Canberra wants lock out laws
People in Canberra want 3am last drinks for bars, clubs and pubs.
According to ReachTEL polling commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE, two thirds (65.5 per cent) of Canberrans want 3am last drinks laws for pubs, clubs and bars.
Only one in five, or 22.4 per cent, opposed it.
The survey also found that Canberrans felt unsafe in the city, saying there were too many drunk people around.
Indeed, they were more worried about drunks than people on drugs.
According to the survey, nearly double the number feared for their safety because of drunks than drug-affected people.
All up, Canberrans supporting earlier closing times outnumber those who are against it by three to one.
This poll comes at a time when the ACT government is considering possible changes to liquor licensing laws in the nation’s capital. Measures being considered include a 3am last drinks rule and increasing fees for pubs and clubs wanting to stay open after 3am.
FARE chief executive Michael Thorn said attitudes had shifted. But in the end, he said, it all came down to the politics.
Basically, political leader had to accept evidence about alcohol related harm and community sentiment.
"This is what the community wants and they shouldn't be listening to the noisy few in the pubs and clubs sector who plainly have a vested interest in all of this," Thorn told the Canberra Times.
"They should do the right thing and we know that these are popular measures, this is what we've seen in NSW and Queensland over the last couple of years where similar policies have been successful.
"The measure of that success has been the dramatic reductions in night-time assault rates in Sydney for instance, the reduction in emergency department presentations, the reduction in the admissions of people with serious injuries into our intensive-care units."
by Leon Gettler, June 17th 2016
