Oz industry: ‘The ongoing war on festivals must end’

The Australian Festivals Association has pleaded for “the ongoing war on festivals” to end after another barrier was proposed this week by the New South Wales (NSW) government.

Bushfires, floods, the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are among a laundry list of issues that have left the market’s festival scene “in crisis” and caused a raft of events to shut down.

This week NSW premier Chris Minns added to that list with a veiled threat to ban music festivals on Anzac Day – a national day of remembrance for army corps from Australia and New Zealand.

On Wednesday (10 July), the premier announced a crackdown on retail trading on the “solemn” occasion, which would see shops and supermarkets remain closed until midnight. He also implied those restrictions would extend to music festivals, though curiously National Rugby League matches will be unaffected.

Small businesses are exempt from Minns’ proposed new trading hours, along with markets, cafes, chemists, news agencies and takeaway restaurants.

“Anzac Day is a day for Australians to come together and if it is in a social environment, at a pub, at a club,” he told reporters, “as long as it’s part of an RSL [the Returned and Services League of Australia] club or a pub and it’s done with a view to commemorating that service, then we are not going to stand in the way of that.”

“This shows the NSW government’s priorities are completely out of line with the community”

The state leader added, “There is a distinction, and I think it’s reasonable for the government to draw this distinction, between a for-profit major rock concert in the domain, that has nothing really to do with Anzac Day, that hasn’t been done in co-operation or consultation with the RSL.”

Minns’s comments come off the back of the Pandemonium Rocks controversy when the music event, scheduled for April 25 at The Domain, clashed with the Anzac Day March at nearby Hyde Park.

The proposal to ban music festivals on Anzac Day has been branded a “complete overreach” by The Australian Festivals Association.

In a social post, the trade body adds: “Allowing people to go to the pub and play two-up [a traditional Australian gambling game] yet not attend a music festival shows the NSW government’s priorities are completely out of line with the community.”

Music festivals “contribute to culture and community,” the message continues. “We are committed to work with NSW government so festivals can respectfully co-exist alongside these important commemorations. This ongoing war on festivals must end.”

A number of festivals disappeared from Australia’s 2024 season including Splendour in the Grass, Groovin The Moo, Coastal Jam, Summerground, Vintage Vibes, Tent Pole: A Musical Jamboree and ValleyWays.

The cancellations were followed by a new report from Creative Australia which found that only half of the country’s festivals are profitable.

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