Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife • Hacker News Board

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#11

Post by predakanga » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:15 AM UTC

stevebmark wrote: post #4

I'm an outsider to Sydney and Australia, and I'm a regular visitor. This article rings of an insider perspective, full of "we" statements. It has a vibe of personal anger and personal overreaction. What I'm genuinely curious about is the events that lead to the formation of these laws. Again, as an outsider, the main thing to do in Sydney is drink. A lot. The main thing my friends want to do after work in Sydney is d…

Over the past few years, there have been a number of deaths caused by unprovoked one-punch attacks ("king-hits", or now "coward punches"), possibly the highest profile being the death of Daniel Christie[0] after being attacked in Kings Cross, a hotspot for nightlife.

In the wake of these attacks, a number of new regulations and laws have been passed, with the stated aim of reducing alcohol-related violence. These regulations had been tested previously in Newcastle, the aforementioned deaths being an opportunity to pass them swiftly in Sydney.

Despite the supposed good intentions, there are a number of things that people question about the new laws, such as that the new regime is overcomplicated and often just silly (see anecdotes in this thread), or the rather suspect exemption of the local casinos from the laws, despite suffering the same problems[1].

Additionally, some people would argue that the response has been disproportionate to the actual problem - this infographic[2] from a violence support group[3] claims that there were only 20 deaths attributable to this kind of attack between 2007 and 2012.

Personally, I'm somewhat of a homebody and haven't been directly affected by the changes in the law, but I do consider them an overreaction and lament the effect they've had on Sydney's nightlife in general.

Having read the article in it's original location[4], where the author provides more figures to support their allegations, I was left feeling rather bitter about the whole situation, though I do agree that it was written extremely emotively and was intended to elicit that response.

On behalf of the other side, though, I would offer this[5] video clip - it's from this week, showing the Senior Australian of the Year Gordian Fulde responding to a question about the lockout laws, for which he was a strong advocate.

[0]: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/daniel-christie-dies-following-kin...

[1]: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/star-casino-may-be-the-most-violen...

[2]: http://opck.qhvsg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2014/09...

[3]: http://opck.qhvsg.org.au/

[4]: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/would-last-person-sydney-plea...

[5]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwoqkmZULI&t=40m55s

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#12

Post by jeromyevans » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:24 AM UTC

stevebmark wrote: post #4

I'm an outsider to Sydney and Australia, and I'm a regular visitor. This article rings of an insider perspective, full of "we" statements. It has a vibe of personal anger and personal overreaction. What I'm genuinely curious about is the events that lead to the formation of these laws. Again, as an outsider, the main thing to do in Sydney is drink. A lot. The main thing my friends want to do after work in Sydney is d…

I lived there at the time the lockout was introduced.

There was a small number of alcohol-fuelled fights that resulted in the deaths of some young men by head trauma (punched or falling). They were very prominent. I'm not sure if there was really increasing trend in violence, but perception in the media was that of a crisis (as they do). The government reacted with little planning (as they do).

For example, the "one punch" law was introduced to discourage people from punching others in the head. It seems ridiculous we needed a specific law for that [1].

The people that like a drink to socialise but aren't inclined to punch others go to new venues outside the lockout zone now. That brings another set of implications.

[1] http://www.nsw.gov.au/onepunch

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#13

Post by joshschreuder » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:25 AM UTC

syllogism wrote: post #8

sqldba wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Innocent people kept getting murdered on King St (a popular bar and night life destination, as well as prostitution or at least erotic joints, and possibly some drug use.) A few years back there was a spate of "King Hits" which is when one person hits another person in the head and immediately knocks them unconscious, usually through random chance rather than any kind of skill, but meaning that person then bears the…

It was in King's Cross, not King St. And I believe the number of people who died is two.

Possibly thinking of King St in Melbourne which has a number of adult theatres

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#14

Post by SyneRyder » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:25 AM UTC

dicemoose wrote: post #10

sydneysider wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bit over the top, completely playing into the media hysteria. A few people got killed because some drunken, uneducated cowards hit them. This wasn't night after night. I'm also amused at the fact that the premier and all his buddies are devout christians, don't get me wrong,I have no issue with religion or the liberals, I'm long time lib voter, but I'm going to reconsider my vote in the future now though ba…

`'One-punch'' assaults have cost 90 Australian lives since 2000, most in booze-fuelled bashings, a study has found.` ... `NSW had the highest number of king-hits (28), followed by Victoria and Queensland (24 cases each).` So not night after night at all, but more than a couple (this article is from 2013. http://www.smh.com.au/national/90-killed-in-singlepunch-assa...

That's one-punch deaths, but not one-punch assaults. There's even more of those. Tucked away further in the article is a quote that says it is an occurrence every club night:

"St Vincent Hospital's emergency department director, Gordian Fulde, treats four or five ''absolutely obvious'' king-hits while working at the hospital every Friday or Saturday night."

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#15

Post by mking1024 » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:27 AM UTC

basicplus2 wrote: post #2

sounds like its more like Perth now...

Perth is actually doing an excellent job shaking off the 'dullsville' tag. A lot of restrictions have eased and the city is flourishing as a result. Hopefully even more so in the next few years with projects such as Elizabeth Quay and the Northbridge City Link finishing up.

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#16

Post by digbyloftus » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:31 AM UTC

sqldba wrote: post #5

stevebmark wrote: post #4

I'm an outsider to Sydney and Australia, and I'm a regular visitor. This article rings of an insider perspective, full of "we" statements. It has a vibe of personal anger and personal overreaction. What I'm genuinely curious about is the events that lead to the formation of these laws. Again, as an outsider, the main thing to do in Sydney is drink. A lot. The main thing my friends want to do after work in Sydney is d…

Innocent people kept getting murdered on King St (a popular bar and night life destination, as well as prostitution or at least erotic joints, and possibly some drug use.) A few years back there was a spate of "King Hits" which is when one person hits another person in the head and immediately knocks them unconscious, usually through random chance rather than any kind of skill, but meaning that person then bears the…

It seems to have worked in the sense that not being out at night is a good way to not get punched while out at night. It's basically the most invasive form of keeping safe and one people could easily have implemented all on their own.

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#17

Post by jclulow » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:37 AM UTC

pedalpete wrote: post #6

cheerioty wrote: post #3

Reads like a joke, but is actually the bloody truth. In the last 6 months, ordering my favourite mix drink resulted in either: - Getting the drink, but had to drink it at the bar were they could "supervise" me! (no joke!) - Getting the drink, only when ordered seperately and "promise" to not mix it in the same glass - Get the first one, second one denied - Direct rejection, because "too late already/wrong day of the…

What is your favorite drink? I live in Sydney too (Bondi), and agree the new rules are ridiculous, but what's this about 'not mix it in the same glass'?

This is nonsense they trialled first in Newcastle. Prohibiting the sale of a double shot of spirits in one glass; eventually forbidding the sale of any neat spirits at all.

Want a nip of expensive scotch? Hope it's still good drowned in soft drink.

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#18

Post by cheerioty » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:40 AM UTC

pedalpete wrote: post #6

cheerioty wrote: post #3

Reads like a joke, but is actually the bloody truth. In the last 6 months, ordering my favourite mix drink resulted in either: - Getting the drink, but had to drink it at the bar were they could "supervise" me! (no joke!) - Getting the drink, only when ordered seperately and "promise" to not mix it in the same glass - Get the first one, second one denied - Direct rejection, because "too late already/wrong day of the…

What is your favorite drink? I live in Sydney too (Bondi), and agree the new rules are ridiculous, but what's this about 'not mix it in the same glass'?

Jägermeister+RedBull ... Don't judge me ;)

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#19

Post by danieltillett » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:41 AM UTC

Sydney has never really had a good night life.

I wonder what has changed over the years to make people (both men and women) so much more aggressive when they get drunk. My personal observation is young men are much more muscular than my generation were − maybe all this violence is being driven by testosterone and/or droids.

Re: Sydney's fun police have put out the light of the nightlife

#20

Post by rbritton » Sat, Feb 06, 2016, 8:41 AM UTC

jclulow wrote: post #17

pedalpete wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your favorite drink? I live in Sydney too (Bondi), and agree the new rules are ridiculous, but what's this about 'not mix it in the same glass'?

This is nonsense they trialled first in Newcastle. Prohibiting the sale of a double shot of spirits in one glass; eventually forbidding the sale of any neat spirits at all. Want a nip of expensive scotch? Hope it's still good drowned in soft drink.

In the US, Utah is very similar. Some places will sell you a "sidecar" shot with a mixed drink, but a lot won't. Hard alcohol is measured electronically to ensure it is exactly one ounce.