Why protesting is the only way out
Image: A previous Reclaim The Streets event. Source: Supplied.
OPINION ~ JASON MARSHALL
This Sunday, thousands of people will meet at Hyde Park fountain at 1 pm to protest the decay of Sydney’s public life.
Last year’s introduction of lockout laws has directly contributed to the closure of many beloved venues and an increase in dickheads in areas where there were few or none before. The NSW government has done this without making any difference to the drinking habits of Sydney’s youth.
In noticing the obvious exemptions for the casinos, and the rapid gentrification of areas where clubs have closed, it is not a huge leap to suggest that the primary consideration of these laws was not alcohol related violence. If the government was serious about curbing alcohol related violence, they’d be pursuing smarter solutions to violence that address the social and cultural causes instead.
The draconian control of Sydney’s nightlife is a visible symptom of a much bigger problem: the influence of money upon policy.
As property developers, casino owners, miners and bankers fight over their own agendas, the interests of the average person take a backseat.
This disregard for the majority of people not represented by a lobby group is why there is much more to protest than just the lockout laws.
Over the years, many other little things have accumulated that by themselves, would not have been the end of the world, but the small indignities add up, slowly choking the life out of the city. We want to be able to catch the train without being constantly bombarded by threats over the station loudspeaker. These creepy dystopian messages telling us we’re being watched, to watch other people, not to drink, smoke or put our feet on the seat, to pay for a ticket; they wear us down and bring down the mood.
The Reclaim the Streets protest group would like to be able to walk down the street with a beer without being harassed by the police. Alcohol-Free Zones also unfairly target people who can’t afford to drink in bars: the poor, the homeless, and young people.
It should be made easier to use the public space for public activities. Filing paperwork with the council and paying huge fees for a small party in a park is unnecessarily burdensome for what usually amounts to nothing more rowdy than a picnic.
Our group want greater emphasis placed on public transport, pedestrians and cyclists instead of cars and roads. The dominance of car culture makes living in the city dangerous and unpleasant. 24 hour clearways decimate local businesses, turning our high streets into wastelands.
Nobody thinks it is reasonable to be fined for crossing the street. We want lights to favour pedestrians, and cars should be removed from the CBD altogether, replaced by boulevards and cycleways.
We want to be able to take away alcohol any time of the day. The 10 pm takeaway restriction stops responsible adults from kicking on at home after a night out, and it unfairly targets many people who work late.
We want to stay out, knowing we can get home late because the trains run all night. The nightriders are unreliable, cramped and don’t even cover all the stations.
We want to go to clubs, pubs and festivals without being accosted by highly inaccurate drug detection dogs. It is embarrassing and degrading to be searched in public as the result of a test that is wrong the majority of the time.
There are plenty more to reasons to come out and dance in protest. You can find details at www.reclaimthestreets.com.au
