Pub mogul Arthur Laundy says the lockout laws need to change in order to save Sydney’s nightlife. 

Sydney’s night-time economy is currently worth $27 billion a year but, according to Deloitte Access Economics, it could be worth almost double that.

Laundy Hotels owns some of Sydney’s top pubs, including the historic Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel and Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel.

Arthur Laundy tells Ben Fordham the lockout laws, council by-laws and residential complaints are killing Sydney’s nightlife.

“The red tape has got us trapped,” he says.

Sydney’s lockout laws were introduced in 2014, following a string of one-punch attacks, and have remained a topic of debate.

Mr Laundy says the restrictions aren’t fair on Sydney’s entertainment industry and need to be ditched.

“The reason for the lockout laws… had nothing to do with the hotel or the club industry… they were roaming the streets,” he says.

“This is the result of it, we’ve now got lockout laws which have absolutely killed the city.

“To get Sydney alive, to get Sydney jumping, these things have to change.”

Click PLAY to listen to the full interview