Sydney liquor freeze extended

The NSW Government has extended its freeze on new liquor venues in Kings Cross, Oxford St and George Street south.

The laws have been in effect since 2009 and stop any new liquor licences, extensions of trading hours and DAs for premises that would need a liquor licence in the outlined areas.

Sydney Mayor Clover Moore MP welcomed the extension.

“This is a common-sense decision by the new Government and I welcome the Premier and the Minister’s support for the City’s efforts to effectively manage long-term growth in Sydney’s late night trading activity and entertainment,” Ms Moore said.

“Licensed venues are an important part of the City’s night time economy; locals and visitors alike want a night life that is safe and more diverse and provides more options for more people.

“The freeze is about finding better ways to manage the growth of our nightlife into the future.

“Our infrastructure and services need to keep up with that growth. To date, this hasn’t really happened.

“Until we have our late night policy in place, we need a freeze which caps growth in some areas that have already reached their night time capacity.

“Adding more venues in those areas would only add more people. We need to work to manage that so that it doesn’t become a safety issue, and or overly impact local residents”.

Moore said since the freeze was first put in place pedestrian data showed the City was experiencing visitor numbers equivalent to a major event every weekend.

Between 11am and 3am on a Saturday night more than 20,000 people – the capacity of Acer Arena – visited Darlinghurst Rd in Kings Cross.

Moore said the highest pedestrian volumes were recorded in Bayswater Rd between 1am and 2am, with more than 2,000 people moving through every 20 minutes – the equivalent of the weekday morning peak hour in Martin Place.

“Action on alcohol-related violence is a joint responsibility and solutions depend on the State and City working together. The solutions need to be combined with improved policing, enforcement and compliance of late night licensed venues,” Moore said.

“A band-aid solution is not the answer. That’s why new venues are being put on hold in problem areas and working on a package of measures, including extending our CCTV network throughout Kings Cross.”