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The War on Music (NSW, Australia)

The War on Music (NSW, Australia) (also know as “The War on Festivals”) is a phrase coined by Australian media to refer to the implementation of new laws by the New South Wales (NSW) government with regards to the use of illicit drugs at concerts and music festivals. These proposed legislative changes come in response to a number of drug-related incidents occurring within Australian festivals. In response to these changes, NSW state politics has become divided on what actions are in the best interest of the state. With both support and opposition to the proposed laws, there is uncertainty as to what will happen to the future of Australia’s music festival industry.

Context

This political movement can be traced back to the introduction of Sydney’s lockout laws. These laws, introduced by the NSW government, aimed to reduce alcohol-related violence by prohibiting licensed venues from “admitting patrons after 1.30 am or serving alcohol after 3 am”.

In a survey conducted by St Vincent’s Hospital, “the incidence of general alcohol-related injuries was significantly lower one year after [the introduction of Sydney's lockout-laws]".

Current NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (2019)

On the other hand, these laws have also had a impact on Sydney’s nightlife economy, with the industry experiencing an estimated $16bn decrease in sales revenue every year. As a result, NSW saw a rise in events that were not impacted by Sydney’s lockout laws, such as day parties and boutique festivals.

Consequently, with the increased popularity of music festivals within NSW, there was a rise in the use of drugs at such events, causing the NSW government to take preliminary action. In 2018, the NSW Parliamentary Research Service (PRS) monitored the use of drugs at the 2018 Defqon.1 music festival. From their research, it was found that, of those searched, 20% of people attending the festival possessed drugs, with which 10 people were charged with supply offences. Furthermore, “two people attending the music festival died, another three were hospitalised in a critical condition and hundreds of others fell ill”. Additionally, “a survey conducted at a major music festival in 2016 found that 60% of patrons had taken ecstasy in the last 12 months”.

Following this, NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian sourced an expert panel to help devise laws that aimed to improve safety at music festivals, particularly in relation to the use of illicit drugs.

Legislation

Current Legislation

Presently, the topic of drug use at festivals is treated differently in every state and, at a smaller scale, is determined by the local council with which the festival resides . As stated in the Expert Panel Report conducted by the PRS:

“There is no common mechanism to facilitate consideration and planning around drug risk management. Operational arrangements to mitigate drug risk are often addressed within other event plans, such as medical and security plans.”

There are however a few state-wide regulations that must be met with regards to drug-safety. These include:

• Policing of events to prevent illicit drugs from entering and being consumed at festival
• Safe drug and needle disposal

Proposed Legislative Changes

The report titled Keeping People Safe at Music Festivals (PRS) summarise the expert panel's recommendations to how the legislation should be change to reduce the overall harm of drug-use at festivals. The recommendations are as follows:

• “Develop a consistent approach to the regulation of music festivals.
• “Require organisers to develop and adhere to a Safety Management Plan for their event, supported by a two-tiered system of risk, with variable regulatory conditions.
• “Consider establishing an interagency committee to assess and manage an event organiser’s approach to event risk.
• “Strengthen drug and alcohol harm reduction programs for music festival attendees.
• “Develop best practice guidelines for event organisers on harm reduction approaches and messages.
• “Trial the use of Criminal Infringement Notices (on-the-spot fines) instead of Court Attendance Notices for drug possession offences at or in the vicinity of music festivals.
• “Investigate introducing a new offence for those who supply illegal drugs, for financial or material gain, to people who then self-administer the drugs and die as a result.”

Impact

The tightening of drug-related policies within festivals will impact NSW socially and commercially. At this point in time, the proposed laws made by the PRS's expert panel have yet to be acted upon. However, some events have already occurred that allows speculation as to what the future impact of these policies may be.

Effect on Commercial Businesses

On a commercial level, the increased regulation of festivals has already had an economic impact. In the case of Mountain Sounds 2019, the festival was hit with a "$200,000 quote for a police presence […]  one week out from the festival”. This additional requirement made by the local government meant that it was no longer economical for the event to carry on, leading to its cancellation two weeks before the intended start of the festival. The cancellation of the festival sparked backlash from a variety of businesses, musicians, festival-goers and political parties.

Effect on Drug-Related Incidents

As the policies are yet to be acted on, statistical data has yet to be collected in order to assess the effectiveness of these drug-related laws.

However, it is expected that the social impact of these policies will follow in a similar vein to the introduction of Sydney’s lock-out laws, reducing the number of drug uses and thus drug-related injuries from occurring at festivals. The intention to create a safer festival environment has been voiced by current NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian:

“We need to do everything we can to protect the safety of concert goers and people attending music festivals […] That is why I have tasked our health, law enforcement and regulatory experts to advise Government on what can be done immediately to improve safety at these events”.

Responses

Support of Legislation Change

Liberal Party of Australia Logo (2019) - NSW Devision

The political party leading the legislative change is the NSW Liberal Party, led by current NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Being re-elected in to NSW state parliament in 2019, it is the intentions of the Liberal Party to implement these new festival-safety policies during their current term.

Opposition to Legislation Change

Keep Sydney Open Party Logo (2019)

As evident during the process of the 2019 NSW state election, several political parties opposed the Liberal Party’s stance on drug-safety at festivals.

The Keep Sydney Open Party, which ran in the 2019 state election, was one of the parties that strived for drug-liberalisation.

Alternate Legislative Changes Proposed by Other Parties

Along with other policies, the Keep Sydney Open Party opposed the need for “new licenses regulations for festivals” and sought after supporting the safe use of recreational drugs through “pill-testing”. In this, MDMA and other “party drugs” are tested to assess their quality and thus determine whether they are safe for use. These stations are also intended to be used as a median to educate drug-users on safe-use and provide warnings for the potential side-effects of consumption.

See Also

• Sydney lockout laws
• Defqon.1 Festival
• Keep Sydney Open