No new nightclubs will be allowed to open in Sydney until 2017
The freeze on new liquor licenses has been extended for another year
Sydney’s ban on awarding new liquor licenses has been extended to February 2017, meaning no new pubs or nightclubs will be able to open over the next 12 months.
The freeze first came into action in February 2014 as part of the ‘lockout’ laws that are strangling the city’s night-time industry, and has been extended, along with all the other strict measures such as forced closing times and restrictions on selling alcohol, while the Australian government reviews the laws.
Troy Grant, New South Wales’ Deputy Premier and Justice Minister, told the Sydney Morning Herald: “We want … to have certainty and confidence that nothing will change while we conduct this major review. Once the review is complete the government will have a firmly stated position about the future of lockouts.”
Despite drawing large protests and criticism from public figures such as MP Jenny Leong and Russell Brand, it looks unlikely that the laws will be relaxed, with Premier Mike Baird recently stating that the lifting of Sydney’s lockouts for New Year's Eve was “not an indication that we’re relaxing the lockout laws. Quite the opposite…they are here to stay.”
[Via: In The Mix]
Patrick Hinton is Mixmag’s Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter here
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