Boozy businesses must adapt

Six months after their introduction, Sydney’s nightclub lockout laws continue to generate debate.

The new measures – which include 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks for pubs and clubs – were rolled out in NSW during February to reduce alcohol-related harms across the state.

Early indications of success are promising. Local doctors and police are happily praising the new closing times for their part in the significant reduction of alcohol-related injuries and incidents this year.

So it comes as no surprise that the alcohol industry is again on the defensive. In recent weeks they’ve been very vocal about the apparent injustice of what they claim to be a blow to business.

We’ve seen industry reps and venue owners attempt to undermine the measures by throwing around unsubstantiated claims that earlier closing times are having a ‘disastrous’ impact on the night time economy.

This is exactly what we expected.

Of course licensees would experience a change in business trends after the introduction of safer liquor consumption laws. That does not mean that the evening economy is on the verge of some kind of apocalyptic disaster.

The primary purpose of these new measures was to reduce late night alcohol availability. This in turn reduces the unacceptably high levels of alcohol harms in hotspots such as Kings Cross.

An impact on pub and nightclub business models is not an unintended consequence. It is absolutely what the measures were designed to do. And for that we should be unapologetic.

To suggest that the new laws are single-handedly destroying the night-time economy is simply incorrect. Those exaggerated claims ignore an inconvenient truth that alcohol sales are just one part of Sydney’s diverse and vibrant night life.

The bottom line is that venues whose financial success was predicated solely on serving copious amounts of booze with little regard for the consequences, now have two choices. Watch business profits continue to decline. Or adapt and diversify within the new (safer) legislated environment in order to survive and thrive.

I am very glad that lockout laws are on the agenda for the recent Parliamentary inquiry by the NSW Legislative Assembly Committee. It’s a great opportunity to discuss their progress to date and set out a framework for future evaluation.

But amidst the some embellished media coverage of struggling business sob stories I would strongly caution the Committee against premature or unfounded judgments regarding the legislation’s effectiveness or otherwise.

It has only been six months since the first laws to reduce alcohol-related harms were put in place, and the full package hasn’t even been implemented yet. Any new public health initiative needs to be in place for at least twelve months before its effectiveness can be fairly and soundly measured.

At that time the success of these lockout measures can be established with a robust evaluation of independent and trusted information.

Their success should not rely on unsubstantiated alcohol industry claims or by the testimony of business owners who stubbornly and foolishly refuse to adapt to the need for something other than a business model built on booze.