NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that Sydney’s hugely despised Lockout Laws will lift across the CBD from January 14, bringing an end to the near six-year grip the legislation has had over the city’s nightlife.
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Berejiklian confirmed the laws will be scrapped in a matter of weeks, meaning restrictions in high-traffic night spots like the inner city and Surry Hills will no longer apply.
The dumping of the laws was initially announced back in September, following the recommendations from a massive parliamentary report into Sydney’s night-time economy, which estimated the laws were costing the Harbour City somewhere in the vicinity of $16 billion annually.
BREAKING: NSW Premier @GladysB Sydney’s lockout laws are gone from January 14. (They will stay in Kings Cross however.) Last drinks will remain at 3:30am. There will be a review in 12 months@10NewsFirstSyd #nswpol pic.twitter.com/KtN1SSg7kV
— Lachlan Kennedy (@lachlan_kennedy) November 28, 2019
The removal of the restrictions does come with provisos, however. The laws will remain in place in Kings Cross, which has arguably felt the effects of the legislation the hardest.
A last drinks time of 3:30am will also remain in place across the soon-to-be previous inner city zone that the laws covered.
The lifting of the restrictions means pubs and clubs in the zone – including on the popular Oxford St strip – will no longer have a 1:30am last entry rule. Restrictions on the serving of shots, cocktails, and glasses will also disappear. As will trading hour restrictions placed on bottle shops, with a closing time of 11pm on Sunday nights now the earliest mandated last call.
The State Government has pledged a review of the new trading conditions in 12 months’ time.
It might be time to crack a cold one, Sydney mates. It’s (seemingly) (mostly) over.
