Doctors say the decision to relax NSW's lockout laws are a mistake, but not for the reason most would expect.
Changes to the restriction on takeaway alcohol - an area that has not received as much attention as lockouts of venues - are their main concern.
Premier Mike Baird announced on Thursday that closing times for venues in the CBD and Kings Cross would be moved back from 1.30am to 2am, while the "last drinks" rule would extend another 30 minutes to 3.30am.
Takeaway and home delivery alcohol sales hours will be extended from 10pm to 11pm across the state.
The 10pm ban on bottle shop sales had led to a drop in violence and saved lives, the Australian Medical Association NSW says.
St Vincent's Hospital, which is on the front line of alcohol-fuelled violence, said it had experienced a 44 per cent decrease in trauma admissions to its ICU due to alcohol-related assaults after the laws came into force in 2014.
"We hope it's not the case but we are concerned that relaxing the bottle shop closing times creates a greater risk of alcohol-related violence - particularly family violence," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Foundation of Alcohol Research and Education chief executive Michael Thorn echoed those concerns, saying the current laws have led to reduced domestic violence incidents.
"We suspect it has had an significant impact on reducing family violence rates in NSW," Mr Thorn told ABC News 24.
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Lockout laws do reduce violence: study
Sydney nightlife advocates have also criticised the state government's decision.
Anti-lockout group Keep Sydney Open, which organised a 10,000-strong protest earlier in 2016, said the changes were an insult.
"What a joke. A 30-minute relaxation is an insult to businesses and Sydney's global status. Mike Baird is in for a rough ride," the group tweeted.
Sydney businessman Matt Barrie, whose online post went viral and triggered a swell of protests in February, argued Mr Baird's decision was a "delaying tactic to allow developers to dismantle the CBD".
"Premier @mikebairdMP must take the people and small business for idiots if he thinks 30 mins will do anything," he tweeted.
The reaction is not all negative, with business groups welcoming the announcement.
The new measures would help address the reputational hit Sydney had taken, the Sydney Business Chamber said.
"These changes are in the right direction and are important for Sydney's night-time economy," executive director Patricia Forsythe said.
Australian Hotels Association NSW said the changes would create a level playing field across the industry, giving business certainty while punishing bad operators.
