It is no surprise that after lockouts and lockdowns young voters want the city brought back to life, and they are prepared to vote for it.

The situation has been made worse by the fact that the Government has barely used the laws that were put on the books in an Opposition push to reform the night-time laws in 2020.

The Government’s own report tabled in November 2022 shows that for all the talk about getting Sydney moving these laws have barely been used.

As examples the new laws passed in November 2020 allowed:

• An extra hour of trading for dedicated live music venues – this has only been used by 3 venues.
• Special entertainment precincts to encourage vibrant night time areas and bring the city to life – there has been only one trial.
• Exempt development provisions allowing low impact entertainment in retail spaces – used just five times for the Sydney Fringe.
• The temporary use of outdoor space including footpaths and roads – only used 40 times for hospitality and never for performance. All examples of use have been in one council area.
• Just four small bars have been able to use the fast track provisions to combine liquor licence and Development Application approvals.

·       Labor has a plan to support a vibrant, safe city both for people who want to go out and for night-time workers. This is something that touches on all aspects of government – planning, licencing, culture and tourism as well as transport. Government needs to plan as well for the night-time as it does for the daytime.

JOHN GRAHAM MLC

NSW DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

NSW SHADOW MINISTER FOR MUSIC AND THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY