A clash of cultures

COMMENT

The battle over Kings Cross has hotted up. Michael Gormly has written passionately. Sitting at a local cafe on the main drag till 2am, he doesn’t see any problems. The Cross is a safety valve for the City, a place of great positive energy where people come to enjoy themselves.

Local hospital staff see a trail of human wreckage every Friday and Saturday night. A doctor treating me one Friday evening said it was nice to be treating someone sober for a change.

Michael claims entertainment precincts mean emergency services can respond better. Maybe. Still, I wonder if hospital staff appreciate the gains resulting from their evening toil.

Hugh Cox, Rector of St John’s Anglican Church, says: “At a [past] meeting … the then local head of Police said the biggest problem was not mental illness or drug abuse, but rather alcohol related violence.

“I see it often. People from Oxford street walk down Forbes Street towards Williams street at 2 and 3 am on Friday and Saturday nights, urinating, vomiting, yelling and they’re frequently violent.

“Violent excesses which I see all too often are usually the result of people drawn to the Cross. Sure, some are just ‘partying’ like the local venues claim – but it has its dark side, something that we and the police bear the brunt of.”

How are we all talking about the same place?

Most drinks don’t lead to violence. But, violence is often associated with alcohol. How are well-behaved revellers responsible for other’s violence? Or locals caught up in the cycle of alcohol and domestic violence?

Who should have most influence on what goes on in Cross? Business? Locals? Visitors? Even for locals, there’s disagreement. Each side claims the other is not “representative”, and has an agenda. Or that they’re insulated from the reality, making judgements from the sidelines. Or lack objectivity and historical perspective.

Then there’s obnoxious behaviour. How much is there? How are the well-behaved responsible for those who behave this way?

Violence is much more serious. But no Cross pub is in the list of NSW’s worst 48 – who must serve drinks in plastic cups, amongst other restrictions. The Coogee “entertainment precinct” has a pub that ranks worse than any at the Cross.

No Cross pub is “up there”, but there are a lot more pubs. I wonder – how does the violence compare to the number of people circulating, the total drinks, the dollars spent or the total area?

Then there’s history. I’ll believe Michael’s claims the cross was “pumping” decades ago. But is violence worse now? What was it like back then?

For sure, assaults have declined since 2006. Perhaps even one assault is one too many. Even in decline, we could still have a problem. But that’s different to saying there’s a “crisis” which is “out of control and getting worse”.

According to Professor Ross Homel of Griffith University, the violence from two licensed venues is more than just double that of one. Violence does grow. But probably not quite as dramatically as advocates of “over-saturation” suggest.

But at market saturation, venues might simply run out of customers. Some have shut – there’s no seething mass, no unlimited supply of customers. You see attractive women handing out cards advertising far-away venues. Eh??

But it is difficult to leave the Cross at night. I’m not blaming alcohol, at least not directly. But venues collectively attract more patrons – and the problem gets worse. But getting those people home isn’t their problem. Pity we can’t insist on improvements in transport before increases in patronage are allowed.

There are a lot of problems. They’re not going to go away in a hurry.

By John August