Hindley St traders' war on late-night clampdown

[crawf]

I can understand the reasons for 3am closing for suburban entertainment venues, but venues in the city should be allowed to trade 24/7 and not face these nanny state laws. The Adelaide CBD (especially Hindley St) is meant to be the state's main entertainment precinct.

It's the minority that causes the violence in the city, not the majority.

Hindley St traders' war on late-night clampdown
http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au ... clampdown/

HINDLEY St’s late night traders are waging a war against the State Government’s planned three-hour lockout.

A group of traders, spearheaded by prominent West End spokesman Tony Tropeano, have launched a website and Facebook campaign Fight the Early Night to raise awareness among partygoers about the changes to SA’s liquor licensing laws.

So far the Facebook group has more than 1000 members.

The government last month revealed plans for a mandatory three-hour close to pubs and clubs, either between 4am and 7am or 5am and 8am, under a raft of clampdowns aimed at curbing alcohol-fuelled brawls in licensed premises.

The reforms, outlined in two discussion papers, are out for public comment until September 3 and the government will decide which ones to adopt after that.

Mr Tropeano, who owns Hindley St nightspots Red Square and The Palace, said the aim of the campaign was to pressure the government to back down on the forced early closure and alert the people who actually party in the city about the plans.

“People that go out don’t read discussion papers,” he said.

“They’ve got no idea what’s going on so we want to bring it to the attention of as many people as possible.”

Mr Tropeano, who is the spokesman for the West End’s Late Night Traders Group, said the new laws would have “huge financial ramifications” for bartenders, security guards and venue owners.

He said the lockout would also leave thousands of clubbers stranded because of a lack of taxis and public transport.

Several other nightspots contacted by the City Messenger, including Hindley St’s Berkeley Hotel, said an early close would all but spell the end of their businesses.

“City hotels are struggling enough as it is,” Fight the Early Night campaigner and Berkeley manager Jenni Neilson said.

“And in order to pay high rents to landlords we’d need to have the full benefit of 24 hour trading.”

Woolshed On Hindley manager David O’Connell said if the changes were introduced, the government must force landlords to reduce their rents.

Mr O’Connell, who is organising a petition against the reforms, said “the city will die” if 24 hour trading was abolished.

“Everyone will just stay in suburbia because there will be no point coming to the city,” he said.

Adelaide West End Association president Andrew Wallace said the city needed a 5am cut off to clean-up the streets for the daytime economy.

“If you have a really intense occupation like we do in the city on Friday and Saturday nights it needs to be kept clean,” he said.

Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said the proposed changes aimed to “strike the balance” between a vibrant international city and a safe environment.

“The police tell us there is a link between extended trading hours and alcohol-related social harm, such as violence and assaults,” she said.

“And we believe people are entitled to feel safe in our entertainment areas and on our streets, without the threat of violence or abuse.”

Click here to support the fight
http://www.fighttheearlynight.com/

Response from the ACC - from another article in the Messenger

Cr Ralph Clarke said he supported a 5am-8am because revellers rarely left home until late, and having them all spill out of nightclubs at 3am or 4am would cause havoc on public transport. While Cr Michael Henningsen, Anne Moran and Stephen Yarwood wanted a 3am lockout, in line with SAPOL's recommendation. Anne Moran told the City Messenger "I challenge anyone to go out there at 5am and it's not kids having a good time, it's a sad, horrible tragicness".

Not Happy Jan x10

It has been proven many times interstate that lockouts do not work, all it's going to do is cause more violence, dramas and give another reason for young people to give Adelaide the flick.

Darwin for example has a 4am lockout and every time the main club Discovery closes at 4, hundreds of drunken individuals pour into the street and most of them end up fighting - sometimes involving more than 50 people. This happens every weekend, the cops even hide around the corner and bolt down at 4am

Another major issue is trying to catch a taxi, Darwin is already a prick of place to get a taxi but at 3-4am is beyond impossible.

[SRW]

Am I having deja vu? Wasn't this already proposed and abandoned in light of the Victorian experience? Why the return to fore?

[AtD]

I'm confused. I thought:

Lockout: Those already inside can stay, those outside can't come in. The crowd isn't all kicked out at once. Handful of drunks on the street at any given time.
Close: Everyone out at once, the whole crowd is on the street together.

[rev]

The problem isn't the time clubs stay or open till. The problem is bar staff continue to serve people who are already intoxicated.

From the police point of view, they are fed up with dealing with drunk morons & wankers.

From Tropeanos point of view, he doesn't care what people do on the streets, he just wants to get as many people through the doors of his places as he can so he can maximise his profits. A lock out will be contrary to his "business plan".


Ideally they will find a way to enforce the law regarding serving intoxicated people. But in reality there is little they can do about it that is viable and long term.
Lock outs wont prevent violence. People will just stay inside and drink more, then when they do come out will be even more drunk and there will be even more trouble.
And what about drunks leaving clubs during the lockout or before it?

The only way to stop the alcohol related violence completely is to ban alcohol. And that's not going to happen. And even if it did we can see how effective the drug bans are.......

The only solution is to boost police numbers and resources. Build additional cells for over night stays to cope. Give the police extra powers.
Saturate Hindley street and other night spots with police. On foot and in patrol cars.
The only way to reduce the violence is to have enough police on hand to quell trouble before it goes too far. Throw the drunks in the cells for a stay over night and give them a fine of a few hundred dollars at least. Why not bring in laws which require repeat "offenders" thrown in lockup over night to have such incidents recorded on their permanent record like a criminal conviction would?

Toughen the fu***ng laws up already and stop pussy footing around.

[Wayno]

there's very few drug, violence or public safety problems in Singapore!

deal drugs - death penalty
violence- jail term
violent crime - looong jail term
spit or litter - cash fine and community work

easy! lol

[Will]

Similar ideas have been trialled overseas and interstate without success. Why would it be any different here?

Furthermore, making alcohol more difficult to attain will only serve to increase it's 'value' and appeal to people.

The best solution to the binge-drinking problem is to increase the police presence along places like Hindley Street, as well as give police greater powers to apprehend troublemakers.

The problem also rests with Australia's culture of booze. We need to start better educating children about alcohol. The first experience of kids to alcohol should be at home with their parents; under a controlled environment, and not when they turn 18 at Hindley Street.