Well turn the porch light back off, it’s a huge time for nightlife in Sydney. Media leaks and reports are suggesting that the vibe-sapping lockout laws that have turned the Harbour City into a collective ghost town at times, could be removed completely by the end of 2019.
We spoke to Keep Sydney Open‘s Tyson Koh about where this all came from, and it’s apparently been on the cards for quite some time.
“Apparently this has been brewing away for a few months, and there’s no surprise that it’s on the cusp of a state election – it’s a vote grab,” Koh told us.
“From what we know Deputy Premier John Barilaro has brought this forward, and it’s on the back off a lot of businesses complaining about the light rail and lockout laws causing major disruption. At this stage it’s only the removal of the 1:30am lockout as far as we know, and Kings Cross will still be exempt.”
And if you’ve been to Sydney recently, you’d know that the CBD is beyond a bloody mess. Unfinished light rail construction as far as the eye can see, that honestly makes late trains seem like a better transport option than Uber Black. But it’s huge news for the city as a whole.
“I’m still processing the news right now, and personally I don’t know what to think. Obviously it’s a big win for the city, the musicians, the DJs, the young people,” he says.
“We always knew that it would all come down to putting a lot of pressure on the government.”
And if there is one thing for certain, the job isn’t finished. Keep Sydney Open became a political party earlier this year, and Koh also wants more young faces in Parliament.
“This isn’t over yet, and we need to keep the pressure going. You can go to Gladys Berejiklian’s website and write her a message in support of removing the lockouts.”
“I believe young people should step up and represent themselves in parliament, too. We’ve seen the damaging effects over the last half decade, and we saw Gladys’ recent response to Defqon and pill testing,”
“It’s a government that still has it’s head in the sand, and we need to prevent these knee-jerk reactions happening in the future.”
Amen to that, mate. Over to you, Gladys.
Image Source: Keep Sydney Open Facebook Page
