Canberra's late night venues have launched a co-ordinated campaign against the ACT government's proposed 3am last drinks for bars and nightclubs.
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A government alcohol white paper released in April set out three options for a bar's last drinks: service ends at 3am with current fees; or a 300 per cent increase in fees to get a 4am licence; or a fee increase of up to 500 per cent to stay open till 5am, which is the current closing time.
Members of the Keep Canberra Open campaign, launched on Wednesday, say the proposal is a "lockout law in disguise", that will hurt the economy.
Ryan Sabet, partner at Academy and Mr Wolf, and part of the team behind Kicks Entertainment, said the campaign arose out of frustration, and a feeling the industry wasn't being listened to.
"We've been through the process with government, putting issues in, going through the process, and we feel that we're not actually being heard, and the only way we're going to get heard, is by doing this.
"We as a collective are people all through the industry, DJs performers, bar staff, and we want to find a solution for the vibrancy of Canberra that works on the issues."
He said that if the laws were passed, Academy could not afford to pay the fees to stay open past 3am. "These laws would mean we couldn't continue on, and talking to other businesses, they're in the same boat," he said. "All of us spend a huge amount on entertainment each year."
He says the flow-on effects to these laws and venues closing – to staff, musicians, businesses – would be massive.
The Keep Canberra Open group has proposed alternatives to 3am last drinks and fee increases for later licences. These include more after-hours transport, co-ordination with police, heavier penalties for violent behaviour and increased legal powers to licensees to deal with "troublesome" patrons.
The campaign mimics the design of the Keep Sydney Open alliance, formed after lockout laws introduced by the NSW government.
The movement drew thousands of protesters in February, who marched from Central station to Hyde Park to demand the unlocking of Sydney's nightlife.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Canberra campaign had collected more than 4000 signatures through its website, organisers said.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell said a nightclub trading till 5am at the moment paid a licence fee of $27,238 a year. A 4am licence would cost just over $100,000 under the proposal, and a 5am licence would cost $163,000.
A third of all assaults involving alcohol in public places in the city happened between 3am and 6am, according to the white paper. Half of ambulance attendances in the city between 3am and 4am involve alcohol. Canberra has 38 clubs, bars and nightclubs licensed to sell till 4am (22 of them are clubs), and another 11 licensed till 5am (the majority are nightclubs).
