Greens MP calls on Minister for Music to explain cancellation of Sydney music festival
Image: King Stingray, an Australian rock band from Arnhem Land. Instagram, @kingstingrayband
by GRACE JOHNSON
In the days following Sydney’s first ever edition of the Summerground music festival being cancelled, Greens MP and music spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has called on Minister for Music John Graham to urgently explain the circumstances that forced its closure.
Ms Faehrmann also called on the Minister to scrap the event-killing User Pays Policing model, a system where organisers are charged a fee for policing at their events. The scheme was introduced in 2004 and has long been condemned by event organisers as a “shakedown” and a way of stopping music festivals from going ahead.
The call to scrap the scheme comes after Ms Faehrmann put forward to NSW Parliament evidence that NSW Police are price gouging music festivals.
Ms Faehrmann has been highly vocal in her criticisms of police over-charging for their presence at festivals in NSW, often forcing them to cancel.
“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,” she said.
“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,” she continued.
It was announced on November 30 that Summerground, set to happen over three days in Tumbalong Park as part of the Sydney Festival in January, would be cancelled.
In a statement released on the same day, Sydney Festival said, “Changing consumer behaviours, cost of living pressures and mounting operational expenses are having an impact on many large music festivals nationwide and unfortunately, Summerground was not immune from these factors.”
The festival boasted a wide range of artists and genres, from alt pop and R&B to soul and reggae, with a lineup that included King Stingray, Electric Fields, Cimafunk, Queen Omega, The Brand New Heavies, Dem Mob, Beckah Amani, The Teskey Brothers, Full Flower Moon Band and more.
The organisers said that they “remain fully committed to the spirit of live music and are proud to present a wide range of other music offerings in the 2024 program that showcase the diverse talent our music scene offers.”
The rest of Sydney’s Festival remains unaffected with more than 130 locked in for January.
But the cancellation of the headline festival remains a concern, especially if it did get axed due to policing fees.
Ms Faehrmann said, “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,” she continued.
