There should be more police patrols instead of reviewing hours - nightclub owners

Nightclub hours should move to 4am while bars should close at 3am so that people have enough time to finish their drinks and go home.

That is the call made by the nightclub owners who attended the public consultation on the review of nightclub hours.

Freak Out Fiji Nightclub owner says issues are being raised due to two young men dying outside the club and this should not bring blame to the nightclubs as people are harassed outside the clubs. He says instead there should be officers to ensure the safety of people as sometimes there is no police patrolling outside the clubs at all.

The Freak Out owner also says their business hours cannot be compared with other businesses as sometimes people enter the clubs at midnight therefore, it is unexpected for them to leave at 1am or 2am unlike other businesses that operate from the morning.

Albert Chand of Down Under says they have also invested a lot of money in their nightclub business and reviewing the hours will affect their operations and the workers.

Some members of the public attending said there are mostly youths going out clubbing, wasting money on drinks, and sacrificing their sleep and time and coming out of the clubs early in the morning.

They say reviewing the hours will reduce crime, youth loitering in the town, cases of robberies and brutality, family issues and harassment.

A resident from Raiwaqa says after coming out from the clubs, these drunkards then go to drink at the parks leaving broken bottles all over the place.

While supporting the review, Marc McElrath of McDonalds says this will also allow the business to operate safely at night as they currently operate till 11pm at some places to maintain their workers' safety.

Meanwhile, some residents say although the owners of the nightclubs operate late hours to meet their needs and finances, serving alcohol to drunk people needs to be looked at as well.

While opposing the review, nightclub owners also say reducing the hours does not solve the problem as there needs to be more parental guidance and responsibility for national enforcement.