Keep Sydney Open Rally Draws 15,000

Organisers of the Keep Sydney Open rally yesterday estimated 15,000 came out to protest Sydney’s lockout laws. One of the organisers, DJ Tyson Koh told the cheering gathering, “We haven’t been listened to up at this point, and this is why we’re here!”

The crowd that met at 12:30 pm in Belmore Park included young clubbers, baby boomers with children and older people with dogs. The rally marched along Elizabeth Street toward Hyde Park, stopping briefly at sites where now-closed venues had once added colour to Sydney’s night life.

At Hyde Park, it turned into a dance party hosted by Future Classic DJs and live sets from Art vs Science, who did a cover of the Beastie Boys’ (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) and Royal Headache.

Many placards objected to the casino being exempted from the 2014 lockout laws. “We hit the dance floor, not each other” stated one. A coffin and tombstone denoted the death of Sydney nightlife. One placard reproduced the infamous front page of a newspaper showing casino owner James Packer in a street punch-up.

Musicians as the Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulker and The Preatures’ Isabella Manfredi pointed out how the lockouts had adversely affected the live music industry, and affected places where young talent could cut their teeth.

Faulkner imparted how live music contributed almost $400 million a year to the NSW economy, and ended his speech with, “Save our live music, and save our city’s soul!”

“I don’t need to moralised for wanting my city to be alive,” emphasised Manfredi.

“My career wouldn’t exist today without the nightlife we once proudly enjoyed,” DJ, musician and label executive Nina Las Vegas said. “Not so long ago Sydney was vibrant… You could find friends with whom you could share the last dance.”

But the rally wasn’t just about drinking hours. It was equally about how the city’s cultural vibrancy had been diminished, their indignation at living in a nanny state, and that initiatives as greater police presence, more CCTV surveillance, more public transport, first aid tents, street marshalls and the trial of a night-time economy mayor should have been tried first.

Yesterday’s rally came in the wake of an exchange of statistics. A report by APRA AMCOS and the Live Music Officeestimated that the lockout caused a 40% drop in live music revenue, and a 15% decline in band bookings by venues as the result of a 19% drop in foot traffic.

At the same time, the Last Drinks Coalition – of police, paramedics, doctors and nurses – said a reversal of the laws would be “a travesty” and insisted that the number of alohol-fuelled violence has dropped by 32%. It plans to meet with premier Mike Baird to urge that the lockouts should be expanded state-wide.

Despite the heated mood of the messages, the rally remained calm and jubilant, even during a bit of rain. There was none of the violence that created the kneejerk response of bringing in the lock-outs.

An independent review of the lockout laws will report to NSW Parliament by August. Meantime a group called Keep Brisbane Open is organising a rally in Fortitude Valley.