Queensland scraps lockout laws
The Palaszczuk government has passed a bill to formally ditch the planned 1am lockout for pubs and clubs.
This comes after the state government brought in Safe Night Precincts in July 2016.
Venues in these precints such as Fortitude Valley, have to stop service of alcohol at 3am.
Also, they need ID scanners mandatory is they are trading past midnight from July. Venues outside the precinct stop serving drinks at 2am.
Under the original plan, the 1am lockout was due to come into effect last month for venues trading until 3am.
The legislation passed just after 9.30pm on Thursday March 2, thanks to support from One Nation MP Steve Dickson and independents Billy Gordon and Rob Pyne.
They also helped pass the clause reducing the late-night permits from 12 to six.
Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said she had spoken to the live music industry and bands, musicians and big headline acts.
She pointed out that these acts were not playing at 3am. Instead they were finishing by midnight.
She said reduced liquor hours had been the most important measure that actually reduced alcohol-fuelled violence.
However, LNP member for Moggill Christian Rowan, who had previously served as the Australian Medical Association Queensland president, said Labor scrapping the 1am lockout amounted to a backflip.
He said there had been no obvious reduction in assaults as a result of the policies rolled out so far.
One of the champions of lockout laws was Dr Anthony Lynham, a maxillofacial surgeon, entered politics specifically to champion the issue.
Despite the government scrapping the planned lockout, he said he intended to stay in parliament.
He said the measures introduced last July were already having the desired effect so that removed the need for a lockout.
"In the past six months, all our laws have been enacted, all our measures have been enacted, the lockouts have not been there for the past six months," Dr Lynham told ABC Radio on Friday morning.
"And the team that was evaluating, they said there has been no rush at three o'clock , therefore we don't need the lockouts here in Queensland."
by Leon Gettler, March 3rd 2017
