Queensland's New Liquor Laws Started Friday, Although You Wouldn't Know it

Queensland's government recently passed a number of laws restricting the sale of alcohol in the state, the first of them coming into effect July 1. Yet it's unclear whether the harsh new measures are helping curb alcohol related violence in the state—especially given the low level of public awareness about how they will work.

The Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Amendment Legislation Act 2016 will see Queensland follow Sydney's lead and implement statewide 1 AM last drinks from February 1, 2017. Venues operating in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley nightclub district will be permitted to stay open until 3 AM.

A restriction on the sale of "rapid-intoxication drinks" after midnight has also been imposed, effective since last Friday. This means no more jelly shots, bombs—anything with more than 45mL of spirits. On top of this, bars and nightclubs are getting a soft rollout of lockout laws, and are now required to close at 2 AM with bars in the Fortitude Valley allowed to serve alcohol until 3 AM. Public safety charity group NightWatch Patrols, which is out on the streets of Brisbane from Friday night until Monday morning, says last weekend they saw more incidents than the previous week, in spite of the new laws. Senior team leader Chris Owens told VICE incidents rose every day last weekend. "This weekend we had roughly 65 interventions, which was more than last week," he said. "There were a lot of people out. Incidents were up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." Chris suggested trends in alcohol violence may not have changed because people don't know about the new laws. "A lot of younger people weren't fully aware of the laws," he said. "There hasn't been broad publicity for them, there hasn't been any advertising—even a lot of the security staff weren't aware." Attorney General and Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath said the legislation would help combat the violence on Queensland's streets. "The opinion of Queenslanders is clear, and the evidence is clear about the benefits laws like these create," she wrote in a public statement. "Our package of laws is designed to encourage people to feel safe." Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk explained to news.com that this package goes further than closing bars early. "We are also committed to increasing employment and devoting more resources to mental health," she said.

Regardless, Chris Owens from Nightwatch believes we need more than new laws to solve the problem. "I'm not sure we teach appropriate use of alcohol," he said.

"There is already violence there, and alcohol isn't the root of that. Alcohol is just the fuel. We need to look at violence more broadly as a society."

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