Brisbane’s nightlife starts earlier and patrons are less likely to be highly intoxicated following the state government’s 2016 lock-out legislation, a new study suggests.
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A preliminary study published in the journal BMC Public Health details a short-term research project conducted by researchers in Fortitude Valley before and after the legislation came into effect.
Researchers from Deakin University and the University of Queensland visited Brunswick Street Mall in June 2016, and again in July 2016, immediately after the legislation began.
The changes in regulations meant that venues had to call last drinks by 3am within defined entertainment areas, with a statewide ban on shots being served after midnight.
Fortitude Valley's average recorded blood-alcohol concentration was around 0.08, compared with Sydney (0.03), Perth (0.06) and Canberra (0.05).
However, venues could apply for extended trading hour permits, and 12 single-night permits within a 12-month period.
Interviewing more than 1000 people in the mall over six weekends, the research team discovered people were arriving in the Valley earlier in July than in June.
The researchers recorded a notable decline in highly intoxicated patrons in just a few weeks — despite loopholes in the legislation that saw most of the Valley’s venues being given extended trading permits.
“While the earlier last drinks had the potential to reduce alcohol service across 34 venues in Fortitude Valley by 68 [hours] each night, there was no weekend in July 2016 (after the restriction) in which all venues stopped serving alcohol at 3 am,” the report found.
There was, however, a large drop in how many people arrived in the Valley after 10pm.
Lead researcher Peter Miller, from Deakin University’s School of Psychology, said more long-term research was needed to see if the changes remained beyond the first month of the changes.
“In the month immediately after the legislation was introduced, there was a decrease in the proportion of study participants who had high levels of intoxication — that’s people with a recorded blood-alcohol concentration over 0.1,” he said.
“However, the overall average blood-alcohol level we recorded remained the same, so we saw a corresponding increase in people who were moderately intoxicated.”
The researchers interviewed every third person who passed by in the mall, asking if they were pre-drinking before entering a venue, and breathalysing each participant.
After the legislation was introduced, the researchers recorded an immediate increase in the number of people arriving in the Valley before 10pm.
“Compared to moderate intoxication, there was a decrease in the proportion of participants who were highly intoxicated in July compared to June, and a small, but significant, decrease in those with a zero [Blood-Alcohol Limit],” the researchers found.
The rates of pre-drinking saw little change — which was “encouraging” — even though people were arriving earlier.
Co-researcher Associate Professor Jason Ferris, from the University of Queensland, said it was important to note there was no control site for the study so it was hard to determine if there were any other influences on the reported changes.
The researchers are conducting interviews statewide to study the longer-term effects of the legislation.
