Michael ThornIt’s the government document that all of Sydney, and all those with an interest in public health, have been waiting for.
The highly anticipated report from the Independent Liquor Law Review, led by The Hon Ian Callinan AC, has just been handed to the New South Wales (NSW) Government and made available to the public.
And I, for one, welcome the exhaustive review findings.
In February 2014, the NSW Government introduced a range of measures to reduce alcohol-related violence. This included restricting entry to new licensed premises (‘lockouts’) after 1:30am, the cessation of alcohol sales (‘last drinks’) at 3am in the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD Entertainment Precincts, and a 10pm closing time for bottle shops.
Two years on, and the measures are working.
Analysis by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) found that the rate of non-domestic assaults during the lockout period on weekends has reduced by 70.2 per cent in Kings Cross and 30.7 per cent in the Sydney CBD. Following last drinks at 3am, the assault figures are 75.5 per cent and 41.5 per cent respectively.
The Callinan Review yesterday confirmed the effectiveness of Sydney’s liquor laws – concluding that the package of trading hour measures has achieved its policy objectives of reducing alcohol-related violence.
The thorough review of NSW lockout laws has largely confirmed what the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), together with law enforcement, public health professionals, and medical experts have long argued: that the liquor laws have made Kings Cross and the Sydney CBD safer.
The 151-page report makes a strong case for the state-wide application of the modest trading hour measures, and is a ringing endorsement and acceptance of the large body of evidence that shows just how successful these policies have been in reducing crime, saving lives, saving taxpayer dollars, and improving community amenity and public safety.
“Of all the groups holding opinions, it seems to me that the medical profession and the emergency workers have the least or no self-interest. Their opinion, formed on the frontline as it were, must carry a great deal of weight.”
(p.7, para 10)
“The police and the medical profession, the latter of whom are financially and generally otherwise disinterested in the relevant issues, are strongly, adamantly, of the opinion that it is the Amendments in total and in combination that make them effective in reducing alcohol-fuelled violence and anti-social behaviour in the Precincts.”
(pp.9-10, para 14)
“Dr James Edwards is the Acting Director of the Emergency Department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at Camperdown. Newtown is a part of the catchment of that hospital. He told me that he had detected no increase in assault trauma related presentations in the area around the hospital. Research undertaken by the Head of Research and Trauma there concludes that the Amendments have not resulted in a shift in alcohol related violence to neighbouring city entertainment areas. Dr Edwards pointed out that emergency departments around the country have become busier with the demands of an ageing population. If there were to be as many alcohol-related presentations to emergency departments as there were before the Amendments, then these departments would be even more stretched than they are presently.”
(p.94, para 5.13)
“The Police strongly support the retention of all measures contained in the Amendments. Their submission emphasised that the initiatives as a whole produced major benefits to law enforcement, emergency services and the community. The Police likened the regular situation in Kings Cross before the Amendments to a major public event without the supporting infrastructure, planning and resources. The unacceptable levels of alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour gave rise to reduced public amenity and personal safety.”
(p.137, para 6.28)
“I have been asked to give consideration to the ban on the sale of packaged alcohol after 10pm… I was provided with figures by Liquor and Gaming NSW which suggested that, since the enactment of the Amendments, alcohol-related domestic assaults had decreased by 8.1% for the State as a whole, by 12.3% in regional areas and by 4.4% in metropolitan areas. In regional areas, the reduction of such assaults had fallen 16.7% between 11pm and midnight.”
(p.139, paras 7.1-7.4)
Following a comprehensive assessment by former Justice of the High Court, the Callinan Review effectively silences industry opponents that have tried to undermine the measures.
“It is an overstatement to say that Sydney is totally out of step with, or inferior to major international cities because it has a requirement of cessation of service. To the contrary, a requirement of cessation of service is applied in many cities which were described by submitters as global and vibrant.”
(p.67, para 3.7)
“Opponents of the laws state accurately that the incidence of violence was trending downwards before the introduction of the Amendments. The fact is, however, that the reduction has very much been accelerated by the laws.”
(p.95, para 5.17)
“In my opinion, little can be drawn from the Melbourne experience. The lockout there was not accompanied by other measures of the kind enacted by the Amendments. The authors of the KPMG report made clear the difficulty they had in reaching any conclusive findings ‘due to the range of variables at play’.”
(p.79, para 3.46)
“Those who favour an extension of hours of availability of home delivered alcohol were not alone in tending not to address the evidence, statistical and otherwise, of the association of alcohol with domestic violence and its impact on children.”
(pp.140-141, para 7.8)
“Contrary to the submissions of a number of the opponents, Newcastle is not an unsuitable comparator to Kings Cross making due allowance for the history and character of the latter and the much larger population of the Sydney region.”
(p.74, para 3.30)
“Some opponents say that it is a great inconvenience not to be able to make (on impulse or otherwise) a purchase after 10pm of packaged alcohol… After experiencing one such occasion of inconvenience, a householder might, one would think, have enough foresight to lay in a supply of a few bottles of wine or beer a day or two before, or even on the day of home entertaining.”
(p.139, para 7.1)
While acknowledging the measures have incurred an economic cost to some traders, the report concludes those costs to be either exaggerated or not sufficiently documented or quantified.
“It is easy to see why there would be a tension between the improvement of safety and amenity on the one hand, and on the other, the profits of operators which depend to a large or major extent upon the quantity of alcohol that they can sell. Some opponents of the Amendments have overlooked that the Government took account of this: The Government recognises that [the] measures will result in some business operators having to reconsider how they operate their licensed premises, and people heading out for a night in the city may have to adjust their plans accordingly.”
(pp.29-30, paras 1.35-1.36)
“Some opponents have contended that businesses have closed as a result of the operation of the laws. I am not satisfied that this has happened on any large scale.”
(p.85, para 4.9)
“A night time economy has many components including traditional ones: the cinema; live theatre; meals and drinks at restaurants; take away liquor and meals; hire cars; after hours gambling; retail shopping; fast foods; special night time events; sporting fixtures; and nightclubs and hotels and other venues serving alcohol formed part of this economy. The licensed premises of Kings Cross and of Central Sydney are only a subset of part of all of this.”
(p.90, para 5.5)
“I do not understand why some of those opportunities [for live entertainers] have not migrated to other areas or other times. I am not satisfied that all providers and customers have done all they could to adapt their programmes and habits respectively.”
(p.4)
“I have not found persuasive the assertion that the laws have turned Sydney into a international laughing stock, and that Sydney fails as a ‘global city’ because of the Amendments. Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and Rome are all cities in respect of which some laws of a similar kind (except as to lockout) are in force.”
(p.86, para 4.11)
“If live entertainment is as precious to people in the Precincts as they claim, visitors and providers should be able to programme it so that choice can still be offered up to the lockout, and enjoyed for hours afterwards accompanied by alcohol until 3am.”
(p.10, para 16)
“No matter how the calculations are done, to the extent that they can accurately be done, it is unlikely that the financial benefits of the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol and any associated or subsidized activities such as entertainment, outweigh the financial costs (leaving aside incalculable social costs) of alcohol.”
(p.31, para 1.41)
The Hon Ian Callinan AC says the government could consider a two-year trial of extending the 1:30am lockout and 3am last drinks to 2am and 3:30am for genuine live entertainment venues.
While I am open to consideration of this suggestion, the NSW Government should proceed with caution from here. As Callinan himself stresses, any relaxation of the measures carries the likelihood of an increase in alcohol harms, and that any such changes should be staged and trialled.
In closing, Callinan concludes:
“I understand that the objectives of the amendments were to achieve these ends. Those policy objectives are, to answer the statutory question, in my opinion valid.”
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