Sydney mayor hits out at lockout laws

London clubbers danced their way around the city on the Night Tube for the first time at the weekend, and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was taking notes.

"It's a fantastic initiative," she wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian Australia. "If you want people to go out at night, they need safe and easy options to get home."

Moore has again hit out at her city's suffocating lockout laws, which ban entry to a new venue after 1.30am and cut off alcohol past 3am in central Sydney, after calling for music venues to be exempt from the restrictions in her submission to the laws' official review.

Despite the city's mayor being all for it, the power to make changes to the laws falls with the state government, led by New South Wales (NSW) Premier Mike Baird. And he's not particularly up for it.

But Moore wants Sydney to trial public transport until 4am on Friday and Saturday. She's also called for an end to the lockouts for "well-managed" venues and a reconsideration of the 3am "last drinks" rule on a case by case basis.

The review into the lockout laws is expected to make its recommendations to the state government this month.

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

[Via: The Guardian Australia]