Death of Thomas Kelly

[4][5] These changes have been criticised by legal experts and members of the public, who believe they will not be effective deterrents and may impact Sydney's nightlife economy.

At 10:03 pm, the group passed the Mercure Hotel when a drunken Kieran Loveridge stepped out and punched the head of Kelly as he spoke on a mobile phone.

[6] Loveridge struck Kelly near the nose area which forced him to fall backwards and collide with the pavement, knocking him unconscious.

They arrived on the scene seven minutes after the attack occurred, with one paramedic describing Kelly's condition as ‘’severe and life threatening’’.

[citation needed] Hospital staff intubated and ventilated the heavily unconscious Kelly, where he then underwent emergency surgery after a cranial scan uncovered acute hemorrhaging and a severe skull fracture.

[6] The two males were complete strangers and as they approached one another Loveridge proceeded to elbow Compagnoni on the left eye which lacerated the skin and drew blood.

At 10:15 pm, soon after the assault on Kelly, David Nofoaluma arrived on Bayswater Road outside The Club, where he attempted to greet a disgruntled Loveridge.

On 12 July 2012, Loveridge confided in the coach of his rugby league team, making statements such as "I don't remember what happened that night, it could have been me.

The individual sentence for the death of Thomas Kelly consisted of a non-parole period of four years, with an additional two-year term.

A hearing was held in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on 7 May 2014, and was conducted by a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst.

He was handed down a seven-year non-parole internment for the death of Kelly, while the overall penalty was increased to a minimum term of ten years and two months.

[needs update] In reasoning the outcomes of the appeal, the judges issued a statement: "The use of lethal force against a vulnerable, unsuspecting and innocent victim on a public street in the course of alcohol-fuelled aggression … called for express and demonstrable application of the element of general deterrence as a powerful factor on sentence in this case".

In response to mounting pressure, the NSW government committed to introducing "one-punch" laws to regulate and deter alcohol-fuelled violence.

Barry O'Farrell, the NSW Premier at the time, said of the reforms "I'm confident that the package that cabinet approved yesterday will make the difference and start the change that the community seeks to have implemented".

[17] The commission will determine if the laws require maintenance in order to balance both a safe city and the need for a nighttime economy.

[17] Premier Gladys Berejiklian said of the review, "after five years of operation, it makes sense for us to now take stock and examine whether any further changes should be made".

[4][6] Phillip Boulten, President of the NSW Bar Association, said of the new laws "it isn't effective, it's not a deterrent, it just leads to more people being locked up for no good purpose".

[5] There has been strong opposition to lockout laws, particularly from owners of nightclubs and pubs in Sydney's CBD and Kings Cross.The reforms have been criticised for attempting to reduce violence by restricting the liberties of law-abiding individuals.

[5] Since the introduction of these reforms, several bars and nightclubs have closed with owners blaming lockout laws for damaging the nightlife industry.