Peter Garrett launches Labor Loves Live Music campaign
Posted: Thursday, 30 August 2012 | By: Darcy Byrne
Peter Garrett will tonight launch a new campaign Labor Loves Live Music to support small bars, festivals and new venues with live music and fight overregulation of the industry by some local government.
Garrett, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth and former lead singer of Australian rock band, Midnight Oil, will launch the event this evening with entertainment provided by Stray Birds and Chuck's Wagon.
Mr Garrett said this campaign is needed to support young artists who want to make a career out of music.
"We urgently need strong live music venues they have helped launch the careers of some of our most talented musicians and artists such as You Am I, Cloud Control, Bluejuice and Boy and Bear," Mr Garrett said.
"Our city should have heaps of places available for musicians of all genres to play. Even in a digital world, being on a stage in front of an audience is essential for most musicians to express their craft and build an audience, and of course make a living."
"Unfortunately over-regulation is killing our live music venues and to see great institutions suffer is very upsetting like the Annandale, which has long been an incubator of the music industry."
Labor is putting forward a package of changes that is urgently needed at the local government level to ensure that live music is able to continue to thrive in NSW.
Without changes to Council controls, the live music industry in the inner city is at risk of being killed off all together. Local governments must choose between pandering to NIMBY sentiment or proactively supporting live music venues before it¹s too late.
Never ending legal action from Council's is sending some of our most treasured cultural institutions to the wall and costing ratepayers millions of dollars.
We are forging a joint campaign between residents, the music industry and small bars so that our lively pub culture with its rich history of live music continues.
We want to see Local Governments step up and support festivals, small bars and other live music venues by introducing planning laws that promote live music.
Labor councillors and local government candidates are fighting for:
- Planning controls that protect venues from vexatious complaints, particularly from residents that move into neighbourhoods where music venues have long existed
- The introduction of a "Good Neighbour" policy to allow mediation and negotiation between residents and venues as an alternative to costly legal battles
- Changes to the NSW Government¹s planning laws to require better building standards in areas with music venues.
We are launching Labor Loves Live Music tonight at 6pm at Venue 505, 280 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/LaborLovesLiveMusic
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