The "2am Lockout" was the name of a 2008 initiative set up by the Victorian Labor Government to curb alcohol-related violence in Melbourne. The three-month trial period began on 2 June 2008 and lasted until 2 September of that year. A permanent lockout was not instigated after the trial was over. [1]
The lockout prohibited patrons from entering pubs, bars and nightclubs after 2am in designated areas which included the council areas of Port Phillip, Stonnington, Melbourne (including the Docklands) and Yarra. Licensees that breached the lockout could be fined a maximum of $6,899.
Melbourne Locked Out, a protest group designed specifically for campaigning against the lockout, was a source of opposition. On 30 May 2008, a protest was held at the Treasury Gardens, with about 3,000 people attending. [2]
The 2am lockout was announced on 2 May by Premier John Brumby. [3] One of the objectives of the lockout was to reduce 'bar hopping' between 2am and 6am. [4] On 2 June at 4.30am, the first morning of the trial, a bouncer struck a reveler outside a bar. Brumby used the incident to justify the need for the lockout. [5] [6]
Of the 457 premises that were originally planned to be bound by the lockout, 115 were granted exemption but must abide under a number of rules which include no passouts after 2am for smokers; passouts for food, cab etc.; no advertising the fact that they have exemptions, and extra security guards after 2am. A bid by VCAT to enforce the 2am lockout on exempt venues was dismissed on 16 June. [7]
Stephen Phillip Bracks is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 to 2007.
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia.
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Imette Carmella St. Guillen was an American graduate student who was raped and murdered in New York City. She was studying criminal justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her murder captured national attention; together with the later murder of Jennifer Moore, it was a catalyst for passage of legislation to require background checks of bouncers in bars and a security plan for nightclubs. Darryl Littlejohn, a bouncer, was convicted of St. Guillen's murder.
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