Premier Barry O'Farrell says the proposed changes will include an eight-year mandatory minimum sentence for one punch offences committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There will also be a 1.30am lock-out across licenced venues in the Sydney CBD, an end to drinks at 3am and a mandatory closing time of 10pm for bottle shops.
But NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says some venues would be exempt from the new laws.
"It is an announcement with loopholes. We have lock-outs with loopholes where small bars will be exempt from lock-outs," Mr Robertson said. "Backpacker bars will be exempt from lock-outs and hotels with bars will also be exempt from lock-outs."
Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the extensive reform package on Monday following the death of alleged one-punch victim Daniel Christie after a night out in Kings Cross and a brutal assault on Michael McEwen in Bondi.
Have your say in the comments section below: Do you think the new measures announced by Premier Barry O'Farrell will curb alcohol-fuelled violence?
He said parliament would be recalled early to pass a one-punch law that would carry a 20-year maximum sentence, with a minimum eight-year jail sentence and a 25-year-maximum where drugs and alcohol were involved.
"The new measures are tough, and I make no apologies for that," Mr O'Farrell told reporters on Tuesday.
"The fact is, it's not acceptable for people to go out, get intoxicated, start a fight, throw a punch - whether it's a coward's punch or another punch - and think they'll get away with it."
Sexual assaults committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol would be punishable by a minimum five-year jail sentence, while assault occasioning actual bodily harm would result in a mandatory minimum sentence of two years.
Voluntary intoxication would also be removed as a mitigating factor for judges and magistrates setting sentences.
In total, mandatory minimum sentences would be introduced for 10 offences if they are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The premier acknowledged the laws, if passed, could mean a surge in the state's jail population.
"We decided that we would send a message," Mr O'Farrell said.
"When it comes to keeping (people) safe and alive, there is no price you can put on that."
The mandatory minimum laws would only apply in cases of assaults committed after February 1.
At-a-glance: Proposed minimum jail sentences for drunken assaults
- One-punch fatal assault (new offence): eight years
- Reckless grievous bodily harm in company: five years
- Sexual assault: five years
- Reckless grievous bodily harm: four years
- Reckless wounding in company: four years
- Affray: four years
- Reckless wounding: three years
- Assault causing actual bodily harm in company: three years
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm: two years
- Assault against police officers in execution of duty (not during a public disorder): two years
- Maximum sentence for drug- or alcohol-fuelled fatal one-punch assaults set at 25 years, maximum sentences for other assaults to be increased by two years where drugs and alcohol are involved
Source: NSW Government
Parents of Thomas Kelly welcome 'one-punch laws'
The parents of a teenager who died after being the target of a drunken assault have welcomed plans by the New South Wales government to reform liquor laws.
Eighteen-year-old Thomas Kelly was killed by a single punch in Sydney's Kings Cross in 2012.
Thomas' father, Ralph, said the changes are long overdue and he hopes they help prevent further assaults.
"Our journey started when Thomas was hit on the 7th of July 2012 when he was basically dead the second he hit the pavement and it's a journey that no family should ever have to go on," he said. "It's debilitating, it's horrific and from the pain that we've suffered through the legal system, it was apparent that something had to change."
"It's sad our community has to have these laws, but if that's the only way we can make cultural change, social change...then so be it," Ralph Kelly said.
Doubts over effectiveness of mandatory 1.30am lockout
The Australian Hotels Association says it welcomes tougher sentencing laws, but has doubts over whether the mandatory 1.30am lockouts across Sydney's CBD will work.
In a statement, the lobby group says: "We remain sceptical about the effectiveness of lockouts across the Sydney CBD area and “last drinks” at 3am – the time of the taxi changeover.
"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 - the Government will need to address this new issue.
"The lockouts and closures in the Sydney CBD 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."
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