They want to freeze the number of liquor licenses in Kings Cross, Oxford St and parts of George St.
Makes you wonder -- if they just freeze the licences, won't things stay about the same? And if these areas are already oversaturated as Clover claims, where would any new ones have gone anyway and who would drink in them? Already several of the existing over-renovated and indebted venues are going broke (see post below). The horse has bolted, Clover!
And if they freeze licences, what of Clover's small bars push? Easy, says Clover -- just put them anywhere but Kings Cross and Oxford St and parts of George St. But hang on, doesn't this even further freeze our entertainment precincts into their present profile while spreading drinking fallout into other precincts?
Existing venues must be happy at the move as it will protect their turf.
And another thing: Clover's specially commissioned research explicitly says that the only way to reduce the amount of alcohol consumption is to reduce licenses of all kinds. It doesn't say "except for Melbourne-style small bars". Seems Clover just wants to cherrypick the bits that suit the Queen's agenda.
But moral panics are never logical.
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