This sort of makes a mockery of the idea that Melbourne’s new 2am lockout is an experiment, doesn’t it? Extra police are being allocated to the CDB this weekend to enforce the new laws. But those extra police will no doubt have an effect on the level of violence late at night. Says the Assistant Police Commissioner Gary Jamieson: “We’re very excited that we’ve got these new provisions in and we want to make it successful so that means police playing a very active role.”

So if late-night violence decreases, will the government attribute the change to the more numerous and very active police or the lockout?

On top of this, one quarter of the affected venues are exempt from the lockout trial. It is hard to see how this three month period will be a rigorous experiment in public policy.