St Vincent's Hospital has called on the Baird government to reconsider an extension of bottle shop trading hours as part of a relaxation of its controversial "lockout laws", saying a 10pm closing time has "stopped a conveyor belt of carnage" and domestic assaults.
On Thursday, Premier Mike Baird announced a two-year trial relaxation of restrictions imposed on state-wide bottle shop alcohol sales; and a 1.30am lockout and 3am last drinks for premises in Kings Cross and the CBD.
Under changes to begin from January, bottle shop and home delivery alcohol sales will be extended by an hour to 11pm, while "live-entertainment" venues will be granted a half-hour extension to 2am lockouts and 3.30am last drinks.
Public health groups criticised takeaway alcohol changes and warned they could increase domestic assaults across NSW.
"We have very good evidence that the decrease of an hour has resulted in a cessation of the conveyor belt of carnage at this hospital," Nadine Ezard, director of drug and alcohol services at St Vincent's, said. "Every hour alcohol is available equals greater alcohol sales equals greater harms to the community, particularly family and domestic violence."
The hospital was joined by the NSW chapter of the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in criticising extended takeaway alcohol sales. The groups said they would closely monitor the effect on domestic assault rates.
Mr Baird said the changes would be subject to an annual review and could be further liberalised or tightened depending on their effect on violence.
"We're not returning to those days of violence," he said. "[We will] look at the statistics. This is an ongoing conversation. The good news is we're listening."
The executive director of the NSW Liquor Stores Association, Michael Waters, disputed concerns about domestic assaults.
"Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has proven that rates of alcohol related domestic violence did not move or divert from their trend line as a consequence of the 10pm bottleshop closure," he said.
Extended trading hours for inner-city live entertainment venues brought only muted response from anti-lockout campaigners who made the laws a hot political issue.
Tyson Koh, from the pressure group Keep Sydney Open that mobilised several thousand anti-lockout law protesters in February, said the relaxation was a weak response.
"It's just unbelievable that it's taken the Baird government three years to come up with a meagre, 30-minute push back," he said.
"Thirty minutes isn't going to save small businesses that are teetering on the brink. More importantly, it's not enough to get this issue off the Premier's back."
The Baird government's response largely mirrored the August findings of a review of the laws by former High Court judge Ian Callinan.
The Minister for Justice and Police Troy Grant said the definition of a live entertainment venue would be determined by government bureaucrats.
"They're fairly liberal," he said of the definitions, while adding that strip clubs would "certainly" not be captured.
Mr Grant said the only recommendation not implemented from the Callinan review was to allow home delivery of alcohol until midnight, as that was not available in rural areas.
"I said 'Fair for one, fair for all,' " he said.
The state opposition said Mr Grant's National Party had failed to secure its aim of midnight trading for bottle shops in regional areas.
"To solve a problem in Kings Cross, people will be denied a drink in rural NSW," Opposition Leader Luke Foley said.
Mr Foley also said Mr Baird should have made announcements about all-night weekend public transport and more announcements about improving night-time activity in Sydney.
The Australian Hotels Association NSW director of liquor and policing, John Green, welcomed the wind-back of the laws as a step in the right direction. He said that exempting only live entertainment venues left "many good hoteliers unfairly penalised".
The Sydney Business Chamber welcomed the change.
"This will help address the reputational hit Sydney has taken," executive director Patricia Forsythe said.
Under accompanying changes, small bars are also set to get bigger and operate for longer under the changes; maximum occupancy rates will be raised from 60 to 100 people and closing times lengthened from midnight to 2am.
The government will also change liquor licensing rules to ensure that any breaches of rules under its "three strikes" scheme fall on the licensee of a premises, not the hotel itself, and to make it quicker for low-risk venues such as cafes to obtain a liquor licence.
The lockout rules were introduced in 2014 in response to the deaths of teenagers Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie from unprovoked attacks.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data shows there has been a 45.1 per cent reduction in non-domestic assaults in Kings Cross and a 20.3 per cent reduction in the CBD since the introduction of the lockout laws.
