'The pendulum has swung too far in the other direction': Billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes slams Sydney's lockout laws and says he's had to turn away Madonna and Justin Bieber because of the harsh curfews
- Billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes originally supported NSW lockout laws
- He's told parliamentary inquiry it's time for the controversial laws to be scrapped
- Reflected on how famous celebrities refused entry to venues due to the laws
- Mr Hemmes told the inquiry the laws are harming Sydney's reputation globally
Billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes has slammed Sydney's lockout laws as an embarrassment to the city, despite originally supporting the controversial laws.
The Merivale boss has pleaded at a NSW parliamentary inquiry for the laws, which have seen pop superstar Madonna locked out of her own after-party and Justin Bieber unable to re-enter a venue after stepping out to take a phone call, to be scrapped.
Despite owning more than a dozen venues in the CBD lockout zone, Mr Hemmes admits he supported the NSW government when the laws were enforced in 2014 in response to alcohol-fuelled violence and the tragic one-punch attack that killed Thomas Kelly.
Merivale boss Justin Hemmes addressed an NSW parliamentary inquiry on Friday night with a heartfelt plea to scrap Sydney's lockout laws, described as an embarrassment
'As many of you know, I supported the government when it introduced the legislation and the lockout laws provided a useful circuit breaker to a culture of violence that had developed,' Mr Hemmes told the inquiry.
'However, I think there's a strong consensus the pendulum has now swung too far in the wrong direction.'
Even the world's most famous celebrities have been refused entry to Sydney venues because of the lockout laws, which prevent patrons from entering venues after 1.30am.
Madonna, Justin Bieber, US rock band Smashing Pumpkins, NBA player James Harden and retired soccer player Steven Gerrard are among those who have been refused entry.
'Madonna booked her after-party with us. She arrived after 1.30am, she arrived at 1.45am, we couldn't let her into her own event because of the lockouts. How embarrassing is that?,' Hemmes told the inquiry.
'The Chelsea football team came in celebrating, their coach went out to make a phone call and he couldn't get back in after 1.30am, so they all left. The same thing happened with Justin Bieber, too.'
During her last visit to Sydney in 2016, Madonna was unable to get into her own after-party due to the lockout laws after missing the cut-off 1.30am time by 15 minutes
The once busy streets of Sydney's nightclub hub Kings Cross (pictured) are empty on a Saturday night as a result of the introduction of the controversial 'lockout laws'
Mr Hemmes believes Sydney night-time economy is being left behind, which is harming the city's reputation internationally.
'2019 Sydney is a completely different beast to the one in 2014,' he said.
'With the imminent arrival of light rail, a new metro line, and the introduction of Uber and other ride-sharing services, there are now far more efficient and effective means to disperse people home 24 hours a day.'
'While the city is bustling throughout the day, regrettably, at 8pm it becomes a ghost-town.'
Mr Hemmes said Sydney needed a night-time ecosystem of restaurants, bars, retail, live music and entertainment to draw people in to the CBD.
'With respect, Sydney's lockout laws must go. They have served their purpose and Sydney has been recast,' he said.
Kings Cross was bustling on Friday and Saturday nights before the lockout laws in 2014
He said the government's violent venues scheme and three-strikes regime - under which venues can lose their liquor licences - were also outdated and had to be drastically changed.
Mr Hemmes' written submission lodged prior to his inquiry appearance claimed the lock out laws reduced late night revenue takings at his flagship venue the Ivy, which plummeted from $12 million in 2013-14 to $5.6 million in 2018-19.
'FY19 revenue is 47 per cent of FY14 revenue, which represents a 53 per cent decline,' the submission stated.
'Ivy … includes over 20,000 sqm of food and beverage spaces, welcomes over 2,000,000 customers per annum and is located in the heart of Sydney's CBD.'
Meanwhile, a coalition of emergency service workers warns that winding the laws back will risk lives.
The Last Drinks coalition is calling for alcohol laws to remain unchanged, for increased funding for emergency service resources, and mandatory linked ID scanners in venues across the CBD.
Late night revenue takings at The Ivy (pictured) have dropped by 53 per cent since the lock-out laws were introduced, according to Justin Hemmes
'We should not return to the ugly, deadly and dangerous past of having alcohol as the driver of our economy,' Brett Holmes from the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association told reporters on Friday.
'We believe that the lockout laws have been proven very clearly to save lives and to make life better for those people who are given the responsibility for looking after public safety.'
Justine Baker, chief executive of hospitality group Solotel, told the hearing Sydney used to be progressive and exciting but the city had become 'conservative, boring, less diverse and middle-aged'.
She described the current regulatory regime as ageist, saying 'we think it's an older generation telling young people how they should behave'.
Their testimony came as the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released research that suggested the laws have reduced the number of assaults but the benefit is diminishing over time.
Despite owning more than a dozen venues in the CBD lock-out zone inlduing The Establishment (pictured), Mr Hemmes was once a supporter of the lock-out laws
BOCSAR found non-domestic assaults dropped 53 per cent in Kings Cross and four per cent in the CBD since lockouts were introduced.
But in the same period, assaults rose by 30 per cent at alternative nightspots accessible from the city.
'The effect of the reforms in Kings Cross is still strong however the positive impact in the CBD has fallen over the long term,' executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said in a statement.
The parliamentary committee will have one last hearing day before it reports back to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian next month.
Justin Hemmes told the inquiry the laws are harming Sydney's reputation globally
