With music festivals struggling to survive in NSW, a new law was passed in NSW parliament this week by Labor: Music Festivals Amendment Act 2024.
While Greens MP Cate Faehrmann says Labor ‘finally scrapped the draconian “subject music festival” designation for those music festivals supposedly deemed higher risk’, she described it as a ‘missed opportunity’.
‘It will do nothing to address the heavy-handed police presence unique to NSW’, she said in a media release.
Police powers are defined under Section 6A of the Act, which says: ‘a Commissioner of Police may propose conditions to be applied to music festivals…’ These conditions include, ‘a law enforcement and safety schedule’.
The law appears to provide no option for a festival organisers to avoid complying to the schedule, and only stipulates that their comments would be ‘considered’.
Section 19C allows appeals ‘against imposition of government charges in relation to music festivals’.
Missed opportunity
Ms Faehrmann says, ‘This was an opportunity to bring NSW into line with other states and ensure that police charges and regulations did not cripple the industry’.
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