News : Brisbane's 'Reclaim the Nightlife' rally flops

TheMusic.com.au writes…

“Brisbane lobby group Queensland Locked Out’s “Reclaim the Nightlife” rally drew a rowdy 500 outside state parliament last week. They held banners which stated “Save the Music” and “Stop crime, not fun”. They chanted “We don’t need your legislation, we don’t need your forced control” to Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” and “No more shutdown” to a bongo-drum Rhianna’s “Don’t Stop The Music.”

In Melbourne, the fact that 20,000 fans protested on the street saw the state government cave in, and dilute their laws. But the relatively poor turn-out by Brisbane music fans (over 15,000 signed the Facebook petition, where were they?) meant that it would have made little impact on the Law, Justice and Safety Committee’s report on alcohol-related violence. It is due to be handed over this week (March 18) and expected to suggest the timing of venue closure.

The Queensland Police Union, aided by the likes of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Ambulance service, recommended to the parliamentary inquiry that closing pubs at midnight and nightclubs at 2 am would effectively fight alcohol-linked violence. But speakers at the rally argued that the government was relying on poor research and that early closing would only make the problem worse, and that it would hit venues hard as they make their most money after midnight.

Queensland Locked Out’s Zach Salar, fearing that such moves would only “destroy the culture of our great State” pressed for solutions, with harsher penalties for “the 1% of offenders”, increased police numbers in entertainment precincts and working with the licensees on the introduction of ID scanner“