Late night CBD violence - the debate doesn't need stupidity

Fiona Scott-Norman wrote a damaging piece in today's Age on late night violence in the Melbourne CBD.  Unfortunately the Age isn't allowing the public to comment online to her article so I'll put it here.  She believes the problem is due to the selection of music played in dance venues and the solution is to blast out disco music ala. 'it's raining men' late at night.  It's not funny.  Is she mandating the control of music content by the state?  Taking her silliness further I can see her vision now: Fiona Scott-Norman, aka The State, mandates that all venues after 2am play on rotation the following (a) Weather Girls 'It's raining men' (b) John Farnham's 'You're the voice' (c) Barnesy 'Working class man' (d) Bonnie Tyler 'i need a hero'. Failure to comply will cause an immediate revocation of booze license for any venue.   Better still, why not install loudspeakers through the CBD and blast it out across the streets from 2am-6am? I'm sure the inner city residents will approve.

My response is to tell her to (a) read Farenheit 451 (b) watch the UK TV Series 'The Prisoner' and (c) get a basic briefing on market dynamics, that is if people don't like what they're getting they go elsewhere.

It's an emotionally charged issue in Melbourne at the moment and it doesn't need ignorant, muck raking, trollistic observations such as hers:

Melbourne is to drunken street violence what the Vatican City is to Catholics. Take a constitutional around our otherwise elegant CBD on any Friday or Saturday night and you'll enjoy a ringside view of young men and women in their physical prime projectile-vomiting, eye-gouging, glassing, and engaging in a vigorous spot of five-against-one kick 'em in the head while they're down.

Nor has the resolution been to send in the cops, as she claims.  It has been to force venues to hire extra security at additional cost to such venues, and the live music business in Melbourne.  Such venues are typically small owner operated businesses and have felt financial pain as a consequence.  Many now close earlier. 


The issue is one of (a) inadequate late night transport and (b) lack of entertainment opportunities in their local neighbourhoods.  And there are solutions to both - (a) better night rider services and (b) facilitate the development in the 7 central activity districts of entertainment zones / late night zones / mixed use precincts whatever the politically correct term is for them these days.  Melbourne could look to the London City Council here and here (PDF).  Or in Paris where:


French discotheques with bars can now stay open until 7am to ''help the risk of road accidents from drunk driving''.  Business leaders said on Monday the measures would liven up Paris and other French cities.  The measure seeks to harmonise closing hours for bars across France and cut down the number of party-goers who drive from one area to the next in search of a place to spend the night on the dance floor. The new rules published in the government gazette at the weekend state that any establishment that serves alcohol and has a dance floor can now stay open until seven in the morning. But last call will be at 5.30am, allowing for a one-and-half-hour ''dry period'' when no alcohol will be served. The Synhorcat trade group of bar owners described the new regulations as a ''major victory that will help reduce the risk of road accidents from drunk driving across France''.' 'This harmonisation will discourage young people from getting behind the wheel of their cars to find a bar that is open,'' said Didier Chenet, president of Synhorcat. ''It will also make Paris and other French tourist destinations more dynamic especially since they were seen cities that shut down early compared to Berlin, London or Barcelona,'' he said.