After thousands hit the streets to raise a collective middle finger to #casinomike and the lockout laws, we thought we’d take the opportunity to review the best and worst of everything #keepsydneyopen.
Matt Barrie
Matt Barrie you bloody legend. With his 8000 word smack-down of the lock-out laws, Matt Barrie was immediately elevated to Sydney local legend. Nothing was off limits. He tore the statistics to shreds, exposing the NSW Government and #casinomike as hypocrites, and branding them a totalitarian regime bent on creating a Nanny state. It wasn’t pretty but it sure was effective. Matt galvanised the mood of the people, and provided much needed factual ammunition for thousands of people to take aim at the lockout laws. He should be held largely responsible for the massive turn out to the protests on the weekend.
#casinomike
Oh Mike. You were doing so well. You were even live tweeting The Bachelorette.
Then, in one misguided Facebook post, Mike Baird fell from social media darling to Facebook pariah. His response to Matt Barrie’s piece was a heavy handed defence of the lockout laws which cited cherry-picked, manipulated statistics. In the depths of the 17 000 comments, the hashtag #casinomike was spawned, which continues to trend nationally in light of the blatant hypocrisy of exempting the Star Casino, the most dangerous venue in Sydney from the lockout laws.
Mike Baird’s social media manager
Whoever made this
Spotify
On Saturday, Spotify threw their support behind the #keepsydneyopen campaign, cheekily providing some accompanying beats for the movement, publishing the tongue-in-cheek playlist “Keep Sydney Open” featuring Feels Like We’re Only Going Backwards by Tame Impala, Roll Up Your Sleeves by Meg Mac, Desert Night by RUFUS, Stay Free by The Bennies and my personal favourite; Hypocrite by Twerps.
The survey claiming two-thirds of NSW supported lock-outs
On the same day that 15 000 people filled the streets to protest the lockout laws, a new poll surfaced showing that two-thirds of NSW residents supported the lock-out laws.
The only problem was, the poll surveyed just 353 people without specifying their location (I’m sorry but if you live in Wagga Wagga you don’t have an opinion on this). A paltry amount when compared to the 17 000 people voicing their outrage in the comments section on #casinomike’s Facebook. It also failed to specify how old those surveyed were, apart from the fact that they were adults. Considering this is a problem that predominantly affects younger people, surveys should at least disclose which demographic supports the laws. After all, we don’t poll 20-year-olds on pension policy.
Everyone that turned up on Sunday
You could almost feel the sweat dripping from Mike Baird’s forehead as the masses descended on the city. Estimates by organisers put numbers at around 15 000 people (although police put it closer to 5 000 which is so like them), silencing all those who thought the outrage was all a bit of millennial slacktivism. Kudos to the rousing speeches and performances from Art vs Science, Nina Las Vegas, The Preatures’ Isabella Manfredi and Dave Faulkner from the Hoodoo Gurus among others.
Friendlyjordies for this
And finally, for the best protest signs since March in March
Photos via Musicfeeds & Sydney Morning Herald
Alas friends, it’s not over yet. Maintain the rage. If you want to do more than just make hilarious signs, take it further by emailing the Liquor Law Review with your thoughts on how we can bring Sydney back to life.
