Will Newtown be the Next Casualty of Sydney’s Lockout Laws?

Newtown locals claim that the lockout has driven the CBD's late night punters west, bringing with them an undesirable element. Photo by Charlotte Bauer.

Kings Cross, Sydney's notorious late night club district, is in its death throes, after suffering the effects of 18 months of the lockout laws. Designed to curb violence in the area, the lockouts have also resulted in an 84 percent decrease in foot traffic and the closure of numerous bars and clubs. The early centre of the city's bohemia is now fast becoming a property developer's wet dream, with many of the former venue sites slated for residential redevelopment.

The Cross and the surrounding CBD are not the only areas bearing the brunt of these controversial laws, Newtown—the hub of alternative culture—is also feeling the consequences.

Newtown has long been a centre for Sydney's fringe dwellers, with an anything-goes ethos. Of late, locals have been complaining that the lockout laws have driven the CBD's late night punters west, bringing with them an undesirable element.

The area's nightlife has been jeopardised before, with the onslaught of poker machines claiming many a live music venue in the late 90s. However, over recent years, Newtown has undergone something of a revival, with changes to NSW licencing laws and the rise of hipster culture, a series of small bars have emerged from Earl's to the Midnight Special, and live music has returned with the opening of the Newtown Social.

But the current shift in the area's character could be the most serious threat to the Newtown vibe yet. NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show a rise of around six percent in non-domestic assaults in the Newtown area over the year since the lockouts began.

The bashing of Stephanie McCarthy at the Town Hall Hotel in June, has highlighted concerns that the alcohol-fuelled violence of the Cross has moved on into the inner west.

McCarthy, a transgender woman, was about to play bass with her band Love Maul, when she was allegedly set upon by two men, who'd been yelling transphobic slurs in her direction. "Without doubt, they were guys you wouldn't have been in Newtown a couple of years ago," said McCarthy, who's been playing gigs at the Town Hall periodically for over 20 years.

And she has no doubt her assault was due to the CBD lockouts. "You're seeing a much different crowd in Newtown on Friday and Saturday nights: groups of young men, who are there to drink and fight."

Recently, Xiaoran Shi, womens officer at nearby Sydney University, was out wheatpasting anti-street harassment posters with a friend on a corner of Newtown's King Street. Ironically the two women spent the night being subjected to the very harassment they're campaigning against. "About 10 men approached us and shouted abuse or mockery" she said. This incident displays the "hyper-masculine crowd" that Shi believes is being pushed out of the Cross and threatening local diversity.

According to Shi, nightlife has definitely changed for women since the lockouts began. She's found through talking to female friends and members of the university's wom*n's collective that "women don't really feel safe anymore walking down the street in Newtown on a Friday night, because it's full of drunk men, who catcall and display other aggressive, sexist behaviour."

In order to improve safety in the area and curb the onslaught of CBD revellers arriving in Newtown after lockout, a group of around 10 local late night venues recently announced, they'd be trialling they're own lockouts for a six month period beginning September 1.

Unlike the CBD laws that see doors locked at 1:30 am and venues closing at 3, these self-imposed measures wouldn't commence until 3 am. And these lockouts are set to only be enforced on Friday and Saturday nights.

McCarthy believes these venues are implementing their own set of measures to stave off possible government imposed restrictions. And although she doesn't agree with lockouts in general, having lived in Newcastle when they were brought in there, she understands why major venues are conducting the trial. "If they bring in a voluntary one, at least they have some kind of control," she said.

The trial is a result of local fears that Newtown could undergo a downturn in trade similar to what's occurring in the Cross, explained McCarthy. "I've personally spoken to one bar manager in Newtown recently, he basically said, we've brought this in to try and head off a one o'clock lockout that's forced on them."

And there's already been one major casualty of the Newtown nightlife scene. Just down the road in Erskineville, the Imperial Hotel, centre of inner west queer culture since the 80s and home to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, has recently been shut down. And the future of the local institution is unclear.

The Imperial was taken over by Spice Group International earlier this year, moving their club Spice Cellar from its former CBD location, due to the lockout restrictions. But the beleaguered venue closed on July 27, after it was issued with its second 72 hour closure order in five weeks. The police ordered the closures after undercover inspectors reported incidents of drunken behaviour and drug use.

As far as drag performer Aaron Manhattan is concerned, the Imperial went down because the police were harassing and overly surveilling the premises. He feels the venue was singled out, explaining that he frequents many different establishments around the city, where the same level of intoxication and drug use occurs. "There were always people walking through with dogs on the dancefloor, going into the bathrooms. It was really full on," he said.

Manhattan, who was a DJ at the Imperial, said those running the establishment had gone out of their way to appease noise complaints and the security at the hotel had been thorough. He told VICE that a club catering for the queer community shouldn't have been a concern. "It's very inter-generational, there's people that have been partying since the 80s and have partied right through the 90s. It's a much more responsible approach to hedonism than you would get with your 20-year-olds."

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