Gladys Berejiklian’s Footloosian music policy has angered the music community nationally, and none more so than Laneway founder Danny Rogers who calls the archaic Liberal policy “preposterous”.
Gladys B. has adopted a music policy that reads like she stole it right out of the script for the 80s movie ‘Footloose’, about a community where dancing is banned.
While penalising the music community and eliminating millions of dollars out of the entertainment and tourism industries, Ms B. is letting the rorting gambling industry run wild in New South Wales with no even a hint of a similar slap to them.
Danny Rogers says, “It’s preposterous that Laneway is categorised as high risk. We are regularly praised for expert operations by the local police, health departments and councillors and attending media. Our audiences are fantastic. They come for the world-class local and international artists.
We are angry that the NSW Government is so dismissive of the industry who contribute so much to the state’s economy and culture. It is a short-sighted political move that panders to the conservative media and vote.
If Laneway can be categorised as high risk without any reference to the Government’s own poorly-defined criteria, then there is a risk that all contemporary music festivals could be categorised in the same way. We implore all our friends of the festival to contact your local representatives and let them know how you feel. Let’s make some noise!”
The St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival has been running for 15 years. The began in Caledonian Lane, Melbourne, Australia, in 2005. It is now in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Fremantle in Australia as well as Auckland, New Zealand and Singapore.
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