Cancelled music festival a call to arms to defend musos and creatives
Greens MP and music spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has called on Minister for Music John Graham to urgently explain the circumstances that have forced Sydney Festival headline music festival Summerground to be cancelled, and to scrap the event-killing User Pays Policing model.
“There's already a dearth of live music events in Sydney, and the loss of Summerground will be a blow to patrons, artists and other industry professionals who have planned their summer around this,” said Ms Faehrmann.
“I've been inundated with concerns from festival organisers across NSW who have been forced to cancel events or are close to cancelling after being whacked with a massive price tag by NSW Police. The Minister for Music needs to explain if that is what happened here.
“Artists, industry workers and creatives are feeling the pinch of soaring cost of living too, and deserve certainty around their work. The Minister for Music needs to ensure NSW can provide the safe and welcoming environment these kinds of events need to flourish.
“There is something seriously wrong if a music festival in the heart of Australia's leading global city can't get off the ground. The Minister needs to defend live music against exorbitant charges such as over-the-top and, frankly, dangerous levels of policing so we can reverse this trend of festivals being cancelled,” said Ms Faehrmann.