Publicado
Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 10:30
- Mirik Milan has criticised the NSW Government's approach to alcohol-fuelled violence while staying in Sydney for EMC.
Amsterdam's Night Mayor, Mirik Milan, has spoken out about Sydney's lockout laws, saying that they "will not work."
Milan arrived in Sydney to deliver the keynote at this week's Electronic Music Conference, an address which on Tuesday was due to examine the city's nightlife struggles, particularly those caused by the NSW Government's suite of strict licensing restrictions. Speaking to the ABC, he suggested that lockout laws "will not work because, probably, what the State Government wants is behavioural change, and you don't get behavioural change from blaming it on the operators. I think behavioural change comes from bottom-up initiatives, investing in your community and trying to change their behaviour within." Ultimately, he said the Government's approach "just doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
"The night is always treated differently to the day," Milan added. "When we have a problem at night the first reaction of city officials is, 'oh we have to stop this now', instead of what you would do during the day, [which is to] bring all the stakeholders together and try to come up with a solution." He pointed to positive strides made in Amsterdam, including the licensing of nine 24-hour venues which operate as cultural hubs. "We focus on the content for obtaining these licences... so these venues are all multidisciplinary, they have a bar, restaurant, nightclub, gallery space," he said.
Tyson Koh, spokesperson for anti-lockouts movement Keep Sydney Open, has regularly pointed to Amsterdam as an example worth following. After travelling to the Dutch capital earlier this year and meeting with Milan, Koh took to Facebook to express his desire for Sydney to follow suit and appoint a Night Mayor of its own.
It's now nearly three years since Sydney's lockouts—which restrict entry or re-entry after 1:30 AM and enforce 3 AM last drinks at any venue within a set inner-city area—were implemented. Public health advocates have continued to support the licensing measures, while the nighttime industry has rallied fiercely against them, pointing to significantly reduced foot traffic in entertainment precincts and an alarming decline in ticket sales at venues within the lockout zone.
An independent review of the lockouts was completed and published in September, suggesting a mild relaxing of the laws. The State Government have indicated they will make a decision on whether or not to change the laws by the end of this year.