Coward's punch' laws to staunch bloody Sydney streets'

An imposing new set of laws announced Tuesday by state Premier Barry O'Farrell is targeting drunken violence in an attempt to staunch the free flow of blood that has marked this summer as one of Sydney's most violent. Lockouts for the Sydney CBD and the trouble-magnet enclave of Kings Cross as well an eight year mandatory minimum sentence for drug and alcohol affected one-punch assaults will be introduced into Sydney by the state government to tackle the alcohol induced violence. It has taken the brutal and senseless deaths of two young men - Daniel Christie and Thomas Kelly -- to incite some profound civic soul-searching on the part of Sydneysiders and their representatives. The reaction from the Attorney-General Greg Smith has been profound, if not swift. The new one-punch laws include a 20-year maximum, and a minimum term if alcohol or drugs are involved - the first for the state amid pleas for an end to the violence. The maximum if alcohol is involved will now be 25 years. According to the Premier, if the aggressor is unaffected by drugs or alcohol there will be no mandatory minimum sentence and the maximum will be 20 years. Sydney may have turned an important corner, with its culture of binge drinking seemingly part of the fabric that defines this - for the most part - friendly city. Even the language of violence is changing after a Christmas period replete with acts of brutality. Calls to change the devastating one-punch knockouts that have led to death and tragedy in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia from "king hit" to "coward's punch" are being led by the family of the latest victim, 18-year-old Daniel Christie. "We don't agree with the popular term king hit...We have heard it referred to as a 'coward punch', which seems to be more appropriate. We have all been affected so much by this tragedy, and our clear focus remains with our son and brother during this difficult time," The family said. State Police Minister Mike Gallagher told Xinhua earlier this year that the only fitting term for 'cowards that would punch people indiscriminately' is coward's punch'. Police have been urging the community to popularize the term " coward's punch." The build-up to the new legislation, yet to pass parliament, was a summer defined by violence, police responses and a media frenzy. Heavily empowered police took to the streets over Christmas in what was dubbed 'Operation Unite' arresting 540 people over the post-Christmas weekend amounting to an incredible 20 arrests every hour. However both federal and state government's were hounded into action as the violence of drunken assaults continued in the face of apparently band-aid solutions. In an email to Xinhua defending widespread criticism of the state's newly initiated drunk tanks, Police Minister Gallagher said the 'Sobering up Centers' are one of the measures "providing a real deterrent to drunk and disorderly behavior on our streets with 197 people admitted since it opened." "We have introduced a range of measures in and around the Sydney CBD to curb alcohol related violence, including trialing sobering up centers...giving police stronger move-on powers... which has already seen a 33 percent reduction in violent incidents in licensed premises since last year." Those figures have been widely discredited, while on a national level the Greens are calling for a sweeping Senate inquiry, tabling the raising of the price of alcohol as a key measure. Researchers here have been desperate to show that alcohol- induced violence is on the rise. A survey by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education found that 67 percent of NSW people felt "very unsafe" in Sydney at night, with drunken men the main cause. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, criticized by community groups for his government's silence during the summer, has finally expressed alarm and disgust at the "appalling" violence of Australia's drinking culture. The government, which has announced a national inquiry into alcohol-related violence in indigenous communities, has not indicated whether it would support a far broader review. Meanwhile, the NSW state government has backed testing assault offenders for drugs and alcohol to impose tougher punitive measures under the legislation's "aggravating factors". The testing would also elaborate the use of steroids and methamphetamine - known as the party drug"ice" as an aggravating factor. The legislation has been largely welcomed on the streets of Sydney with locals such as 24-year-old accountant James Wells telling Xinhua that any step forward was 'a step in the right direction.' Brandon Jack, a 19-year-old Media/Law student at the University of NSW said that alcohol was a catalyst to the problem, with the real cause stemming far deeper. To prevent attacks such as that on Daniel Christie from occurring again, Jack said, "We must ask ourselves: what is responsible for the skewed moral development in some young adults? " "We are the first generation where the home is no longer a barrier to the outside world...Internet, video games, film and television provide a constant gateway to external influences that can adversely affect our ethical principles and character." "The damning implication of this is that our families are no longer the sole influences over our morality and, as a result, we' ve lost firm guidance over the integrity of today's youth." The UNSW