Queensland officially dumps 1am lockout laws

In a late night session, Queensland’s Palaszczuk Government has officially dumped its own 1amlockouts policy.

A bill to repeal the lockouts – which had been due to take effect on February 1, 2017 and reduce the number of one-off 5am trading permits from 12 to six in Safe Night Precincts – went through State Parliament with little fanfare at 9.30 last Thursday night.

The use of the one-off permits to “special events” will be limited, be defined by criteria approved by the Government, rather than 5am trading being “business as usual”.

Live music venues and nightclubs in Safe Night Precincts can serve alcohol until 3am. Those outside can do so until 2am.

Mandatory ID scanners will be introduced from July 1 this year in Safe Night Precincts (although some venue owners have indicated they will ask for more time for this).

The passing of the bill had the support of One Nation MP Steve Dickson and independents Billy Gordon and Rob Pyne.

But the turn-around was jeered at by a number of politicians, including LNP member for Kawana and Opposition fair trading spokesman Jarrod Bleijie.

He said immediately after the vote that the Labor Government was just protecting its image.

“This time last year (Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk said she didn’t know how anyone in good conscience could vote against these laws — but tonight she’s done just that.

“As recently as November last year, Labor voted against an LNP motion in Parliament to scrap the lockouts. We gave them an out but they refused to take it.

“Now just four months later, they’ve backflipped on a key election policy.”

A late February report by a bipartisan Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee recommended that the Government drop the lockout laws.

The report said that the first phase of the laws, introduced in mid-2016, had not brought the number of alcohol-fuelled assaults in entertainment precincts down. It also criticised the Government for rushing the lockouts through because of pressure from police and health executives rather than spend more time seeking options – which is what the state’s live music industry had pushed for.

The live music industry had waged a successful campaign on the damage the laws were causing on jobs, the night time economy, the tourism and the state’s international brand.

By early 2017, on the eve of the second phase of the laws being introduced, the Government was considering an offer from venues to install $10,000 ID scanners instead.

Anthony Lynham, amaxillofacial surgeon who had to deal with victims of violence every week and became Member for Stafford to fight for the lockout laws from the inside, said he will remain in Parliament.

“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.

“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.”

The Keep Queensland Open group posted on Facebook: “The 1am lockout is officially dead, but there’s still more to do. Until we stop this ’Newcastle Solution’ nonsense from Dr Anthony Lynham, and instead look to the vastly superior Melbourne Solution, Keep Queensland Open will not rest.”

Venue operators have suggested that the Government devote its energies to cutting red tape for the live music sector.

A federal-level Senate Red Tape Inquiry, instigated and chaired by Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm, found that nationally there were so many restrictions in the country on the sale, supply and taxation of alcohol that there to 16 different taxation classifications.

Things were so complex that people were leaving the industry, the inquiry found.