Sydney's lockout laws relaxed as part of two-year trial.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird has announced a softening of the state’s lockout laws in response to the recommendations of a statutory review.

Key points:

• Lockout relaxed from 1:30am to 2:00am for live entertainment venues for a two-year trial period
• Last drinks extended from 3:00am to 3:30am for the trial period
• State-wide extension for sale of takeaway alcohol from 10:00pm to 11:00pm by January
• Home delivery of alcohol extended from 10:00pm to 11:00pm
• The 1:30am lockout will be moved to 2:00am and last drinks moved from 3:00am to 3:30am for venues in Sydney’s CBD and Kings Cross that offer live entertainment, performances or art and cultural events as part of a two-year trial.

Takeaway and home delivery alcohol sales will be also extended from 10:00pm to 11:00pm across the state.

The divisive lockout laws were introduced in 2014, and easing them was one of the key recommendations of an independent review into the legislation overseen by former High Court judge Ian Callinan.

Mr Baird said, while the laws have been relaxed, they were here to stay.

“They have proven to be effective. If you look at the statistics, they show there’s been a 40 per cent reduction in violence in Kings Cross, 20 per cent across the CBD and there’s no doubt they have been saving lives,” he said.

“At the same time, there’s been strong views put that this has been an impact on live music and the vibrancy in this great city.”
The changes will come into effect in January.

The patron limit for small bars will be increased from 60 to 100, and their midnight closing time will be extended to 2:00am.

“If we see an uptake in violence, there’s an option to revert to where we were, but at the same time, if we continue to see improvements in violence or a maintenance of violence at levels that they’re currently at, it gives us the capacity to further liberalise these laws,” Mr Baird said.

Laws a hot-button issue in NSW.

The hospitality and liquor industry has blamed the lockouts for a decline in business activity, while the Premier and health groups have broadly supported the measures.

The laws have prompted several protests, including the social media campaign #keepsydneyopen.

Mr Callinan was appointed in February to provide an independent assessment of the liquor laws.

When he announced the review, Police Minister Troy Grant said it would be “open, genuine and transparent”.

But ahead of the review, Mr Baird wrote a Facebook post indicating he was reluctant to make any changes to the laws.

There will also be changes to the Government’s “three-strikes” disciplinary policy for venues.

The Government has proposed strikes be incurred by individual licensees rather than attaching to a venue’s licence. The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority Board will determine strikes.

The freeze on new licences for venues such as hotels, clubs and bottle shops will also be extended until June 1, 2018 — however that does not apply to small bars.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.