Overview
Over the past 25 years, Brisbane music lovers have flocked to The Zoo for its packed lineup of live gigs. From this point onwards, however, anyone eager to catch a band on its stage should plan on an earlier night, with the Fortitude Valley mainstay now closing at midnight.
The move is a direct response to Queensland's ID scanning laws, and comes less than eight months after the legislation was implemented. In a Facebook post, the venue announced: "We have made the choice to say bye-bye to those inefficient, inaccurate, expensive (useless) scanners... and with this decision comes our reduced trading hours to a 12am close."
This means that, like Cinderella, Brissie gig-goers will need to scramble for the exits as the clock approaches 12, with The Zoo deciding that winding back their hours of operation was a better business decision than enforcing the ID scanning requirements. Under the laws that came into force on July 1, 2017, in order to trade past midnight and serve drinks until 3am, venues in designated entertainment areas like the Valley have to capture the IDs of every customer — regardless of the time of evening they stop by.
Unsurprisingly, the new scanning requirements have been widely slammed by the music industry, the state's nightlife scene and patrons since their introduction, with reports of venues closing early to escape the legislation starting the same month. In September, even Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said they were damaging Brisbane's reputation. With one of the city's best venues now shutting up shop at midnight each night to avoid the scanners, there's not really other way to look at it.
Image: Google Street View.