By Annette Shailer
A new association composed of industry representatives and members of the public met yesterday to develop an action plan to oppose Melbourne’s proposed 2:00am lockouts.
It follows the formation of Melbourne Locked Out, the official protest group. Protest spokesperson, Andrew Ranger, said the protest aims to postpone the lockout for a minimum of three months so a revised solution can be achieved.”
“The lockouts will cripple Melbourne’s unique culture beyond repair and force at least half of the smaller niche venues to go into bankruptcy,” he said. “We will not accept the changes and we will continue fighting until the ban is lifted.”
Ranger said the notion of voluntarily banning energy drinks — as suggested by an activist hoping to find ways to appease the government — was ill thought and unlikely to succeed.
Despite expected fines of up to $6800 for licensees who breach the proposed lockout, Ranger said many will protest until the last drink is poured. He said developments in Melbourne will be a litmus test for a nationwide ban on alcohol after 2:00am.
“At the licensee accord meeting just two weeks before this was announced, the police denied all existence of a lockout and said violence had been on a steady decrease since 2004,” Ranger said.
A petition against the proposed lockout is available on the official website, which has received more than 100,000 visits over the past two weeks.
More than 20,000 people are expected to protest in the Treasury Gardens on May 30.
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