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Booze bans the wrong idea with the right spirit

Stephen Riden

by Stephen Riden

20 Sep 10:00am

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Filed under: Alcohol, Kings Cross, Society, Violence

64 comments

If you’ve ever wondered what the famed 6 o’clock swill sessions of the 1960s looked like, you won’t have to wait too much longer for a modern day version.

Three… two… one. Pic: AP

The NSW Government’s decision to introduce a blanket ban on shots, doubles and RTDs (ready to drink beverages) after midnight in the Cross is a sure-fire way to artificially change drinking behaviour.  With a new midnight deadline, drinkers will take on a last drinks mentality in the half hour before midnight.  It won’t make a lick of difference to the drinkers who can carry on drinking the usually cheaper alternatives of beer, wine and cider but you can bet one thing; you’ll see more dangerous drinking and faster intoxication, all before midnight.

A midnight swill is surely not what the Government intended but that’s why experts call such things an unintended consequence.

The NSW Government is rightly intent on trying to reduce the level of violence and anti-social behaviour around Kings Cross.  And apart from the singling out of spirits, the range of other regulations they’ve announced should be supported by all of us who want to see an end to the abuse of alcohol.

The long developing situation in Kings Cross demands active co-operation from Government, venue owners, police, the liquor industry and patrons. The violence and other anti-social behaviour in Kings Cross have gotten out of hand – action needs to be taken.

It must be remembered however that the problem in Kings Cross right now are the people who participate and perpetrate violence and anti- social behaviour. This occurs at anytime in the Cross.

The singling out of just one product category as the cause of the bad behaviour is very like the Federal Government’s tax hike on alcopops.  The ban on shots, doubles and RTDs simply won’t work. It’s not the type of drink that causes very stupid and dangerous behaviour and violence; it’s the drinker, their beliefs about alcohol and attitude to drunkenness, and how fast they drink. It doesn’t matter if it is beer, wine or spirits.  In case policy makers haven’t realised it, alcohol is alcohol.

Premier Barry O’Farrell announcement makes it clear that the measures that directly target the problem drinkers will be the most effective. ID scanners at all Kings Cross venues and improved transport options to make it easier to leave the precinct will go a long way to improving the situation.

But let’s look at the hard facts for a moment. By singling out shots, doubles and RTDs above 5 per cent ABV (alcohol by volume) as the only products specifically banned from being served after midnight you’d have to expect a shift in consumption.  Presumably most of these drinkers will go on to buy bottled wine – at 10-14 per cent alcohol instead of 5-7 per cent alcohol RTDs.  Or go for a beer and cider.

That’s just the opportunistic substitution.

There’s still the issue of timing - those people inside a venue who essentially pre-load on spirits heavily before the midnight ban.  Or if on their way to the Cross, they simply pre-load even more then they had intended on distilled spirits before they reach the precinct. It’s a sad reality that drinkers intent on drinking excessively will find another way to do so, only now they’re forced into drinking harder and faster before midnight.

We’ll do our bit to continue to work with the Government and venue owners to ensure that the measures in Kings Cross are continually monitored to ensure that only the problem drinkers are targeted and not those that are behaving and drinking responsibly.

Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST.

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64 comments

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    • Kika says:

      10:24am | 20/09/12

      Why don’t they work at the real cause of the problems - too many pubs and clubs clustered together = more idiots out drinking in one place + too many angry drunks = fights

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      11:10am | 20/09/12

      Why don’t they tackle the real problem, which is the lack of police presence?  If there were more uniformed officers on night shift patrolling those clusters of pubs, there would be less violence.

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      01:26pm | 20/09/12

      Living in Perth I’d have to say there aren’t enough pubs and eatery’s close together, contributing to the fact that Perth is a boring shit hole. I agree with Mahhrat, more police presence where they are actually needed. Less time spent on revenue raising on the motor ways and more time spent catching, you know, actual criminals.

    • colin says:

      01:43pm | 20/09/12

      @Kika 10:24am | 20/09/12
      @Mahhrat 11:10am | 20/09/12

      No, no, no; why don’t they tackle the real, REAL problem?

      At high concentrations alcohol acts as a vasoconstrictor, increasing blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can severely affect the brain leading to stroke and other disorders such as vascular dementia. Volatile (rapid changes in) blood pressure (such as could hypothetically occur secondary to frequent binge drinking) has also been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Alcohol intake can also lead to vitamin deficiency, which can severely damage the brain, resulting in memory loss, emotional disturbance, gait problems, and ataxia. Additionally, alcohol is physiologically and psychologically addictive.

      Not to mention it’s terrible immediate effects on the liver, the kidneys and - in fact - the damage that it does to EVERY single cell in the body…as well as being a poison, it is responsible for BILLIONS of dollars worth of needless medical care every year, it cause death by violence, by car crashes, by accidents of all kinds…

      in other words, we should not let people imbibe a poison that will kill them. Drinking alcohol is even more stupid than smoking cigarettes, and anyone who has to use alcohol to get through their life needs to see a psychologist. Immediately.

    • Tim the Toolman says:

      01:46pm | 20/09/12

      Why don’t they tackle the real problem - too many idiots incapable of making sensible decisions and a society that is hell bent on maintaining peoples freedoms to raise half-witted violent tossers.

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      01:56pm | 20/09/12

      So colin in short, legalise weed? I support this.

    • colin says:

      02:55pm | 20/09/12

      @Admiral Ackbar 01:56pm | 20/09/12

      “So colin in short, legalise weed? I support this.”

      Sure, why not? I have yet to be glassed by a stoner.

    • acotrel says:

      03:24pm | 20/09/12

      Alcohol doesn’t create anything which is not there already, it merely enhances the emotions.  Cannabis does the same thing but is probably less depressive.  I enjoy a drink, but I control my emotions - I can hear what I am saying.  The simple fact is that young idiots cannot handle alcohol, it increases their stupidity which was never under control anyway. They seem to be completely incapable of self-analysis.
      The problem is that laws become one size fits all.  What applies to the juice -heads will also apply to the sane, - those of us who sit down to a meal of roasted kangaroo and a glass of red in a beautiful restaurant with our flash tarts.

    • acotrel says:

      03:24pm | 20/09/12

      Alcohol doesn’t create anything which is not there already, it merely enhances the emotions.  Cannabis does the same thing but is probably less depressive.  I enjoy a drink, but I control my emotions - I can hear what I am saying.  The simple fact is that young idiots cannot handle alcohol, it increases their stupidity which was never under control anyway. They seem to be completely incapable of self-analysis.
      The problem is that laws become one size fits all.  What applies to the juice -heads will also apply to the sane, - those of us who sit down to a meal of roasted kangaroo and a glass of red in a beautiful restaurant with our flash tarts.

    • acotrel says:

      04:24pm | 20/09/12

      @colin
      I acknowledge your concerns about the health effects of alcohol.  What is your preference -  suffer the effects of alcohol, or the effects of a stressful life with no relaxing outlet ? I rarely ever drank during my working life.  I’ve had three strokes and a double bypass operation due to cholesterol clogging my arteries. I believe I would have done much better to have imbibed in moderation.

    • colin says:

      04:54pm | 20/09/12

      @acotrel says: 04:24pm | 20/09/12

      “What is your preference -  suffer the effects of alcohol, or the effects of a stressful life with no relaxing outlet ...”

      i don’t drink, acotrel, and I don’t need to de-stress with some intoxicant or other; you may well be better off with going to stress-reduction classes, learning some relaxation techniques, and getting away from it all (if you can).

      “...three strokes and a double bypass operation…”

      Jaysus! Time for some serious dropping out, I reckon… wink

    • PsychoHyena says:

      05:01pm | 20/09/12

      @acotrel, I use exercise as my stress outlet and not only does it release stress it improves my fitness, I think that’s a win-win scenario. Point is there are other ways of handling stress than narcotics.

    • Bill says:

      10:30am | 20/09/12

      Great idea.

      The nightclubs in King St and even Crown Casino are dangerous places to be after 1-2am on Friday and Saturday nights. The government supposedly enforces RSA on venues, but you wouldn’t know it if you had the misfortune to run into the drunken idiots spilling onto the footpaths of St Kilda in the early morning.

      Reply

    • HC says:

      11:21am | 20/09/12

      No they’re not.  Not if you’re sensible and with a good group of friends.  The same applies to places like Kings Cross or the Sydney CBD late at night.  I’ve never had anything but fun out at these places and never seen any violence either.  I’m not saying it doesn’t happen of course because I know it does but I do believe the problem is grossly over-stated by a bunch of over-reactionary teetotallers.

      Penalising 99% of people who go out and enjoy themselves responsibly is not a solution.  Mind you it’s not going to make things worse either I believe.

    • acotrel says:

      03:56pm | 20/09/12

      I was in our local in Benalla a few months back.  A young drunk was loudly declaring to everybody that he is a man.  I think there might have been something wrong with his self-perception.

    • colin says:

      10:43am | 20/09/12

      Orshtrayans unite! They can’t stop us drinking ourselves stoopid at every opportoonity..It is our RIGHT to maintain our imbecilic, inebriated, violent, empty-headed way of “Life” no matter how much we look like weak-willed losers with no self-control..!

      Why don’t they make a War on Drugs instead of coming after people who just want a drink or ten? Drug-smoking hippie pushers are invading our country and they - and their Feminazi sisters - are turning all of our kids away from sport and on to dangerous things…like fair-minded thinking and egalitarian societies…Damned radicals.

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      11:04am | 20/09/12

      Wow, I didn’t think you could maintain that level of sarcasm for two whole paragraphs- but you did. Kudos.

    • iMitchy says:

      11:12am | 20/09/12

      @ colin,

      Have you ever had a meaningful contribution? I hope you aren’t as constantly cynical and sarcastic in real life as you are here. It’s unbelievably obnoxious to constantly criticise every little thing using a poor brand of wit when in the end you have nothing else to contribute. How about offering an alternative point of view of the subject at hand instead of just complaining all the time?

      I’m not trying to get a rise here, I just wonder why you come here and comment when the only contribution you make is to be rude to the topics, author and other posters then argue when they pull you up on your stupid comments. Seriously, how is your contribution value adding?

    • Stu says:

      11:23am | 20/09/12

      Best comment ever! Nice work smile

    • colin says:

      12:37pm | 20/09/12

      @iMitchy 11:12am | 20/09/12

      “Meaningful”? Meaningful to what? If by “Meaningful” you mean that I enjoy posting and that I have contributed in my own (scurrilous, scrofulous) way to the conversation in The Punch on-line Zeitgeist then, yes, it IS meaningful. To me.

      As for being this constantly cynical and sarcastic in “Real Life”..? I am even MORE so grin There are some people who actually HATE me (the small-minded, micro-cephalic little Philistines).

      “It’s unbelievably obnoxious to constantly criticise every little thing using a poor brand of wit when in the end you have nothing else to contribute. “

      Is it, iMitchy; is it really..? Why is it? What if I (and perhaps someone else) actually derive some small pleasure in the repartee, the quick quip, the sarcastic aside…What harm does it do?

      Or do you take this whole blogging thing All Too Seriously and believe that only those whose opinion (and, obviously, the method of delivering that opinion) that agrees with your sensibilities, your way of viewing the world and - MOST importantly, it would seem - with YOUR sense of humour should be allowed to post..?

      So tell me, iMitchy; do you believe that your comments are all overflowing with profundity, (appropriate) wit, glowing attributes of far-flung, high-brow prophecy and make some grand and illuminating contribution to the improved level of All of Human Knowledge..?

      Or are you - as you post about me - simply just complaining and “...not really adding anything to the conversation…”?

    • John F says:

      12:41pm | 20/09/12

      Calm down Colin, I’ll roll you another splif smile
      happy times, happy times dude
      Sing it !
      I was trolling through the Punch one day in the merry merry month of May (September just don’t sound right)

    • fml says:

      01:36pm | 20/09/12

      Keep up the good work, Colin.

    • Baloo says:

      01:39pm | 20/09/12

      Terrible comment 2/10, see me after class.

    • Corey of Potts Point says:

      10:52am | 20/09/12

      I completely agree, not too mention everyone will just move to other places where they can get shots outside of the Cross. Look out Surry, Darlinghusrt revellers coming your way.

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      12:27pm | 20/09/12

      Plenty residents in Darlinghurst already suffer from free-flowing alcohol, Corey.

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      12:38pm | 20/09/12

      Apologies, Corey. Obviously misread your comment but over to you, Surry. All yours!

    • iMitchy says:

      10:57am | 20/09/12

      I don’t get it.

      We all agree that over time Australian society has become more violent and less responsible. The reaction to this has always been to create new rules, new laws to try to counter the situation. And yet, things just keep getting worse.

      We travel around the world to places that have different rules, often a largely unregulated alcohol culture with alcohol available in all stores, available 24/7 and with no age limits. These countries, more often than not, don’t have any visible alcohol problems - no alcohol induced violence, no drunks walking the streets in the middle of the day, no young binge drinking.

      So if we keep adding more rules and things keep getting worse what do we learn?

      The truth is, that just like like a teen living out of home for the first time, people can be surprisingly responsible when they are given the opportunity to take care of themselves, rather than being forced to be babysat constantly. Rules create the novelty of taboo, and regular waves of new rules and restrictions in all facets of our society ensure that the novelty remains.

      If you really want to reign in drinking, then make alcohol widely and easily accessible. The novelty will soon wear off. It’s certainly a better idea than limiting alcohol availability to certain times at certain places in a country of people who, largely, like to have more than the “safe” 2 standard drinks on a given day.

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      12:03pm | 20/09/12

      You couldn’t get more widely and easily accessible than in Kings Cross. And so…......?  Clearly not the answer for Australians/Australian culture. That has to be a ground up mindset.

    • iMitchy says:

      12:36pm | 20/09/12

      But only in Kings Cross (and Casinos). There lies the problem. That’s not “wide” access. It brings all the drinkers into the one place and, like cats in a bag, sooner or later there is going to be trouble.

    • Arnold Layne says:

      10:59am | 20/09/12

      This has all come about because of the tragic death of someone in the Cross, who was punched in the street well before midnight.  There has been no evidence released yet that the alleged killer was drunk, or (as seems more likely) on drugs, yet the reaction has been to tighten up the service of alcohol.  I am all for a genuine cultural change in the approach some people take to ritually writing themselves off but this just smacks of being another kneejerk response to a far bigger problem.

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      01:17pm | 20/09/12

      No, these albeit meagre changes have not only been provoked by the tragic death of Thomas Kelly. The violence is simply the tip of the iceberg and this most recent death has acted as an overdue catalyst. There is a whole cascade of problems flowing from too much alcohol for too many hours from too many licensees in too small a place to WAY too many punters. And punters themselves have changed as has the demographic of this area. This is a community with a militarised zone basically which keeps local residents bunkered down on weekend nights at least. I’d like to be able to go to KX at night to a nice restaurant but…..
      Over and above the obvious problems of violence, residents have been been complaining about the anit-social behaviour   for years. The result has been mostly more licensed premises and more trading hours.
      So it is irrelevant whether Thomas Kelly was killed by a drunk or a drug addict or someone on both drugs (let’s not forget alcohol is a drug although a legal one.)  By virtue of the HUGE amount of discourse and complaints by residents and police and ambulance drivers and hospital emergency staff (and that’s mainly just to do with the short-term fallout),  Houston we have a problem.  And there is a mass of evidence already, apart from the Newcastle evidence, to show that crime and violence and unsociable behaviour increase exponentially with the increased hours of availability. And of course, add to that TOO many punters to manage as in Kings Cross whose behaviour has changed…...‘glassing’ is a very new word in the English language as far as I am aware!
      No one is asking for a return to the 6 o’clock swill or prohibition. I certainly wouldn’t want that.

    • Shane* says:

      11:10am | 20/09/12

      The simplest and easiest way to change drinking culture is to give police the power to ‘sting’ venues with RSA tests.

      Send in a 19 year old girl, tell her to act drunk and head to the bar, and order a drink.

      A few $20,000 fines for a handful of venues in quick succession, and watch them all self-regulate and clean up their act.

      Reply

    • Helt says:

      11:34am | 20/09/12

      T%hat is what gets me about this whole thing. Its all about the money raised from fines not RSA. In the real world Shane If that 19 year old girl gets a drink what happens to her? The club gets a 50 grand fine by the way. What penalty is in it for her? If its worth a 50 grand fine to serve ger she must personally be doing something wrong. What happens to her? As far as I can tell the answer is nothing. She will just go to the next bar and possibly over the course of a night stir up a couple hundred grand a year for the government.

      Shane heres a test for you. Find a pretty 19 year old girl send her around the clubs in a short skirt and tell her to act drunk and be offensive to security. Watch how many fights this girl can start by heroes trying to get her into the bar and the bouncers refusing her. Then after the fights watch David Penberthy and others call for regulation of the secuirty industry to weed out the thugs.
      Shane has the same problem the government has and is placing all the onus on the clubs to watch everyone of the 500 people in a club like hawks and places no responibility on the public to take it upon themselves not to be an asshole

    • iMitchy says:

      11:37am | 20/09/12

      May the intellectually disabled have a beer? Do they need their disability defined on their ID?

      The NRL Footy Show copped a bit of flack a few years ago when they mistook a disabled security guard for being a drunk security guard during a live cross to a pub.

      They do teach you about this when you do your RSA and bar staff are protected somewhat from discrimination claims when a patron’s disability causes them to appear intoxicated.

      I’m not saying that your idea is a bad one but there is a large grey area in determining how drunk someone is, it’s not cut and dry enough to start throwing fines at venues for single offences.

    • Markus says:

      11:49am | 20/09/12

      Apart from the fact that ‘appearing intoxicated’ is a subjective judgement as is, that $20,000 fine would be thrown out pretty easily upon appeal on the basis that the girl in question was not actually intoxicated.

      It also still does nothing to address the violence and anti-social behaviour.

    • Shane* says:

      01:20pm | 20/09/12

      You’re all overthinking it.

      As it stands, legislation means that in most states cops aren’t allowed to ‘entrap’ a venue.

      If you changed that legislation (including upholding fines for being caught out in a sting), and then sent in a person acting drunk to order two bourbon and cokes… you would see a pretty poor RSA culture in city clubs.

      Helt, unfortunately your experiment would require a bouncer turning away a pretty 19 year old girl. Unless she was literally falling over drunk, there aren’t too many bouncers who would turn her away.

      And I agree, individuals need to be held accountable too. The ‘Sting’ solution works towards an ideal situation where it rarely comes to that.

    • The Hammer says:

      11:17am | 20/09/12

      Rubbish. As a Police Officer who works the streets of Perth’s entertainment precincts I can tell you that we have had these serving restrictions in place at our late venues for over two years and they do contribute to reductions in violence and anti social behaviour. They are not a ‘silver bullet’ but part of a number of strategies that contribute to keeping patrons safe, others that work include lockouts, ID scanners and poly carbonate glassware.
      Whilst appreciating you represent liquor producers and a right to sell your product and make a buck, it would be refreshing if you offered up something constructive to the debate and took responsibility for your industrys role in this complex community issue rather than criticising those trying to make a positive difference. I think you have a moral obligation to do so.

      Reply

    • iMitchy says:

      12:08pm | 20/09/12

      That, and the closure of The Rock.

    • Ben says:

      12:35pm | 20/09/12

      I’m a former police officer, and I fully endorse Hammer’s comments. And for those of you, like Mahrat, who think the answer lies in providing more police,  that’s simply shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. The Pontius Pilate types such as the Australian Hotels Association are quite happy to turn a blind eye to the service of alcohol to intoxicated people - and then when stupid goes and breaks someone’s jaw or glasses some poor devil, the question will be asked “Where were the police when this was happening?”

      Incidentally, given Stephen’s a frequent blogger himself, I’d like to ask him whether he endorses the recent Newcastle experiment (the compulsory lockout at earlier hours) which saw a substantial drop in assaults - Stephen? 

      http://www.news.com.au/national/lockouts-prove-key-to-curbing-violence/story-fndo4bst-1226443399549

    • fml says:

      01:37pm | 20/09/12

      Perth has police?

    • Stephen Riden, Research Manager, DSICA says:

      03:00pm | 20/09/12

      @the Hammer
      DSICA is supportive ot the NSW government’s multi-pronged approach to the Kings Cross problems, which we want to see ended.  Our problem with ‘taking responsibility’ as you put it is that our products when sold to a sensible or moderate drinker dause no problems, while exactly the same product sold to a violent drop-kick leads to someone going to hospital and/or court.  The exact same product, different person, different outcome. There is the difficulty for us. 

      But a question in return: - if the spirit drink restrictions in Perth are just part of a number of strategies, how do you know what the value of those spirit restrictions are, as distinct from the other strategies?

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      03:01pm | 20/09/12

      fml I was more shocked at the suggestion that Perth has entertainment precincts.

    • Stephen Riden, Research Manager, DSICA says:

      03:15pm | 20/09/12

      @Ben
      Newcastle had a drop in arrests and violence recorded around licensed venues as a result of earlier closing times and the lockouts.  Great as far as it goes. 

      But I also know that people who want to get really drunk around other people just adapt to the restrictions and go elsewhere to drink.  Or go to private homes, and parties.  Curbing the behaviour of drunks is like sqeezing a balloon, and they are not as dumb as many alcohol researchers seem to believe.  There might be some benefit from not encouraging groups of drunk strangers into close proximity.

      BTW, I’ve never thought the Police were to blame for violence.  I’ve sometimes asked if the paperwork burden of processing arrested people might be too much for Police dealing with misbehaving drunks on Friday and Saturday nights.  Like to hear your thoughts.

    • The Hammer says:

      06:19pm | 20/09/12

      Stephen, we can agree that there is always the issue of time,place and circumstance. No one is advocating against the ability for a business traveller arriving at his hotel after midnight and enjoying a double scotch as a nightcap, but in entertainment precincts with large venues that cater for 18-25 year olds, there is plenty of research that supports a reduction in supply of liquor reduces the incidence of violence and anti social behaviour, particularly after midnight. As for how I know it works? I liaise regularly with licensees (the people who buy your product) and those that cater for the younger demographic know that the potential trouble will come from those intent on ‘swilling’ liquor as quickly as they can as opposed to those who are there to socialise and the consumption of liquor is ancillary to their nights entertainment. A number of licensees in Northbridge have voluntarily imposed this measure, in concert with other strategies and are providing their patrons with a much safer environment to enjoy their single measures of spirits after midnight.

    • Allanthus says:

      11:32am | 20/09/12

      Mahhrat, you are kidding if you think the real problem is the lack of police. Try the absence of acceptance of personal responsibility, try parenting, try irresponsible venues… all before pointing the finger at the police or the government for not providing more police resources to clean up the aftermath.

      The police have many more important things to do. they can hurry up and finally nail Craig Thompson for starters…

      Reply

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      01:34pm | 20/09/12

      I think putting more police on the streets to do the jobs we actually want them to do is easier than raising peoples kids for them. There will always be irresponsible dickheads, and so in the absence of a sense of personal rsponsibility and other adult attributes, we need to be locking more of these dickheads up.

    • ChrisW says:

      11:57am | 20/09/12

      In many other countries where alcohol is freely available 24/7 the alcohol content of things like beer is much lower and the minimum age is 21. The consumption rate is also much lower.
      Australia has a drinking culture. Getting drunk may be seen as stupid but it is also seen as acceptable.  Is is any wonder we have a problem?
      Raise the drinking age to 21 and ignore the screams from the hospitality and alcohol lobby. Ignore the screams from the 18-21 year olds who think the only way to have a good time is to drink.
      Remove bars from tertiary institutions and close down, at very least, the supermarket related outlets and sales.
      That would still leave alcohol freely available in many other places but it would solve some of the alcohol fuelled violence issues.

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      11:57am | 20/09/12

      Yes, Mr Riden, you are probably right about the new measures. They’re likely not to work. The only real way to solve the problems and ugliness of Kings Cross (including the illegal drugs trade in co-dependency with the pubs, hotels and some licensed restaurants) is to do what they did in Newcastle. Bring on the lockouts. Forget transport and getting them home. Don’t bring them in!
      For whatever reasons, Australians cannot handle 24/7 booze availability. Not in the concentration of licensed premises in Kings Cross anyway.  Way too much booze, for too many hours (24/7) in too small a place which happens to be the most densely populated area in Australia.
      I spoke very recently to a young man, newly arrived from overseas. Just the right demographic for KX. Just out of the army he was “keen to party”, he said. “So have you been to Kings Cross?” I asked. “Yes” he said. “It was disgusting. I’d never go there again”. HHhhmmm…And not the first time a young person (with whom I have absolutely no connection; total stranger) has told me that.  Yes, it’s a great place. Great for tourism!!! 
      Let’s face it. It’s an old, drunken tart; ugly by day and uglier by night.
      But the good news is that all those publicans and licensees are selling the right stuff. Alcohol is a dead cert,as they say. It will sell anywhere, anytime (as we know; 24/7) and always will. At least, I hope so. I’m no wowser at all but I say bring on the lockouts and stop the denial.

      Reply

    • Bender says:

      12:00pm | 20/09/12

      Don’t close clubs early I always pick up girls after midnight   to take them home for fun times.  Anyway I am sick of bitter old people and nerds who do not party telling us party people to go home early because apparently we are evil for drinking past midnight. I do not get in to fights when I am drunk I just have a good time and pick up girls to have intercourse with, and before anyone says “OMG you are evil for having unmarried sex with girls”  The girls I pick up are always willing to go home with me and always call me again for another romp in the hay, clubs are great places to meet these girls.

      I am so sick of judgmental bitter fools who tell me that my lifestyle is a bad choice, SO WHAT that I enjoy partying to sunrise, SO WHAT that i enjoy regular protected sex with strangers, SO WHAT that I enjoy a few shots THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOU IN ANY WAY! I do not get in fights i do not damage property, i do not wake up my neighbors I just party, dance and have sex with attractive strangers THIS IS MY LIFESTYLE! you don’t see me telling you that your sexless, in bed before 12, staying home and sowing lifestyle is wrong so don’t you judge mine!

      Some people just need to get a life and stop judging the way other people like to spend their youth!  I will NOT waste my youth staying home and not partying or having sex with many girls when their attractiveness is in their prime.

      Reply

    • Dr Jack says:

      01:43pm | 20/09/12

      (Before we adopt Bender’s recipe for the good life, we must see a few testimonials from all those panting beauties queued up at his door.)
      Mr Riden is in another queue. He says a midnight limit on heavy booze will allow leisurely cruising with no panicky rush as a (say) 4 am deadline gets close. Why on earth not? They are the same drinkers. He refers to that old “6 o’clock swill” (it wasn’t just like he suggests). Everybody knew they had to go home and/or to bed or to a sly-grog shop to buy a bottle or whatever if they wanted to kick-on with. But it wasn’t so easily possible to continue to ruin their own and others’ lives until they decided to stop the madness and make a new resolution.
      The great benefit of the various restrictions proposed by O’Farrell is that he, unlike the many neo-evangelical booze-merchants, is really trying to find better ways to throttle the flow of poison through those highly destructive, hard day’s nights and days to come. Buck up and get serious, Mr Riden.

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      12:16pm | 20/09/12

      P.S. And by the way, regarding the alarmist comment implying NSW will revert to the old 6 pm swill days,  I’m very worried too. So worried, in fact, that I’ve noted my diary…..... on the 12th of Never!!!!!  Get real.

      Reply

    • Josh says:

      12:27pm | 20/09/12

      I bet you are one of those asshats who just use girls for sex my girlfriend cheated on me with some muscular meat head from a club and this has made me consider killing myself. Why can you players just stick with one woman and stop trying to steal our women? Its hard enough for overweight guys like me to find a girl without you slutty muscular sluts taking them all. I hope you get an STD and die.

      Reply

    • scumbag says:

      12:42pm | 20/09/12

      Arrrggh, beer o’clock Friday 5pm Lenswood Cold Store. 1959. Notice board says it’s Lenny’s shout. 5 blokes pile into Ernie’s old Plymouth headed for the Lobethal pub. One round, it’s pints, a treble up. Publican yells time, 10 minutes to go. It’s Ernie’s shout, treble up. Ernie’s missus drives and gets takeaway bottle orders. Life goes on. Check the beer roster for next Friday.  Shit beer then, but as they say, there’s no bad beer, only some better than others. Good health. Cheers!

      Reply

    • LC says:

      01:24pm | 20/09/12

      How about…I dunno, bringing in mandatory sentences to ensure that the people actually causing the problems are jailed, as they should be? How about scrapping the drunk’s defense for assault and murder, as intoxication is a voluntary state, no-one puts a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them into it? How about punishing the idiots causing the problems, rather than punishing everyone whether they are in the wrong or not?

      Reply

    • Fed Up says:

      01:25pm | 20/09/12

      I remember going to the Cross alot back in the 70’s/80’s….the Manzil Room….the Cauldron….etc…never came across the sort of rubbish we get from young people today.
      If you’re going to act like idiots then you’re going to have to be treated like idiots.
      No booze ....period….after midnight and tuffer sentencing laws.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      03:23pm | 20/09/12

      Treating the people acting like idiots like the idiots they are would be harsher penalties for assault, both drunken and otherwise.
      Not making new laws, just actually enforcing the penalties for existing laws.

      Instead, the ‘solutions’ proposed are treating the other 99% of people like the idiots.

    • Bho Ghan-Pryde says:

      01:32pm | 20/09/12

      When wowsers and drunks clash the majority lose freedom. Same old same old. It would be nice to put them on an island together and just leave them to it.

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      02:39pm | 20/09/12

      No put the revellers on an island, somewhere in the middle of the harbour, and leave them to it. Or else in the middle of the CBD, say Martin Place, and then all the dross and detritus, vomit, urine from the night before could just be flushed down into the tankstream each morning. They’ve got all the public transport infrastructure for ‘bringing them home’ already in place. Perhaps if they don’t have those hideous coke cola signs where they ‘check’ all personal and social responsibility they might behavce better. Nothing to do with being a wowser which I am most definitely not.

    • Saints 98 Demons 42 says:

      01:50pm | 20/09/12

      Abolish cofffee,tea, alcohol and beer.

      They taste vile. They taste extremely bad and are extremely bad for you!

      Raise the drinking age to 85 and not 25 !

      They are only floor polish !

      Put Your Alcohol Supporting comments in the toilet !

      Piss Off Alcohol ,Supporters now :

      Reply

    • Sophie says:

      01:50pm | 20/09/12

      Human nature tells us that a swill session is EXACTLY what will happen.  If you give people a deadline, they’ll drink to it.  Literally.  This is bad news and just like the alcopops tax, will make things worse.  Remember when people just switched to mixing their own spirits and they weren’t measured like the bottles they used to drink!  Messy…..

      Reply

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      02:46pm | 20/09/12

      How many revellers on a weekend night in KX do you think are measuring their drinks @ Sophie? Or even counting them?  A 3 am closing time would fix many - but certainly not all -  of the issues in Kings Cross. Masses of people coming in after suburbs with some control over licensed premises have all shut. These people are all tanked up from being out all night elsewhere.  But too much alcohol is never enough for these clever Aussies. We’re known for it. That’s our international reputation, being big drinkers. How laudable!

    • Stephen Riden, Research Manager, DSICA says:

      03:34pm | 20/09/12

      Actually, Tell It Like it Is makes a really good point - it is our over-blown reputation as being big drinkers that feeds back into how too many peple drink too much.

      Putting it simply, how much you drink and what you then do is determined by cultural factors.  That is why some cultures don’t have drunken violence and others do - it’s different expectations of drinking behaviour.

      Young Australians’ reputations as being hardcore drinkers just gives some people a justification.

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      04:46pm | 20/09/12

      I think that putting it simplistically, Stephen, not simply.

    • Stephen Riden, Research Manager, DSICA says:

      06:00pm | 20/09/12

      @Ben
      It is a comment on The Punch, not an academic article.  Never said the Australian big drinking self-image was all that matters or the only answer.

 
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