Most readers will be aware of the detrimental impact Sydney’s lockout laws have had on the nightlife industry in the NSW capital. Venues are closing at a staggering rate in areas like Kings Cross, but one venue owner has decided to take a stand.

Whether or not he has a leg to do it on remains to be seen, however. As Fairfax reports, staff from Hugos Lounge in Kings Cross are considering a class action lawsuit against the NSW government after losing their jobs due to the closure of the venue.

Owner Dave Evans says the state’s divisive 1.30am lockout laws are responsible for a stark decline in revenue, which plunged the bar and nightclub into administration. The club said they’ve seen a 60 percent drop in revenue and 80 percent drop in customers since the introduction of the laws.

Evans and the 70 members of his staff who’ve been made redundant will officially announce their legal plans today during a rally at the venue. They are expected to be joined by libertarian senator David Leyonhjelm​ and Doug Grand of the industry-based King’s Cross Liquor Accord.

Evans, the brother of celebrity chef Pete Evans, argues that by not applying the same restrictions to bars in other parts of the city such as Pyrmont and Newtown, the government has effectively created a dead zone in Kings Cross.

Hugos had traded for 15 years and was voted the best Australian nightclub six times. At its peak, it drew 6,000 patrons a week and had never received a strike under the government’s “three strikes” liquor licensing rule.

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“Hugos had no trouble with alcohol, which as it turns out is more than Barry O’Farrell can say,” Evans said when announcing the venue’s closure. As some readers will recall, former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, who spearheaded the laws, failing to declare a gift of Penfolds Grange wine.

Hugos is just one of an ever-increasing number of bars to have shut down or been sold since the 1.30am lockout laws were enacted, including much-loved venues like Soho, the Trademark Hotel, and the Backroom, who’ve all fallen victim to the downturn caused by the restrictions.

While the laws have been credited with a drop in alcohol-related violence in Kings Cross, some critics argue that the violence has simply migrated to formerly peaceful areas like Newtown, with a Newtown MP recently arguing for more late-night venues in the area to curb the spike in violence.

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