Leading Alcohol Companies Speak out on Sydney’s Lockout Laws

The 1,856 submissions received by the Callinan Review were published online this week. Among them were several from the major alcohol supplier and industry bodies, opposing the 1.30am lockout and 10pm take-away liquor restrictions.

The independent review of the existing Liquor Act, which is being led by Hon Ian Callinan AC QC, called for submissions in March to use as part of its final report to the NSW Government in August.

Diageo Australia, Merivale, the Australian Hotels Association NSW (AHA NSW) and Liquor Stores Association NSW (LSA NSW) all provided strong evidence for the removal of the lockouts and take-away liquor restrictions, highlighting in particular their impact on local businesses.

“In Merivale’s 21 years as a key participant in the hospitality industry in NSW, these measures have had a greater impact on the financial viability of hospitality venues in Sydney and the international perception of Sydney as a potential destination, than any others,” Sydney’s hospitality group argued.

Diageo added in its submission that there is not enough evidence to support the lockouts.

“Since 2012, more than 30 additional regulations have been placed on hoteliers in Kings Cross and 21 across the broader CBD. Not only has this put an enormous burden on licensees, it has also made it near impossible to know what has contributed to improved assault rates and what has had a negligible or potentially detrimental impact,” the spirits company said.

“To date, there has been no analysis of the individual impacts of specific measures on alcohol related violence, making it difficult to credit one specific measure with a positive impact.”

Supporting these arguments is research released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) in 2015, which shows there has been a 43 per cent decline in alcohol-related public assaults in NSW since 2009.

In fact, LSA NSW argued in its submission that since the introduction of the state-wide 10.00pm take-away sales restrictions, there has been an increase in consumers expressing their frustration towards staff employed in the off-premise as well as theft. The organisation said this has been coupled with unemployment, lower profits and loss of business.

AHA NSW added that “The state-wide restriction on off-premise alcohol sales after 10pm is a blunt policy instrument which erroneously conflates potential harm reduction in the Sydney CBD with alcohol availability in regional and rural New South Wales. This is more defined when it is considered that the majority of large retail liquor stores don’t open after 10pm.”

AHA NSW has recommended that the NSW Government removes both the restriction on entry to patrons after 1.30am in the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD Entertainment Precincts as well as reinstate standard trading hours for take-away sales after 10pm in regional, remote and tourism areas, as well as Metropolitan areas in NSW.

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