Just when we thought no one could do it quite like Mitchell Pierce, Mike Baird has sprung from the shadows and showed him how to really screw the pooch, though not quite so literally. The fallout from Baird’s defence of Sydney’s lock out laws, coming in response to Matt Barrie’s articulate and entertaining essay, has been considerable. With one Facebook post Baird has managed to incur not only the wrath of the general public, but leading Australian musicians, the Sydney hospitality industry, Matt Barrie (again) and the Bureau of Crime Statistics.
Baird has, unwisely, made his argument using misleading statistics, reporting approximately a 40% fall in alcohol related violence around Kings Cross, while neglecting to mention the even larger drop in foot traffic. When read together, these statistics suggest that, while there is less alcohol related violence overall, for those enjoying a night out under the lock out laws, the chance of falling victim to alcohol induced violence is actually higher than it was before they were implemented. Further, the statistic Baird quoted on the number of small bars doubling since the lock out laws were introduced is also misleading, the current sample coming from a much larger area than that of the previous one taken back in 2012.
Baird’s commitment to stopping violence, and his faith in the lock out laws to achieve this, has also been undermined by his refusal to add The Star casino to the lock out area. While venues like The Ivy and Home Nightclub have been labelled as the most violent venues by politicians, the police and the media, a Bureau of Crime Statistics study showed that The Star was most likely New South Wales’ most violent venue in 2015. Even more striking than The Star's exclusion, is the hole that has been left in the lock out area map where the soon to be completed Crown Casino will stand. Once it is completed, the casino will stand only metres from the lock out zone. It will be the equivalent of going from Miami to Havana during prohibition, expect that all you'll have to do is cross the road.
It seems that Baird, through his own failure to adequately respond to Barrie’s well written piece, has been exposed as a businessman, masquerading as a representative of the people. Should the results of the enquiry into the lock out laws return a recommendation that they be removed, or replaced with other methods to reduce alcohol related violence, Baird will be looking down the barrel of a gun. He has already stated that it would take something special to have him even consider removing the laws. However, it’s looking more and more like he has decided to plump for an unpopular law enacted by his predecessor and will now stubbornly refuse to admit he has backed the wrong horse. Then again, for a man obsessed with his public image, he may actually suck in his pride and rescind the laws, instead looking into other measures that may combat the issue with which we are dealing.
And this is the most frustrating part of the lock out and the heavy restrictions on purchasing alcohol, both in bars and bottle shops. It does not appear that we have an issue with alcohol. Rather, we have an issue with violence. Governments may argue that restricting the sale of alcohol, and heavily taxing its sale, are necessary to keep violence down. But this would be to ignore the situation in European nations like Germany. Alcohol is readily available, from supermarkets and convenience stores as well as restaurants and bars, and at low cost. Despite this, Berlin’s famous clubs stay open all hours without a high level of alcohol related violence. Similarly, in other European countries, such as France and Italy, alcohol related violence is not a big issue.
We are yet to pinpoint where exactly our problem with violence comes from, yet we can say that, as a culture, we definitely have one. It could be our love of more physical sports such as rugby league and rugby union. It could be that machoism is deeply etched into our culture, stemming from the legend of the Aussie battler and our convict beginnings or passed on from white Australia’s English origins. It would appear that the best thing that Mike Baird could do right now for Sydney, New South Wales and the rest of Australia, is suck in his pride and instead of making alcohol a scapegoat, investigate what is at the core of our problem with violence. Then, perhaps, we could leave Sydney to be what it should be. A global city, renowned not just for its beauty but for its thriving culture.