Shops, restaurants and other businesses across Sydney's CBD would be allowed to trade 24 hours a day under a radical proposal being put forward by the city's council.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore on Tuesday unveiled a draft plan to ease planning controls and jump-start Sydney's nightlife and economy nearly five years after the state government introduced strict lockout laws.
"We see this as a renaissance for Sydney and a renaissance for our cultural life and particularly our music industry," she told reporters in Sydney.
"We're hoping this is going to give Sydney back its mojo."
The changes include extending 24-hour trading across the city centre, allowing shops and businesses on main streets to trade until 2am, and new late-night zones in growing areas such as Barangaroo and Green Square.
While the council will consider the proposals on November 19, changes to trading hours of venues which sell alcohol will be subject to the NSW government's lockout laws.
"What we're proposing is what we can do. In terms of the areas where lockout laws apply that would need state government action," the Lord Mayor confirmed.
A spokesperson for the Minister for Liquor and Gaming Paul Toole said the government always welcomes ideas to bolster the city's night time economy.
"The NSW government regulates trading times for when alcohol can be sold, and it's vital that any changes to these times would not increase risks of alcohol-related harm," the spokesperson said in a statement to AAP.
Anti-lockout group Keep Sydney Open said anything to reverse the damage caused by the lockout laws is a step in the right direction but warned alcohol regulations should also be lifted by the state government.
"What we actually need is a pro-active, whole-of-government plan, one that incentivises good operators, and punishes bad ones; one that explicitly recognises the value - both economic and social - of Sydney's nightlife," a spokesman said in a statement to AAP.
The plans have the support of the Sydney Business Chamber, which says giving business the opportunity to choose the hours they operate "makes sense".
"In the long term it will absolutely play a part in invigorating the night-time economy, but it's not something that will just happen overnight," executive director Patricia Forsythe told Sydney's 2GB radio.
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