The concept of the night mayor might sound peculiar to Australian ears, or at least like an unexpectedly bureaucratic super hero.

However, in European cities in which the idea of people doing things like dancing, drinking, dining or enjoying entertainment isn't seen as an affront to the very notion of modern decency.

It's become commonplace to have a specific official in charge of maintaining and enhancing the after-dark culture and the night-time economy in modern, vibrant 24-hour cities, and acting as a liaison between businesses, punters and residents to ensure that modern cities can simultaneously be great places to work, party and live.

Night mayors exist in Paris, London, Zurich, Berlin, Toulouse and the idea's original home of Amsterdam (where the role has the awesome title of "Nachtburgemeester"), with New York currently giving the idea a try as well.

Australia is running a little behind on the notion that maybe not everyone wants to snuggle into beddiebyes at 10pm, although the popular annual 24 hours White Night events in Melbourne and Ballarat suggest that if you build it, people will enthusiastically come.

It's not necessarily an easy sell, though. For one thing, the last few years have ensured that the concept of going out has been largely equated with drunken civil disobedience, at least in Sydney, and these days our city's remaining entertainment precincts are seen as annoyances that tie up land that could be more profitably sold for development.

Another problem with popularising the night mayor concept is that people very understandably assume you're saying "nightmare", which opens all sorts of opportunities for pun-based shenanigans and tomfoolery.

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However, only some sort of a hack would waste time making childish night mayor/nightmare jokes in an article about the importance of protecting Sydney's fast-dying nightlife.

And it's an urgent issue too. The weather's already heating up and historically the Sydney summer is when the city really comes alive. Sadly, even if we were to begin the process right now, such an appointment would require a large degree of political horse trading in the Sydney City Council and it's unlikely that we could hope for a night mayor before Christmas.

Sorry, that one slipped in accidentally. There won't be any more, promise.

One of the most important tasks for the Amsterdam night mayor was to look at what regulations needed to be relaxed to allow for all-hours trade. One big one was the lack of food options after 9pm - after all, there's no point having people able to party all night if they can't even get a kebab at 3am.

The answer was changes to restaurant closing hours, which easily addressed the issue. Similarly, someone looking at taking the role locally would definitely need to be across Sydney's culinary scene. In fact, at the risk of getting all Gordon Ramsay about it, it would be wise to ensure that we employed a kitchen night mayor.

OK, that's the last one. Definitely.

One area of Sydney that would definitely benefit from a particular focus is that areas around Central and Surry Hills, especially the area around Elizabeth, Cleveland, Bourke and Foveaux streets.

Former cornerstone live venues like the Gaelic Club and the Excelsior are no more, while those bars and hotels which are still operational are still doing it tough with the one-two punch of lockouts and major roadworks for the light rail. It's an area that deserves special attention if it's to remain viable.

Incidentally, as lovers of history would be aware, Elizabeth Street was named for the former NSW governor's wife Elizabeth, Lady Macquarie - and surely there are few that would seriously object to a night mayor on ELM Street?

Oh all right, I'll stop. But a night mayor is still a great idea.