Human Weakness and Moral Hazards
The Sydney lockout laws were introduced by the NSW Government in February 2014 with the objective of reducing drug/alcohol fuelled violence. The legislation requires 1:30 am lockouts and 3am last drinks at bars, pubs and clubs in the Sydney CBD.
The legislation follows the events of two one hit punch attacks that resulted in death in quick succession in Kings Cross. The first happening in July 2012 to Thomas Kelly and the next happening in January 2014 to Daniel Christie, metres away from the same spot.
As a result, the premier Barry O'Farrell, who was now under the pressure of a state calling for harsher punishment on coward punch attacks would introduce the lockout laws to the CBD entertainment precinct.
A report from BOSCAR in April 2015 showed a 26% reduction in assaults in the lockout area and a 32% reduction in assaults. However a March 2017 report showed that there was a 12% to 17% increase in assaults in areas adjacent to the precinct and nearby areas.
Furthermore the laws have severely decreased the nightlife economy of the entertainment district.
Ultimately I think the lockout laws were an emotional, knee-jerk reaction to a series of unfortunate events. It was a quick response to the increasingly critical nature of the public and media and done out of fear of being seen as an incompetent government.
How could it have been handled better?
Don't succumb to the pressure.
Much easier said than done but I think the situation could have been handled much better if the response was given more thought. The reaction the to situation was "what laws can we implement to prevent this from happening again?" rather than "do we need new laws to prevent this from happening?".
Maybe they could have increased police numbers around the CBD hotspots to reduce the likeliness of alcohol fuelled fights from happening.
Maybe implement a harsher punishment for coward shots or just harsher punishment for drunkenness on streets.
Another idea is to only allow legislation to be passed once a certain amount of time has passed. This would prevent immediate emotional reactions to controversial issues.