Western Australia AKA The Nanny State

So the government hates all the party animals out there. That's what the new lock out laws are all about, anyway.

The official 'Don't Lock Me Out' campaign website describes the Lock Out as:

Without public consultation the Western Australian Parliament is currently considering new laws that could further control where and how you enjoy your social life. By Christmas, the Western Australian Government could have the power to forcibly lock anyone out of and to stop entry to their favourite bar, pub, club, bottle shop or restaurant at any time, day or night, anywhere in Western Australia.

The laws are aimed at preventing alcohol fueled violence at party hot spots, however the government is locking people out of places that have no records of any violence. That's not fair for small businesses who are having their customers locked out when they have done nothing wrong.

So when a club or pub seems to get a little to loud, these rowdy, drunken, and now angry people are pushed onto the streets for the rest of the public to deal with. Good job government, you sure handled that one.

In regional areas where many people flock to the pubs after work and violence does become present, I can see how these new laws would be successful. However to have the power to lock anyone out, anytime, anywhere, will just become a huge mess.

There is one big problem with these proposed laws. They don't work.

“Lockouts are yet to be proven as an effective harm reduction strategy and it is conceivable that under some circumstances they may even increase problems.”

(National Drug Research Institute Curtin University (2007) (contributing authors: Chikritzhs, T., Gray, D., Lyons, Z. & Saggers, S.) Restrictions on the sale and supply of alcohol: Evidence and Outcomes. NDRI Monograph. Perth.)

Western Australia already has many regulations in place, or proposed to be in place for a variety of things, such as not drinking in public on Australia Day, and random stop and search laws to prevent violence and anti-social behaviour.

Now the government wants to kick people out of clubs and pubs when they're having fun.

Well isn't Western Australia the party central.