Media release
From the Minister for Police and Emergency Services
Friday, 4 June, 2009
Victoria remains safest state in the nation
The Australian Bureau of Statistics report Recorded Crime Victims, Australia 2008 released yesterday has again confirmed Victoria remains the safest state in Australia.
Police Minister Bob Cameron said the data was the result of the hard work of police and a decade of record investment into the force by the Brumby Labor Government.
“This year’s State Budget has also delivered a record $1.9 billion budget for Victoria Police highlighting our commitment protecting Victorian communities and property,” Mr Cameron said.
“Since 2000-01 Victoria’s crime rate has been reduced by 24.5 per cent and today’s report again shows Victoria remains the safest state in Australia – with the lowest rate of crimes against the person of any state.”
Mr Cameron said the report also showed over the last 12 months Victoria’s assault victimisation rate fell 4.9 per cent.
“Since 2000 Victoria’s victimisation rate for homicide fell 22.1 per cent, robbery fell 13.5 per cent, burglary fell 44 per cent, motor vehicle theft dropped by 61.1 per cent and other theft fell by 25.3 per cent,” Mr Cameron said.
“The Brumby Government is committed to protecting our communities, which is why we will deliver an extra 350 police this term – on top of the additional 1400 we have delivered since 1999.”
Press release: Liquor Reform Amendment Bill
After Monday's announcement that lockouts were found to increase violence, it came as a shock to everyone in our
organisation that the Liquor Reform Amendment bill was not being withdrawn.
The KPMG report has proven beyond any doubt that lockouts in Melbourne do not decrease violent assaults, and in
fact the report found that they increase them.
The Liquor Reform Amendment Bill will give the Director of Liquor Licensing the power to put in a lockout at her
will, without consultation, right of appeal or the requirement of evidence to back up her claim across the whole of
Victoria.
This is a draconian measure that will result in the gap between the government and small business increasing.
Why if lockouts have been found to increase violent assaults, would they be put forward as a tool for the Director of
Liquor Licensing to have at her disposal.
We agree that venues that do not adhere to the strict provisions placed on them should be shut down for the safety
of the patrons.
We do not agree that hired thugs in the form of bureaucrats should be put in positions above the law or out of the
jurisdictions of the court systems.
This bill will be heavily apposed by MelbourneLockedOut and all our factions and we heavily support the Liberal
National Coalition in debating and opposing the bill.
NEWS:
Today the State Government is set to announce that the lockouts are over.
Preferably along with Sue Maclellan's resignation!
Also being announced are the fast tracking of extra police resources! Better late than never.
We will continue to fight for more education, transport and police.
Thank you to everyone that believed in us and helped us along the way.
Special thanks to all the licensees that challenged the declaration in VCAT.
Yesterday The Hon Tony Robinson read out a liquor control reform amendment bill.
Contained within the bill were measures to reduce the rights of Victorians to appeal state government decisions.
It is our belief that the Brumby government is intent on bringing in a statewide lockout, and is slowly making
measures to reduce the rights of Victorians to appeal at VCAT.
These autocratic measures are not going unnoticed.
Last week The City of Melbourne hosted a nightlife safety summit with 85 key experts.
Not one expert from the summit recommended a lockout, or any measure similar to a lockout as an effective way to
reduce night time violence.
If Mr Brumby had turned up he would have witnessed this for himself.
What solutions were highly recommended fell under Education, Police and Transport.
The three key issues that our group has been campaigning for since it's inception.
This lockout if it occurs will be known as 'Brumby's lockout'.
It will become a key issue at the next election, an issue that will only bring the Labor party closer to alienating
themselves from the next generation.
We will be hosting a free concert / protest in Sidney Myer Music Bowl aptly named MakeBrumbyHistory.
At this concert will be some of Australia's greatest living musicians from multiple genres and generations.
Some of Melbourne's most high profile concert promoters, bands and celebrities have already pledged their support.
It won't just be on the topic of the lockout.
It will involve every protest group that is out there at the moment and the many more who are surely to come.
We will make it popular to hate John Brumby.
And the media always follow popular culture.
It is the opinion of many including MelbourneLockedOut that the government is planning to launch a 3am Lockout statewide.
Labor party insiders have confirmed that this is the case.
Regardless of the failure of the 2am lockout or of any lockouts in the world the Brumby governments intentions to punish Victorians is unforgivable.
MelbourneLockedOut will be fighting this development more ferociously than the 2am Lockout trial and our plans are already in the works.
www.MakeBrumbyHistory.com.au has been registered and a campaign to attack the politician behind all of this madness is beginning.
To get involved please join our mailing list.
Plans in the works are
-Wide scale campaign against the current unelected premier
-MakeBrumbyHistory concert / protest in Sidney Myer music bowl 2009
-Political backfiring at the next election 2010
-PR campaigns involving high ranking celebrities and experts against a 3am lockout
note: MelbourneLockedOut is not politically aligned and will not be running an anti Labor party campaign. The Campaign will be directed squarely at Brumby with the hope that the Labor party will realise that Brumby as their leader will affect the election results.
MelbourneLockedOut
Recent Activities
on Friday the 3rd of October MelbourneLockedOut attended the Melbourne City Coucil Summit on nightlife safety.
at the summit were 85 of the key experts in nightlife safety.
Hosted by The Hon John So the summit explored the issues and came up with solutions to the growing popularity of Melbourne's nightlife.
The summary of the meeting was that we need greater police presence, more transport and more education.
The three issues which we have been campaigning for since the beginning.
It was interesting to note that at no point was the idea of a lockout or any such measure introduced out of the hundred ideas put on the table.
Melbourne Locked Out has been continuously requesting meetings with Premier John Brumby in regard to the 2am lockout.
So far there has been no response from Mr Brumby or his office which goes against his latest claim that he wants to consult with the public.
This can only be regarded as a complete lack of willingness to consult or communicate with the public in regard to nightlife safety.
Further more Melbourne Locked Out has 15,000 signed petitions stating that we on behalf of the Melbourne public demand to be included in any consultation.
The government has at this point no regard for our views on the lockout and other measures, and are failing to regard our organisation or the public as stakeholders.
Transcript from the Sunday Herald Sun - 31st August
The controversial 2am lockout from Melbourne bars and clubs is to be abandoned indefinitely.
A three-month trial of the ban will end on Tuesday and the Brumby Government has no plans to extend the strategy.
The Government introduced the lockout in June to stamp out alcohol-fuelled violence on the city's streets.
It was thought the trial would be extended if successful.
But, with the spring and summer party seasons approaching, the Government yesterday confirmed it had no plans to continue the lockout.
A decision on whether to retain or scrap the policy may not be made until the end of the year.
A review of the trial will be conducted by Liquor Licensing Victoria in consultation with police, local councils and licensees.
Under the lockout, patrons are banned from entering more than 487 inner-city venues after 2am.
The Government's decision not to extend the ban means licensed venues can resume admitting drinkers as late as their licence allows.
Government spokeswoman Emma Diffen said no deadline had been set on whether another lockout would be introduced.
A government statement said: "The current lockout trial will cease at the start of September.
"An evaluation of its effectiveness will be completed.
"The temporary lockout will cease before any future ongoing arrangements are put in place."
Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu accused the Government of poor planning by dumping the trial on the eve of one of Melbourne's most busy social periods, with AFL finals and the Spring Racing Carnival just around the corner.
"This has been a stuff-up from the start," he said. "It could have been a useful tool, but they didn't consult.
"This is the problem with the 2am lockout - we will never know if the concept could have worked because John Brumby completely botched the implementation of the trial."
Transcript from the Melbourne Leader
Lockouts under fire
Hamish Heard
27Aug08
MELBOURNE'S 2am lockout has been marred by police figures revealing a sharp increase in the number of assaults during its first month.
Liquor Licensing Victoria introduced the three-month trial lockout at the start of June to try to reverse a growing trend of violence around the city's nightlife scene.
But licensees have labelled the trial a disaster, with Victoria Police figures obtained by the Leader showing a rise in the number of assaults in June compared with the corresponding period last year. Reported assaults in the City of Melbourne City rose by 18 per cent to 211 for the month while property damage reports jumped 26 per cent to 164.
Police refused to release statistics for this month and last, saying they would not be made public until next year.
The increased violence comes despite the Safe Streets Taskforce pouring an extra 50 uniformed police on to the city's streets since October last year.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sgt Creina O'Grady downplayed the findings.
"One month does not provide a true evaluation period," she said.
"We won't talk about the lockout until the trial is finished."
But Association of Liquor Licensing Melbourne secretary Brian Frewin said the figures were "damning evidence" that the lockout had failed.
"One of our biggest fears when opposing the lockout was that if you stop people from entering nightclubs or bars, then it's going to engender some violence," Mr Frewin said.
"It's quite obvious that those fears were well and truly justified."
He said the lockout had only succeeded in reducing city businesses' profits. "It's not just licensed venues saying it has damaged business," Mr Frewin said.
"We've had non-licensed businesses like McDonalds and Hungry Jacks complain that they are losing up to half of their normal night time trade as well."
The trial will finish next Tuesday (September 2) but Mr Frewin called on Liquor Licensing Victoria director Sue Maclellan to scrap it immediately.
The liquor licensing watchdog refused to rule out introducing the scheme permanently when contacted by the Leader two weeks ago, regardless of whether figures emerged showing it failed to reduce violence.
A spokeswoman for Ms Maclellan said claims that the trial had failed were premature.
"The director of liquor licensing does not think it is appropriate to comment on the success or otherwise of the temporary lockout until the lockout has concluded and been evaluated," the spokeswoman said.
She said the evaluation would look at police figures as well as feedback from councils and licensees.
August 6th
The ALLM (Association of Liquor Licensees Melbourne) have announced that they have lost faith in Sue Maclellan's leadership as Director of Liquor licensing Victoria.
"It is a vote of no confidence from across the board"
Andrew Sumpter (ALLM)
August 5th:
This was sad day in the history of Victoria.
We have a Government that is so comfortable in office that they believe they can rule with an iron fist.
John Brumby's 3am lockout "compromise" will be a disaster for the Labor party.
There is not one shred of proof that Lockouts work.
There is not one dollar being put into school education on safe socialisation as put forward by us in our Safe Night Out scheme.
The people are angry and rest assured the current government is in for a shock.
We have a large number of signed petitions against the lockout and we will be presenting them to Parliament shortly.
We will be marching and we will continue to march on Parliament House and thru the CBD for as long as it takes.
Each time we will be creating more noise and more negative attention to the Brumby Lockout.
There will be a concert/protest held at the end of the year called Make Brumby History and it will be backed by any number of world famous artists such as Jet & Evermore
We will not go away and we will only gain momentum.
It is very important that you email the politicians from your electorate NOW
We will need everybody's help with this next battle.
For interviews or more information please contact
contact@melbournelockedout.com
Who we are
MelbourneLockedOut.com is a pressure group formed by the public in protest against the harmful 2am lockout policy. We are calling on public and media scrutiny of the proposed 1/4 year trial and demanding a postponement of the trial pending a full investigation by an independent committee.
What we are doing
We are pressuring the government into backing down over the curfew.
What we want
We want the lockout to be cancelled. We want to sit down with the government, police and licensees as representatives of the public, and come up with real solutions rather than just another Band-aid Brumby policy.
What the lockout is?
The lockout is a declaration (act of martial law used during war times) that says that nobody may enter a licensed premises after 2am even if you have already been inside that venue. Exemptions include pokie and keno littered RSL’s, Crown Casino and Bottle shops.
Facts
- Despite what some of the lesser forms of media would tell you, since 2004 violence in Melbourne has been on a continual decrease and is still getting lower despite more people going out at night (Source: The Age).
- Cabs and public transport will become impossible to obtain, and many smaller bars that Melbourne is famous for, will be put into bankruptcy if a quarter year trial is to go ahead.
- Crown Casino, as per usual is exempt, despite over 50% of all CBD assaults being reported in the Southbank area.
24 hour bottle shops a source of cheap, unmonitored alcohol, will continue to trade at all hours despite the governments push that this is to curb drinking problems. - Neither the Licensees nor the Public had been consulted on this policy and Sue Maclellan (Director of Liquor Licensing refuses to answer the publics questions.)
- In November 2005 London extended its drinking hours and lifted its lockout to battle the number of assaults and drunken behaviour; it worked and continues to be extended further.
- The London tests have found that binge drinking decreased overall because patrons could spread out their drinking over a longer period of time.
- There is no proof that a lockout will decrease violence or decrease drinking, only evidence to the contrary as more people spill out onto the street.
Issues:
Financial ramifications
- Melbourne doesn’t have an Opera house, or a Harbour Bridge, or world famous beaches. It does have a world famous cultural nightlife and musical hub that is going to be taken away from us and handed over to other city’s eager to emulate us.
- Bartenders, security, venue owners/operators will all lose revenue as working hours decrease and there is less money to go around in a recessive saturated industry. In unsure economic times like today, is it fair to cripple an industry that so many working families and students rely on for their income?
- Responsible service of alcohol requirements
Clubs are already highly regulated and scrutinised. Legally they cannot serve intoxicated persons and must ensure all the patrons safety and protect them from harm. - Bottleshops on the other hand are exempt from the lockout, have no obligation for the customer’s safety or level of intoxication, and have no control or responsibility over where their customers drink, dispose of their rubbish or congregate.
- With the lockdown people will be more inclined to drink in the street or outside closed off venues.
Civil liberties
- Infringement on peoples rights to visit the venues of their choice, at their times of choice. The fact that these places can operate at a profit proves that there is a market for people who like to listen to rare, unique music at all hours of the night. Melbourne is a 24 hours city and not all people work 9-5. Shift workers, hospitality workers and general night owl’s are being discriminated against and forced to go to the casino
- Workers’ rights: the government has failed to take into account the ramifications this will have on hospitality workers. Most of these people work hard all night so Melbournians can socialise after a hard weeks work. Are they themselves not entitled to socialise with their co-workers and friends after they finish scrubbing our dishes, cleaning our glasses, serving us drinks and taking our orders?
Favouritism of gambling industry
- Where does Mr Brumby’s agenda lie with the gaming industry? Why can Crown Casino nightclubs that have a history of violence operate outside these laws simply because they fall under the umbrella of the Crown Casino? The reason nobody goes to Crown Casino nightclubs is because of the people that go there and the violence they bring with them. Now people will be forced to go there and most likely be funnelled into the gambling areas
- Why are RSL’s that have become littered with family ruining Pokie machines able to operate outside these laws?
- Gambling is a huge social and economic issue that has put a strain on Australia, Problem gamblers and young people are being funnelled into locations of temptation – RSL’s and the Casino. And will be more likely to cause violence and turn to drugs as a result of the added frustration.
Safety
- Increased street traffic is a major outcome of these new laws. In the Gold Coast when these laws were introduced people naturally spilled out of the nightclubs and onto the street causing police to be overrun with violence and disorderly behaviour.
- People not able to get home – not enough cabs (not to mention associated issues with cab drivers being unwilling to take intoxicated passengers) will result in more people on the streets not able to find a way home
- People unable to exit a venue to get fresh air or food.
- Nightrider can’t support that many extra people and regular public transport doesn’t run at 2am. Doubling the Nightrider will have little result in decreasing traffic congestion.
- Police will be unable to handle increase in street traffic/assaults – as their resources are already stretched.
- The police finish their shifts at 2am. How will they handle this transfer? And how many extra police are being put permanently after this hour?
Culture
- Melbourne has a reputation as a cosmopolitan city – most liveable , best Australian tourist destination– we should be preserving this and not letting an unelected premier destroy our city.
- Tourism in Melbourne is at an all time high. The two main reasons for this are shopping and nightlife.
- Melbourne is a 24-hour city and has spent millions telling the world this, we would be known as a laughing stock.
Danger zones are not included.
- CROWN CASINO – 1200 assaults since 2002 in the Southbank district. Not to mention domestic violence and emotional trauma due to gambling addiction.
We are putting together a fact booklet relating to this.
If you have received this directly from us then you will receive this as soon as we finish it. Otherwise please contact us to be put on our mailing list.
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