NSW Police have issued a reminder to Sydneysiders that the city’s new lockout laws will be in full effect this weekend as the annual Mardi Gras celebrations take over the city.
The contentious new laws came into effect yesterday and despite calls from Sydney Mayor Clover Moore for the state government to consider an exemption for clubs and venues in the Mardi Gras strip, the laws will continue to be enforced this weekend.
Features of the new legislation include a 1.30am lockout from venues in the precinct stretching from Kings Cross to Cockle Bay, The Rocks, Haymarket and Darlinghurst. As well as a 3am cessation of service and no take-away alcohol service after 10pm.
“A lockout means you must be inside a venue by 1.30am – you can still have a good night, you just need to plan where you’re going, how you’re getting there and how you’re getting home,” Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke said today.
NSW Police also announced they will be able to issue temporary banning notices to people found to be causing trouble, which will prohibit them from entering most licensed premises in the precinct for 48 hours.
“If you’re causing trouble and police have to intervene, you will be taken out of play and possibly face a temporary ban from venues in the precinct,” Clarke said. NSW Police say they are expecting hundreds of thousands of spectators to line Oxford and Flinders Streets on Saturday as Mardi Gras celebrations commence.
They will conduct a high-visibility operation in Sydney CBD to patrol the area, which is an alcohol free zone. “Police have power to confiscate and dispose of alcohol that is being, has been, or is likely to be consumed in an Alcohol-Free Zone,” Assistant Commissioner Clarke said.
“An offence is committed by anyone who refuses to hand over their alcohol or cooperate with police, attracting a fine in excess of $2000.”
