Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The owner of Hugos Lounge in Kings Cross has promised a "Mabo-like" battle to the High Court to secure compensation for up to 35 business owners in the wake of controversial lockout laws in the suburb.
Dave Evans said that at least a dozen businesses across Kings Cross and teams from three law firms had pledged their support for a class action lawsuit against the state of NSW after its raft of 34 restrictions on licensed venues had "unfairly" targeted the inner-city suburb.
"We're looking for compensation for a bad policy. [Legal teams] would like to take it all the way to the High Court, barristers want to support this, sort of like the Mabo case," Mr Evans told Fairfax Media on Thursday afternoon, speaking on the steps of his nighttime venue Hugos, which went into administration on Wednesday.
He said that the laws had caused a 60 per cent drop in trade and 80 per cent drop in customers to the Kings Cross area. He claims to have lost $10 million because of their effects, but says the overall cost to businesses was far higher. "We're talking a loss of hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.
Mr Evans was supported by about 30 former staff from 15-year-old Hugos, voted best nightclub in Australia six times, for the announcement. The closure took with it 70 jobs and a total of 170 staff from the venue have lost their jobs since restrictions came into place in September 2012. He expects the class action to take 12 months to reach a court hearing. Federal senator David Leyonhjelm also joined Mr Evans to announce the possible legal action.
The Liberal Democrat said that the "perverted" legislation had dealt a fatal blow to the area's businesses. "The laws aimed to solve a problem which they're not solving, they're moving that problem into the other suburbs but the unintended consequences are that they're killing off the commercial life here in Kings Cross - people are not coming here."
He cited the closure of 35 businesses in the area, including nine licensed venues, since the restrictions took effect. "Nobody seems to care. If 170 people had lost their jobs manufacturing cars, there would be politicians screaming their heads off saying, 'Let's subsidise them and keep them in business'. It's a perverted sense of priorities," Senator Leyonhjelm said. "Nobody wants alcohol-fuelled violence but the businesses of Kings Cross are paying a very heavy price for this blanket approach."
A spokesperson for the Police Minister, Troy Grant, wrote in an email to the Herald: "The NSW Liberals' and Nationals' priority is community safety. The effectiveness of these measures have been reflected in the decline in incidences of alcohol fuelled violence and hospital presentations. A review of the lockout laws will commence in February 2016."
Doug Grand, of the Kings Cross Liquor Accord, added that while alcohol-fuelled violence must be dealt with, neither of the single punches that resulted in the deaths of revellers Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie had taken place in licensed venues. The legislation, brought in since the fatalities of the young men, has been credited with reducing alcohol-related violence in the suburb by one-third and will be reviewed in February.
Clint O'Hanlon, marketing manager of The World Bar, opposite Hugos, said its demise was not unexpected given the recent spate of closures. "It's sad, of course, but it's one of things we identified would happen when the laws were announced." He said his bar was "holding on by the skin of its teeth". "The entire situation is sad."
Ibrahim Al Dabbas, manager of CTC tobacconists next to Hugos, said he think his business will follow in the steps of the nightspot.
"It's very bad, we will be next. Before the lockout we got busy after 12am. Now after midnight, it's dead," he said.
Peter Richardson, manager of neighbouring Kazbah restaurant, said the loss of such a big player from the strip was "indicative of the late night life of the area."
"It's a one-way street when you see something like Hugos shutting down," Mr Richardson said. "If anything it's surprising that they bothered to carry on as long as they did. The scene has moved on."
With a final chant of "We Love the Cross", the group of newly redundant staff from the once-thriving venue headed to farewell drinks at Hugos Manly outpost - which, said Mr Evans, has not been subject to a single new restriction in over three years.
