 1am lockout, 3am last drinks, and a ban on high-alcohol drinks after midnight.
News of the new legislation has been met with considerable outcry from the nightlife sector in the state, including industry lobby group Our Nightlife Queensland, who say they were not consulted before the potentially damaging laws were announced.
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It was around this time last year that Sydney introduced lockout laws in select areas of the CBD as part of a bid to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. Much like in Queensland, the laws were met with significant criticism from local publicans and punters.
Despite the criticism, a one-year study unveiled last month indicated that the controversial lockouts had “substantially reduced” the number of assaults in Kings Cross and the Sydney CBD. However, many claimed that the reduction in violence was due to an overall reduction in people in those areas.
Indeed, as the Daily Telegraph reported in August last year, the Kings Cross lockout laws have so affected the area’s economy that support organisations Renew Australia and the Potts Point Partnership began offering free rent in a bid to bring start-up businesses to the area.
