If you, like thousands of other Sydney-siders, are feeling pissed off about the NSW Government’s lockout laws, then here’s something you can do about it.
Mobile music festival Reclaim The Streets is returning to Sydney to protest the contentious laws, at a critical point when they’re finally up for review.
“The NSW government has deprived us of a dance floor, so we’re just going to have to dance in the streets instead,” a spokesperson from Reclaim The Streets said in a statement.
“The Lockout Laws are a draconian measure enacted during a manufactured moral panic. They unfairly punish young people, musicians and DJs, and are funnelling patrons out of areas marked for property development and into The Star.”
Echoing a popular sentiment expressed by the many thousands of people who tore apart Mike Baird’s pro-lockouts rant on Facebook yesterday and got the #casinomike hashtag trending, the spokesperson continued: “It’s no secret that both the casinos are exempt, and property developers have been snapping up Kings Cross businesses that have closed since the lockout began.
“The casino is the single most violent licensed location in NSW, if the lockouts were about protecting people The Star would be included.
‘The Lockout laws are a clear example of the NSW government putting their mates and donors ahead of good policy.”
This mobile protest festival will meet at Sydney’s Wynyard Park from 4pm on Saturday, 19th March and feature 15 stages filled with bands and DJs playing a range of music, from Techno, Drum n’ Bass, Psytrance, Regge, Hardcore, Deep House, Hip Hop, U.K. Garage/Grime and more.
During Mike Baird’s almost unanimously-slagged Facebook rant, the Prem said that it was going to take a lot to change his mind about the lockout laws in the wake of their upcoming review.
As well as attending Reclaim The Streets, punters who want to help change Mr. Baird’s mind can also email the Premier’s office directly.
Today, the head of BOSCAR interestingly revealed that the figures Baird used to spruik the success of the lockouts were misleading.
Meanwhile, fellow anti-lockouts organisation Keep Sydney Open has made a passionate and well-reasoned rebuttal to Baird’s statement, suggesting a range of alternative measures to the lockout laws to help reduce violence while promoting a vibrant culture in Sydney. Have a read below.
UPDATE 02/03/16: Due to the large number of people and stages, organisers have moved the starting point to Town Hall at 3pm.
Watch: Reclaim the Streets September 2015
