Sydney introduces alcohol law to curb violence "The idea that it's OK to go out, get intoxicated, start a fight or throw a coward's punch is completely unacceptable," he said. These new measures are tough and for that I make no apologies. The parents of Thomas Kelly, an 18-year-old who died after a punch in 2012, said the measures were "way above what we were asking for." "It's bittersweet to know that the reform will come in shortly but it's also still terrible for us as a family," they said. Clover Moore, the lord of mayor of Sydney, warned the measures may shift the violence to suburbs outside the city centre. She said the government should provide 24-hour public transport options and address "pre-fuelling," where people consume large volumes of liquor from stores before going to bars and nightclubs. The hotels and nightclub industry said customers would not stay in venues past the 3am final drinks and would instead pour out onto surrounding streets. "We do not believe tens of thousands of people will stay in licensed premises past 3am once alcohol is no longer served, but will instead be out on the streets looking for a way home," said the state branch of the Australian Hotels Association. Lockouts and closures in the Sydney city centre will also have an undeniable impact on the night-time economy, penalising businesses that are well run and have had nothing to do with the recent violence. However, doctors and public health experts welcomed the new measures, saying they could prevent serious injuries and help to fix "the binge-drinking culture." "Too many people have already lost their lives or have sustained permanent brain damage or paralysation from these sorts of events," said Brian Owler, president of the state branch of the Australian Medical Association. The government plans to provide free buses from Kings Cross to the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Ms Moore said this would not prevent large crowds gathering around the city. "On city streets late at night there are tens of thousands of people, yet the last train from Kings Cross leaves at 1.44am and the next is not until 5.14am," she said. That's when numbers of people on the street are at their peak and they're frustrated they can't get home easily.