By PAUL MILLAR
A LEADING Geelong nightclub operator has warned that introducing late-night weekend bus services from Melbourne to Geelong would give a free kick to the opposition.
Mr Gregorio, who runs Eureka and Home House nightclubs, said the plan appeared to oppose a push to revitalise central Geelong.
The state Labor plan would run buses from Southern Cross Station to regional centres, returning at 2am on weekends.
The initiative would operate on a 12-month trial from New Year’s Eve.
But Mr Gregorio, vice-president of Geelong Nightlife Association, said the initiative would drain vital dollars from the local economy and create trouble on the city’s streets when revellers returned.
“Dumping people on our streets, drunk and intoxicated at 2.30am after a big night out in Melbourne, is just not the way to go.”
Mr Gregorio estimated that Geelong nightclubs was already losing up to 1000 patrons a week to Melbourne.
“There needs to be a concentrated, combined push to turn this around,” he said.
“We need to make it happen for the heart of the city to prosper – we don’t need to give Melbourne a free kick.”
Mr Gregorio said Geelong needed more nightlife to cater for a massive influx of Deakin University students, whose numbers would rise from 6400 to 20,000 by 2020.
“These students will want somewhere to go at nights,” he said.
“We have to ensure that we have a vibrant, exciting city centre where they can go to be entertained or they’ll head elsewhere and take their money with them.
“Over the next 20 years it’s predicted that the population in Geelong will rise by about a third to almost 300,000 people.
“We have to ensure that they take advantage of a thriving nightlife in Geelong, whether it’s clubs or restaurants.”
