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Would the last person in Sydney please turn the lights out? (Nanny state - Australia)
news.com.au ^ | 4th February 2016 | Matt Barrie

Posted on 02/03/2016 5:26:26 PM PST by naturalman1975

IN 1999, Sydney was at its peak. The Olympic Games were imminent and there was unbridled optimism that Sydney was about to emerge as an international city as the millennium approached.

Internationally, Sydney was renowned as an incredibly fun place to live; the entertainment was world class, with great restaurants and venues to visit at any time of night.

Something pernicious has happened in the 17 years since, and Sydney has not just regressed into a ghost town, but there is an undercurrent of something much more sinister in the way the city is being run.

As I write this in 2016, not a day goes by without the press reporting of yet another bar, club, hotel, restaurant or venue closing.

Walk up Bayswater Rd, Oxford St or the 'Golden Mile' in Kings Cross and club after club is closed; not just after 1.30am, but permanently.

A few months ago the perennial Flinders bar in Darlinghurst closed. Then the century-old Exchange Hotel shut down, which held six venues including the Phoenix, live music hall Spectrum, and the upstairs pool hall Q-Bar. Following that, the evergreen Goldfish bar in Kings Cross. Then Soho.

Every week, another venue or restaurant closes. The soul of the city has been destroyed.

Kings Cross, in particular, has been decimated so badly that it will never, ever, come back as an entertainment precinct. Hugo's Lounge closing, which was the swankiest bar in Sydney for 15 years and voted Australia's best nightclub five years running, was the final nail in the coffin for the area.

The venue also housed the 130-seat Hugo's Pizza, which had not just won Best Pizza Restaurant in Australia at the Australian Restaurant & Catering Awards, but was also named the World's Best Pizza in the American Pizza Challenge in New York.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: constabledonwdoofus; muslims; rapefugees; towelheads
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There is a longer version of the article at this link.

What is happening in Sydney is pretty strange to be honest. One of the worst things about it, is it largely the actions of a conservative government that has for some reason gone nanny-state in a big way.

It's to the advantage of Melbourne (where I live) which is already on track to overtake Sydney as Austalia's largest city, but though I am a proud Melburnian, I have to admit we can't compete with the natural beauty of Sydney Harbour and it distresses me to see Sydney throwing away any part of being Australia's premier city.

And if it can happen there - it becomes much more likely it will happen here as well. We already have some moves in that direction.

My clubbing days are over (not that it was ever a big part of my life) but this goes beyond that.

1 posted on 02/03/2016 5:26:26 PM PST by naturalman1975
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To: naturalman1975

Seem inevitable when the “Democratic Socialists” (aka communists) take over .... just sit back and enjoy the spiral down!


2 posted on 02/03/2016 5:34:51 PM PST by RetiredTexasVet (Racism will disappear when AfroAmericans, HispanicAmericans, AsianAmericans, etc. become Americans)
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To: naturalman1975
It’s also worth noting that two of the biggest beneficiaries of the lockout, the Star City and Barangaroo Casinos, have 24x7 licences and were conveniently left out of the lockout area.

Hmmmm.......is there a mafia chapter in New South Wales?

3 posted on 02/03/2016 5:35:09 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: naturalman1975

Sydney is both a tourist and Muslim trap. If you want to experience the real Australia, visit Perth. It is on the Western side of the continent, sorta like the “Los Angeles” of Down Under.


4 posted on 02/03/2016 5:44:58 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: naturalman1975
"Entertainment Precincts"?

You can't get more Orwellian than that!

5 posted on 02/03/2016 5:45:40 PM PST by who_would_fardels_bear
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To: naturalman1975

I was only briefly in Sydney recently, a two night layover on my way to Adelaide. And the same though much shorter in Melbourne, and just before my departure after spending 5 weeks in Adelaide i stayed in Brisbane, i absolutely love the airport there, best i’ve been to in that country.

I miss Oz, i fell in love with the culinary treats, roo meat included, never went to a bar, night club or a casino, mostly i was on the beach, a conservation park or at a museum or riding a steam train.

For all the vices of America, too much junk food, cheap cigarettes, insanely and abundant choices that even myself have invested in of driving conveyances of ultra large rvs, suvs, pickups and motorcycles, of which in Oz tends to be more expensive, a whole lot smaller, and not easily available.

Oz is definitely the nanny state, thats good if you are either young or elderly, but a bit of a drag if in between. I felt cheated, very few movies in the stores and dated, horrendously expensive cigarettes and virtually no cigars, almost no choice but to buy a downsized car or truck, i own a gas guzzling Chevy Silverado dually, never saw one in Oz.

The tv shows are British dominated and of course the sports are well....different.

Nascar, NFL, Monster Jam?

Good luck getting it on tv, though the loss of CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS only minorly irtitated me, pissed me more when i had to hear and view them when i got back home.

Did i like Oz? Absolutely, nicest most polite people everywhere, healthy, everyone loves to cook, they don’t get fat either for the most part, Adelaide though around christmas was scorching hot, the sun is brutal, the wine is nectar.

And as i sit here recalling my rendezvous with destiny there escapade i long again for the food that i just cannot find in America, especially here in Alaska, i long for the beaches, the train rides, the wine, and to forget about everything else.


6 posted on 02/03/2016 5:50:55 PM PST by Daniel Ramsey (You don't have to like Trump, his enemies certainly don't.)
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To: naturalman1975

Reminds me of St. Louis, a once-great city now trying to die as quickly as possible.


7 posted on 02/03/2016 5:52:27 PM PST by Da Bilge Troll (Defeatism is not a winning strategy!)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Perth is my favorite city in the world. Hands down. Great place, sitting all by itself on the Indian Ocean.


8 posted on 02/03/2016 6:17:10 PM PST by ameribbean expat
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
While this article points out that govt caused Sydneys' businesses to shut down, what the article does Not point out -is specifically -that the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull and the chairperson of the National Security Committee have not stopped the unlimited immigration of islamic Muslims into Australia. (see youtube/Australia)

Sydney, along with the other the four major cities in Australia are now overrun with islamic Muslims who are committing crimes and rapes at an alarming and ever increasing rate. As is the case in large cities in the U K. This is why the large cities in Australia are becoming deserted. Now, -it is the Alamo down there. The majority of Australian citizenry now stay in their homes at night -especially women- every night of the week. (do we want this same affliction here in America?)

According to the 2011 census, 476,291 people, or 2.2% of the total Australian population, were Muslims.[1] This made Islam the fourth largest religious grouping, after all forms of Christians in Australia.

9 posted on 02/03/2016 6:21:26 PM PST by Mr Apple ("...a mysterious black man THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT ")
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To: naturalman1975

What is your view of the drunken street thuggery that prompted these rules? Would it have been better for the cops to bust heads and send more to the drunk tanks to correct bad behavior, or for the city to control this problem with more rules?

Personally, I see little wrong with the nightstick as a teaching tool for those who haven’t learned to control themselves yet.


10 posted on 02/03/2016 6:25:40 PM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: naturalman1975; MarvinStinson; BlackFemaleArmyCaptain; Boardwalk; stephenjohnbanker; ...

fyi my post 9


11 posted on 02/03/2016 6:28:16 PM PST by Mr Apple ("...a mysterious black man THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT ")
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To: Mr Apple

God bless you for such information. You are not alone hearing such things. May God be with us.

Thank you very much for the ping.


12 posted on 02/03/2016 6:33:58 PM PST by RitaOK ( VIVA CRISTO REY / Public education is the farm team for more Marxists coming)
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To: Mr Apple
While this article points out that govt caused Sydneys' businesses to shut down, what the article does Not point out -is specifically -that the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull and the chairperson of the National Security Committee have not stopped the unlimited immigration of islamic Muslims into Australia. (see youtube/Australia)

Garbage. Australia has pretty strict immigration controls that means nobody (except New Zealanders) have anything like 'unlimited immigration' into Australia. Religion is not treated as a factor in determining whether or not a legitimate immigrant is allowed into Australia (and maybe it should be, though that would be constitutionally difficult) but Australia is doing more than most nations to prevent illegal immigration and a high proportion of those stopped from coming here illegally are Muslim.

Sydney, along with the other the four major cities in Australia are now overrun with islamic Muslims who are committing crimes and rapes at an alarming and ever increasing rate.

No, they are not. We are not being 'overrun' with Muslims. They remain a small minority of the population. It is true that they seem to be over represented in some crimes and that is certainly a problem but statements like this one are just ridiculous and make it harder to get the actual problems addressed, because they make those who are worried look irrational.

The majority of Australian citizenry now stay in their homes at night -especially women- every night of the week.

Always have. That's when and where most people sleep.

According to the 2011 census, 476,291 people, or 2.2% of the total Australian population, were Muslims.[1] This made Islam the fourth largest religious grouping, after all forms of Christians in Australia.

This is accurate - but really shows that the 'overrun' by Muslim idea is wrong. 2.2% of people is not being overrun. 61.1% of Australians are Christian according to the Census - and frankly, I don't think their influence is all that great anymore. 2.2% really don't have much influence at all.

I do think there are issues with Islam in Australia - we have people here who want to do this nation harm and that is linked to their religion. But it has nothing to do with why night spots in Sydney are closing, and overstating the issue doesn't help get it addressed.

The article is also talking about actions taken by the local government of Sydney, and the state government of New South Wales - which have virtually nothing to do with the Commonwealth government headed by Malcolm Turnbull.

13 posted on 02/03/2016 6:38:15 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

I finally got cable TV to be able to watch the America’s Cup off shore from Perth. It was awesome to see the on boat cam video. Cable TV has been absent from the Compound for over 10 yr now.


14 posted on 02/03/2016 6:38:29 PM PST by Paladin2 (w)
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To: Mr Apple

Boy it’s on!

The war against the West is well underway.


15 posted on 02/03/2016 6:38:50 PM PST by DoughtyOne (the Free Republic Caucus: what FReepers are thinking, 100s or 1000s of them. It's up to you.)
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To: VanShuyten
What is your view of the drunken street thuggery that prompted these rules? Would it have been better for the cops to bust heads and send more to the drunk tanks to correct bad behavior, or for the city to control this problem with more rules?

That there was very little of it, and it could be addressed in the same way it had always been addressed. By proper policing. A few isolated incidents were made out to be indicative of a much bigger problem than they were.

There may have been some scope for some rule changes - but they've gone far far further than is needed. Even if banning the sale of alcohol after midnight might have been a good idea (I don't think it is, but just for the sake of argument) banning kebabs really doesn't seem to serve the same purpose - and that's the type of lunacy this had spread into.

Personally, I see little wrong with the nightstick as a teaching tool for those who haven’t learned to control themselves yet.

I'm opposed to unprovoked and unnecessary violence by police. But I also think that we sometimes hamstring police more than is needed.

16 posted on 02/03/2016 6:42:49 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Mr Apple

Thanks for the good info. that is not commonly known or wanted to be out there for all to see.

The combination of Progressives/Liberals and Muslims is a terrible thing.


17 posted on 02/03/2016 6:44:06 PM PST by laplata ( Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: RitaOK

Thank you. It’s alarming and in fact, very disturbing to see how many cities in so many countries are now overrun with islamic Muslims committing crimes, raping and murdering at breakneck speed!


18 posted on 02/03/2016 6:47:53 PM PST by Mr Apple ( Islamic rapefugees have have now overrun Sydney)
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To: Mr Apple

I used to live in Adelaide South Australia, for me, the most pleasant, laid back, clean and well planned city I’ve ever been to.

Great Mediterranean weather and multi-cultural place too with excellent international food and restaurants and a diverse economy.

I haven’t lived there since 1994.

When I returned 3 years ago, I did not see many Muslims.

There is still that mosque from 20 years ago, but not many Muslims.


19 posted on 02/03/2016 7:00:04 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: Mr Apple
Sydney, once the best city in the world, has become an international joke thanks to the NSW Liberal Government. No wonder everyone’s apparently moving to Melbourne. Mike Baird has turned Sydney into Detroit.

Your comment Mr. Apple:Sydney, along with the other the four major cities in Australia are now overrun with islamic Muslims who are committing crimes and rapes at an alarming and ever increasing rate. As is the case in large cities in the U K. This is why the large cities in Australia are becoming deserted. Now, -it is the Alamo down there. The majority of Australian citizenry now stay in their homes at night -especially women- every night of the week.

Cultures are more fragile then our elites think... The world is going dark again... elites are sucking the joy out of life for all of us.

20 posted on 02/03/2016 7:07:25 PM PST by GOPJ (The FBI needs to investigate WHY ballot counts took so long. My guess is Sanders won...)
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