Wed 4 June 2008 - The lockout
Having never been a clubbing-type disco person, I don’t pretend to know enough about the CBD club 2am lockout to know if it’ll work in reducing alcohol abuse and street violence. But I do know that protesters seem to be making out that it means every night at 2am, people will be kicked out onto the streets, and it’s being painted as a “curfew“.
This is effectively a curfew on adults and will ruin Melbourne’s nightlife. — Andrew Stuart, letter in The Age
To wit: how are the people locked out of venues en masse at 2am to get home? — Larissa Dubecki, columnist in The Age
What rubbish. How is it a curfew? Why will lots of people need to get home at 2am?
The lockout means at 2am the clubs stop accepting new customers. They don’t close. They don’t kick people out, making them stagger out onto King Street to find their way home. People can stay inside as long as they like.
Surely the three month trial should be tried, to see if it works or not? Preferably with as few exemptions as possible — this is causing concern in some circles — to prove or disprove that it solves what are undeniably serious problems.