Four different plans to stimulate Canberra's nightlife

The government, businesses and music industry are all in agreement about that.

But ideas around how to kick-start the nighttime economy and put Canberra on the map diverge.

While trade has been climbing since the COVID-19 lockdown and disruptions, and visitation in the city and Braddon is up, things are still a little too quiet.

The Canberra Times asked those in the know - including a Sydneysider - what the territory needs to do to transform its nightlife.

Regulatory planning and policy control aren't exactly synonymous with a good night out.

But this is the plan to resuscitate Civic's flagging nightlife, and it has been effective elsewhere.

Canberra's CBD should be the place to go out, and the government will underline this by declaring this area an entertainment precinct.

It will mean that noise regulations, trading and liquor governance will be changed to support clubs, pubs and restaurants that want to stay open late (though what those exact changes will be is not yet clear).

"We definitely have a focus on the CBD," ACT business minister Tara Cheyne says.

"[The precinct] would provide a signal to residents, to the broader Canberra community, but also to people who might be looking to start or run a business as well as operators in that precinct, that ... is an area where we have that dedicated activity happening."

Translated, that means: "Colour, movement, people who are happy, and people who are feeling safe and encouraged to be out in the city, and to stay out if they so choose."

Garema Place has seen better days, but it won't take much to spruce it up, owner of King O'Malleys pub Peter Barclay says.

"It tends to be a little bit of a dark hole. A lot of the shops are retail and they don't keep their shopfront lights on when they're closed," he says.

"So there's sort of this blank spot between the vibrancy of Lonsdale Street and then walking into Garema Place, until you get to King O'Malleys and then go further on to the Sydney and Melbourne buildings."

Fixing the lighting would be a quick fix, Mr Barclay, whose pub is right near the square, says.

Rethinking the fees for liquor licenses past 12am will also go a long way, he says.

"There's really a disincentive to to keep open past midnight."

READ MORE:

Licensing fees are charged based on the venue's capacity and how long it serves alcohol for.

In 2022, a bar or pub with an occupancy of under 350 people would be charged an annual fee of $3,934 for a standard license, but up to $18,793 to serve alcohol until 5am.

King O'Malleys pays almost $20,000 per year to serve until 4am.

Reviewing these fees was also flagged in the government's Better Regulation report earlier this year.

New developments in the city centre, improved transport timetables in the early hours of the morning and the establishment of the entertainment precinct are also good moves.

"I'm really pretty positive that a few small changes could have quite dramatic results and the city does offer something special for people," Mr Barclay says.

There's no reason Canberra can't be hopping, according to NSW's nightlife tsar.

Michael Rodrigues rose from a successful campaign against the state's lockout laws, and the ravages of COVID-19 regulations to become the state's first 24-hour economy commissioner

"Cities around the world are embracing the positive contribution nightlife can make, and there's no reason why Canberra can't do the same," he says.

"It doesn't mean you have to become a 24-hour city, or have the nightlife of New York or Tokyo, but it's worth looking at how a city can maximise its social, cultural and economic assets at night."

Look at Adelaide or Newcastle, Mr Rodrigues urges, both of which are smaller Australian cities, and both of which have done the groundwork to build up their nighttime scenes recently.

The way people go out has also changed, and the territory will need to take note of that too as it draws up its plans.

Having a single central nightlife precinct isn't the way anymore, in Sydney, people are going out to bars in clusters around the city.

Convincing people to get out of the house is also trickier than it once was thanks to streaming and food delivery services which have improved the at-home experience "significantly over the past few years".

Businesses need to get creative. "It is important that people are offered going out experiences that are fresh and relevant," Mr Rodrigues advises.

Bring in more festivals, and sweep out Canberra's reputation as a sleepy town in the process, Music ACT president Daniel Ballantyne says.

"Canberra's festival scene is only just returning and that can shift an enormous amount of people into Canberra," he says.

"And what happens after festivals is that they spread out into the city after the festival, looking for further opportunities to go out enjoy themselves, maybe hear a local band as well.

"[That] can really change the perceptions of the city."

A tide of festivalgoers swept into the city at the end of November, looking to carry on the night after Spilt Milk, crowding into Canberra's bars and pubs.

Plans to upgrade facilities at Exhibition Park in Canberra, and to investigate a concert hall in the city modelled off Sydney's Hordern Pavilion are promising news for the body, which provides professional development opportunities for emerging artists.

The announcement of the city entertainment precinct has also been a relief, Music ACT has been advocating for one for years now.

"It's a model for creating an entertainment precinct where instead of the usual problem of, 'What's going on in Canberra after 9.30'? We know where to go after 9.30," he says.

"We can have live music venues, restaurants cafes, that are vibrant and happening."

A bar manager at Kingston's bar Kodiak, Darcy Francisco wants to see more emphasis on the nightlife in Canberra's other hubs.

"There's an absolute plethora of great venues outside of the city," he says.

"The city's already built, it's already got that market, so a bit of support for the suburbs outside of the city would be phenomenal."

Extending entertainment precincts beyond the city is one lever the government could pull.

"If you walk past a venue and outside is absolutely dead quiet, you're not really going to go in," he says.

"So relaxing the noise regulations would absolutely help us."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: