Lockouts have cost $1.4b and millions of visitors, City Of Sydney says

Sydney's lockout laws are having an impact on economy and tourism, the City Of Sydney reports.

Despite news of the review and potential erasure of Sydney's licensing restrictions, the laws currently remain in place and are reported as having an adverse affect on the city's tourism.

Introduced in 2014, the city's lockout laws enforced a strict last entry policy of 1:30am and a 3:00am last drink restriction.

The local council, City Of Sydney, details a drop in visitors in its 40-page report, sharing that 500,000 less visitors under 35 come to Sydney per year since the introduction of lockout laws.

The report also cites the lockout laws as the reason behind 50% less restaurants and dedicated live music venues in the Australian city, which could lead to ""a potential opportunity cost of 2202 jobs and $1.4 billion in turnover."

The Lord Mayor of Sydney described the lockouts as "a sledgehammer to crack a nut, when what we needed were sensible, evidence-based solutions to problems that are faced by all global cities."

Gladys Berejiklian, the head of the Liberal state government, ordered a cross-party committee to review the resitrictions in May this year, with the report on Sydney's lockout laws expected to be delivered to Australian parliament in September.

Read DJ Mag's feature on Australia's war against festivals, and our 2016 feature on the early impact of the lockout laws.