The organisers of the "Keep Sydney Open" movement that sprang up in opposition to the state government's lockout laws for licensed venues are considering a run for the NSW upper house at the 2019 election.
In a video posted to Facebook, spokesman Tyson Koh said the movement, which has organised several mass rallies against the lockout laws in central Sydney, had already achieved "some really great wins".
He said these included the government's decision to relax the 1.30am lockout and 3am last drinks rules by half an hour for venues with live entertainment; extend bottle shop trading hours; and allow small bars to serve neat spirits after midnight.
"But it hasn't changed the big problem - we still have lockouts," Mr Koh said.
"Business confidence is at an all-time low in Sydney and also we are still the laughing stock of other cities around the world."
Mr Koh, an Fbi Radio presenter and producer of the ABC TV music video program Rage, said Keep Sydney Open would be canvassing views about whether it should run for a spot in the NSW Parliament.
For a political party to be registered in NSW it must have 750 members on the electoral roll.
This entitles the party to eligibility for election funding and party affiliation printed below the endorsed candidate's name on ballot papers.
Mr Koh said that if the group signed up that many members over the next few weeks "then it's pretty clear that you think that we should run".
He notes that while Keep Sydney Open was founded on the lockout laws issue its advocacy has "opened up a whole other can of worms on other issues about planning laws, about corruption, about overdevelopment, about how we value arts and culture in this city".
"We've all seen how the NSW government has put big business and the interests of developers and the casino over people like you and me and we're sick of it," he said.
Mr Koh told Fairfax Media that forming a political party was something the group "really only started to think about after [former Premier] Mike Baird resigned" in January.
Standing as a candidate was "something I would definitely consider", he said.
"The only reason we're having a crack is that we believe while nothing's for granted, there's something of a chance".
