Sydney lockouts to be pushed back half an hour

Sydney's lockout laws are set to be pushed back by half an hour from January.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announced the changes, which are in line with recommendations made by the official Callinan review, would include the 1.30am lockout and 3am last drinks laws in central Sydney being pushed back 30 minutes each at venues that offer "live entertainment, performances or art and cultural events as part of a two-year trial," reports the ABC.

Statewide, a ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm will be extended to 11pm.

Mr Baird said: "If we see an uptick in violence, there's an option to revert to where we were, but at the same time, if we continue to see improvements in violence or a maintenance of violence at levels that they're currently at, it gives us the capacity to further liberalise these laws."

But anti-lockouts advocacy group Keep Sydney Open isn't satisfied with the small concession, tweeting: "What a joke. A 30 minute relaxation is an insult to businesses and Sydney's global status. Mike Baird is in for a rough ride."

Last week, Amsterdam Night Mayor Mirik Milan told media while in town for Electronic Music Conference (EMC): "I think (the 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."

Scott Carbines is Mixmag's Australian Digital Content Editor, follow him on Twitter

[Via: ABC]