If ever we deserve an ice cold drink with friends to put to bed the trials and tribulations of a very long year, then it's this New Year's Eve.
This year was brutal for most. A tumult of political lunacy, surging populism, global tragedies inflicted by conflict, and all of the regrettable things said by Peter Dutton.
More NSW News Videos
Sydney gets ready for New Year's Eve
Fireworks teams across the country and putting the finishing touches on their pyrotechnic displays ahead of the biggest party of the year.
But it seems those brave enough to tough the city's crowds on Saturday won't have too many options when it comes to kicking back with a beer.
The only listed vantage points to see Sydney's lauded fireworks that don't prohibit BYO this year are Goat Island, Nielsen Park and Strickland House – all ticketed events that are sold out.
![Sydney's New Years Eve celebrations will cost an estimated $7.2 million.](/web/20161231031513im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/a/v/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtj8ql.png/1483121392849.jpg)
Of course many young people take alternate routes when it comes to New Year's plans. Some will throw or attend house parties in efforts to keep out of the city, and others pay to attend venues and parties where they can drink and socialise for a few hours before the sun rises on a whole new year of repressed stress over whether their avocado-based breakfast expenditure is threatening their futures.
But what of those who just want to perch amid the crowds and watch some bright shiny lights go off? Who can't afford to pay the price for a fancy venue?
On Wednesday, Randwick City Council placed a total ban on alcohol consumption at Coogee Beach for the summer, after crowds completely trashed the place. Our beaches are among our nation's treasures, and having seen the extent of the damage wrought I can't actually claim such a ban is unfair. I do think that the issue is tied up with a disrespect by some for the environment and a sense that there is always someone whose job it will be to clean up after them – if I can remove eye makeup drunk then I can't see myself struggling to throw away some rubbish.
It's completely sensible and very necessary to be wary of drunken hoons around families and open water, on a night some take to drinking with no intention of remembering.
![Randwick City Council has placed a total ban on alcohol consumption at Coogee Beach for the summer, after crowds ...](/web/20161231031513im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/i/m/k/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtj8ql.png/1483072073408.jpg)
But the extent of harbourside alcohol restrictions is a reminder to young people around Sydney of the ever-clamping jaws of the nanny state.
It disregards their presence and their desires. And it sends a message that people – particularly younger generations – must be policed and restricted in order to behave in a responsible way. It's an umbrella idea that has come to cover a broad range of policy decisions – the lockout laws, the resistance to pill testing at festivals – but what change does it really affect? The focus should be on a cultural shift towards drinking in moderation and without violence.
Sure, you can buy alcohol at some of the harbourside vantage points, but it will surely be expensive. Assuredly more expensive than bringing along leftover alcohol from Christmas festivities.
It sends a certain message: if you can't pay, you can't play.
No doubt some will be smuggling something in their eskies anyway, but they shouldn't have to be covert about it, or worry about confiscation. There should be more allotted zones for people to bring along a bottle of wine and hang out, and they should be free.
I'm all for confiscating alcohol if those consuming it are doing so in a reckless way as they enjoy New Year's Eve in a public space. And of course I pity the poor police officers who have to work and deal with those who go too far, but once again over-policing won't cause attitudes to change when it comes to alcohol consumption, nor will it endear young people to a government many feel has already snatched their nightlife from them.
Miriam Webber is a Fairfax Media intern and a journalism student at UTS.
43 comments
New User? Sign up