Lollipops, slow music to calm the Cross

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell will meet with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore to discuss the problems plaguing Kings Cross. The meeting on Tuesday comes after 18-year-old Thomas Kelly was fatally king-hit while walking down the street in the notorious Sydney strip earlier this month.

Hospitality Minster George Souris, will also attend the meeting and says alcohol isn't the only cause of violence in Kings Cross.

"Drug-taking, the use of metamphetamines, the use of steroids ... has created a far bigger social problem, and bad behaviour that emanates from that is not solely the responsibility of alcohol,'' he's told ABC Radio.

"You can't just isolate the whole issue to licensed venues.''

Mr Souris says it's important not to drive the problem underground.

"You have to be careful that the net result of whatever might be advocated is not to create an underground industry,'' he says.

However, Mr Souris says neither he nor police minister Michael Gallacher are able to attend a community forum to address the issue in Sydney's Town Hall on Tuesday night.

The local federal member Malcolm Turnbull earlier said a NSW government representative should be at the forum.

"I would be very disappointed as a Liberal if there was not a senior minister there,'' Mr Turnbull told Fairfax Radio.

Meanwhile, the Clover Moore-led council that lobbied for small bars now wants late-night venues to stop serving an hour before closing so patrons do not leave at full tilt.Patrons leaving after 2am could be given sweets to stop them disturbing residents as part of "dispersal plans".

Council documents state: "One interesting measure used by a pub in England was to give free lollipops to patrons as they left because they were less likely to make noise while they were eating a lollipop.

"We will work with venues and the NSW government to introduce options such as a wind-down hour as a standard practice, where alcohol is not served, lights are made brighter and music slows down."

In the Open Sydney draft action plan, now on exhibition, the council seeks to cut red tape for delis, cafes, bookshops and art galleries to stay open later but maps out myriad new regulations for bars, clubs and pubs.

Drinkers will be targeted in a pilot "personal responsibility" program, along with a trial outreach patrol which will call ambulances for drunks and "give intoxicated people assistance prior to getting them home", the report said.

A marketing campaign will aim to get revellers to use rubbish bins.

Even public urination will be targeted in a trial installation of sensor lighting in urination hotspots.

Portaloos will be provided in peak season and the report seeks to work with universities to recycle waste collected from portable urinals. A council spokeswoman last night said the wind-down hours would not be forced on venues.

It proposes a fee for liquor licences to retrofit apartment buildings against noise, as well as a new penalty system for licensed premises.

"We will advocate for the use of responsible service of alcohol (RSA) marshals in all licensed premises operating after midnight and the pilot of RSA marshal-trained patrols in the public space of late trading areas to respond to highly intoxicated people in public spaces,'' the report said.

It proposes a trial of "mystery shoppers in licensed premises to gauge the level of intoxication and compliance with RSA.''

The action plan seeks tighter restrictions on boozy Harbour cruises and investigates a licensing system where bars have to renew licences regularly "like a driver's licence''.

Drinkers themselves will also be targeted in a new pilot "personal responsibility program'' along with a trial outreach patrol which will call  ambulances for drunks and "give intoxicated people assistance prior to getting them home'', the report said.

There will also be a marketing campaign to encourage patrons to put rubbish in the bin.

And public urination will be targeted in a trial installation of sensor lighting in urination hot spots.

Porta-loos will be provided in peak season and the report also seeks to work with universities to recycle waste collected from portable urinals.

A council spokeswoman last night said the wind-down hours would not be forced on venues.

The spokeswoman said the draft strategy for Sydney at night had been prepared following extensive international research into overseas late-night cities as well as in-depth consultation with stakeholders.

"We have identified 254 specific actions that could be implemented based on that consultation and lessons learnt in other major cities. The strategy is on public exhibition and we welcome input from the community,'' she said.

But Australian Hotels Association CEO Paul Nicolou labelled the "wind down hours" proposal a "classic bureaucratic idea''.

"How do you explain to a tourist that Sydney is a world city but, hey, you can't be served alcohol after 2am? Wind-down hours actually create aggression and it loses sight of the fact the problems are not in our venues, they're on the streets,'' he said.

Mr Nicolou said annual licence fees would "create economic uncertainty and actually have the opposite affect - licensees would be more inclined to do it on the cheap because they think the licence might be taken off them in a few months on council's whim.

"This is just a desperate grab by council to gain control of the issue and inject uncertainty into the late night economy,'' he said.

A spokesman for the Office of Gaming, Liquor and Racing said NSW's most violent venues were already forced to wind down for 30 minutes before closure.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, 17 July 2012