Initially introduced as a solution to violence in late night hot spots such as King’s Cross and Oxford Street, Sydney’s lockout laws, in tandem with a rise in residential development, have had a transformative effect on the city’s night life since their introduction in 2014. While former Premier Mike Baird pointed to a significant, if contested, 42% drop in alcohol fuelled crime when responding to critics, it seems the Berejiklian government has adopted a different approach after years of venue closures and mounting concerns that violent behaviour has simply been shifted to areas outside the lockout zone,
Aside from the resignation of her predecessor, dubbed ‘Casino Mike’ by his critics for the exemptions given to Crown Casino, the intervening years have seen significant opposition emerge in the form of mass protests, an ill-fated political party and a single by Flume.
