We can’t go back to before lockouts: Fulde

Frontline staff from one of Sydney's main emergency departments say lockout laws have been an outstanding success in reducing violence, backing NSW Premier Mike Baird's vow they should stay.

St Vincent's Hospital emergency director Gordian Fulde said assaults had fallen about nine per cent across the state and alcohol-related injuries had also dropped significantly.

"Some voices call for the laws to be removed, to go back to the way things were ... as time passes it's harder for people to remember just what those days were like - but those of us who work on the frontline, we remember. Quite simply, it was a war zone," Professor Fulde said.

Prof Fulde, named last month as the 2016 Senior Australian of the Year, said the number of injuries caused by alcohol had been seemingly endless before NSW liquor and licensing laws were changed.

Even in areas outside of the 1.30am lockouts, such as Newtown, hospitals were not reporting increased admissions, he said.

"Our chief focus has to be those people whose lives have been saved; who have had appalling injuries prevented as a result of these measures," said Prof Fulde.

Mr Fulde also raised the measure of forcing bottle shops to close at 10pm as key to bringing violence down around the state.

This week has seen renewed scrutiny of the NSW's liquor laws after an online article that dubbed Sydney a "ghost town" following the lockouts went viral online.

Mr Baird responded to criticism in a post on Facebook on Tuesday saying that laws had made Sydney safer.

"Violence had spiralled out of control, people were literally being punched to death in the city, and there were city streets too dangerous to stroll down on a Friday night," he wrote.

The post has been ridiculed online with social media users dubbing the premier Casino Mike over claims the laws drove nightlife to Sydney's Star Casino which is excluded from lockouts.