Here’s Exactly What You Can Do To Help Save Sydney’s Nightlife

Ever since Mike Baird first introduced the lockout laws almost five years ago, Sydney’s nightlife has been under threat.

In the intervening years, Baird’s war on culture has been picked up by his successor, Gladys Berejiklian, who has expanded the scope of the government’s crackdown to include festivals.

Since then, major events organisers have warned that they might be forced to shut down operations in Sydney, festivals have flocked out of the state en masse, and, despite massive protests, Berejiklian has refused to budge on her anti-music, anti-party bent.

But now, activism groups are mobilising against Berejiklian’s agenda — and perhaps no group has more heft than the Night Time Industries Association, a collective of business owners, retail operators, and arts and culture organisers.

With a mere eight days to go till the NSW State Election — which, according to advanced polling, seems to be neck and neck — the NTIA is organising a massive charity drive, seeking to raise at least $9,000.

This money will be used to fund some much-needed last minute lobbying, designed to drive home the NTIA’s message in the days leading up to the election — a message that sits in direct odds to Gladys Berejiklian’s push against culture, music, festivals and the nightlife of the city.

Sympathetic parties can donate via this Pozible link, and funding tiers offer different incentives, ranging from a support wristband, to a t-shirt, to a once-in-a-lifetime dinner at Quay with Matt Okine.

But, aside from just the incentives, the last-minute drive is also about bringing together people who care about Sydney’s nightlife — who are done with it being trampled on by autocratic politicians who dress up their Draconian values in false claims that they’re keeping the city safe.

“We’re not just gathering donations here. We’re gathering people,” explains the chair of the NTIA, Michael Rodrigues. Donate here.