‘Too many rules’: Premier backs changing Sydney booze ban

Premier Chris Minns has doubled down on his comments about easing booze bans, saying Sydney is being “robbed” of vibrancy and fun with blanket bans.

Sydneysiders could be allowed to drink alcohol in public places such as parks and beaches or on the street in entertainment precincts as Premier Chris Minns open to changing laws that prohibit the drinking of alcohol open spaces.

The Premier doubled down on his support for a relaxing of regulations on Tuesday, saying he believed the currrent rules around where people can drink were too restrictive and that he was open to potential changes.

“If you go to any international city around the world and Sydney is certainly one of those, they have a night time environment that include maybe a hotelier, a pub or even a club allowing people to have a drink on the footpath or sidewalk or wherever you are, but in Sydney that’s virtually impossible,” he said.

“The rules are strangling any kind of night life and fun in Sydney and we need to try and get the balance right.”

This comes as a parliamentary inquiry takes place today on the feasibility of allowing the public consumption of alcohol, similar to places in Europe, after upper house MP John Ruddick introduced a private members’ bill on the matter in June.

Currently alcohol cannot be consumed on public footpaths or roads, with local councils able to enforce alcohol-free areas at beaches and in parks.

There has been a push to turn Sydney into a more European-style city, where people in countries like Italy can openly drink in street parties or in parks.

The Premier said he would not support Ruddick’s bill as he does not believe a blanket ban on any council putting a prohibition in place is a good idea.

“There are going to be events or circumstances, particularly where you’ve got a lot of families and it might be a night-time event, we don’t necessarily want to have alcohol in those precincts,” he said.

“But increasingly it’s my sense in Sydney that after a few complaints have been made, the easiest thing for local council to do is to slap a ban on it … but what ends up happening is regular people who play by the rules get punished by it and it robs the city of some vibrancy.”

Mr Minns he will wait for the outcome of the inquiry before announcing specific reforms.

Currently it is prohibited to consume alcohol on public footpaths and roads, will council enforcing alcohol-free spaces in parks and beaches.

On Monday the Premier said he believed there were too many rules and regulations preventing people from having fun in Sydney.

“A general discussion about the amount of restrictions that are in place for people that want to open a bar or serve food or create some kind of excitement and energy that people see in other international cities around the world would be really valuable,” he said.

“I’m generally on the side of believing there’s just too many rules and regulations particularly when it comes to hospitality or having fun in Sydney.”

Mr Minns said there were too many venues around the city that close too early despite people wanting to spend money and drive the economy.

“Having an economy that fires up at 5pm during the week is really important for cities like Sydney and that means we’ve got to be open to cutting red tape,” he said.

“I think the state government coming over the top (of councils) in a heavy handed way is probably not the right way to go,” he said, adding he would be open to discussion about any changes.

Premier Chris Minns said he believed there were too many rules preventing Sydneysiders from having fun. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Mr Minns said that while he was open to people drinking in open spaces, there was one space he thought there should be a booze ban – in Parliament House.

“I’m biased here, I don’t drink, so I don’t have a horse in that race … but we have to be careful to have a modern workplace,” he said.

“I’m not responsible for Parliament House, it’s independently run – but it’s something for members to consider in the period ahead.”

A push to allow Sydneysiders to sensibly drink on beaches has occurred in recent years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

Minnssaid that Sydney’s night-life is “largely dead” on weekend evenings, lacking the vibrancy seen in European cities.

“We want to make sure that you got common sense rules in place, most people I speak to after they’ve worked a busy week in Sydney say, ‘On a Thursday Friday Saturday night, the town is largely dead’, and the vibrancy, the fun that you have in a lot of European cities or big cities in America is just not part of Sydney’s culture,” he said on 2GB.

“We’ve got some wonderful hoteliers and publicans and restaurateurs that would say, ‘If we could spill onto the sidewalk onto the footpath, and have some fun with our patrons, that’s a good thing for Sydney.”

Health Minister Ryan Park said while health professionals would always be concerned about the effects of excessive alcohol drinking, “we’ve got to live as human beings”.

“We’ve got to have a vibrant city, we’ve got to have an opportunity to socialise,” he said.

“You’ve got to get the balance right and that is what the government is determined to do.”

Premier Chris Minns and Health Minister Ryan Park weighed in on the issue. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Upper house MP John Ruddick said he believed allowing Sydneysiders to be able to choose where they drink would encourage people to have a healthier relationship with alcohol.

“At the moment you can only drink at home or in a licensed venue – and at home there is no one to tell you to stop drinking,” he said.

“We believe that Europe has got this right- it’s not much of a taboo so they don’t have problematic relationships with alcohol, whereas here we have far more problems with alcohol-related violence then they do.”

The Premier’s comments come as the City of Sydney council prepares to vote to renew 218 alcohol-free areas across the LGA next Monday.

Yet mayoral candidate Lyndon Gannon has vowed to remove alcohol restrictions should he win September’s local government elections, allowing for more outdoor spaces where people can party.

“The only person who can’t see that Sydney is struggling is Clover Moore,” he said.

“We’ve seen in recent years successful street parties shut down.

“Our plan will see a more vibrant night time economy, including removing alcohol restrictions, less red tape for businesses and making it easier to have fun.”

Sydney’s business leaders also welcomed the Premier’s openness to relaxing public drinking rules.

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said sensible rules on public alcohol consumption would “breathe life into the night time economy”.

“The Premier is right that there are just too many rules and regulations that stifle Sydney’s buzz as a global city,” he said.

“European cities take a more liberal attitude to alcohol and there is no reason we can’t take a similar approach here.”