Frank hits a high note - good news for live music.

Passed in the last week of Parliament in November 2006, these reforms are “long overdue, and extremely good news for the live music industry” says Planning Minister Frank Sartor. Along with outgoing Arts Minister Bob Debus, Sartor personally intervened to ensure the new regulations were able to be introduced. Not just for music, the new regulations will mean a simpler process for theatre and cinemas, circuses and temporary structures, country shows, churches, surf clubs and public halls.

Previously in NSW, to play even an acoustic harmonica in a pub required the licensee to undergo a long and expensive process, including two development applications, whilst other forms of entertainment such as broadcast sport and poker machines in the same venues were completely exempt from any entertainment assessment and compliance. The result has seen NSW pubs and clubs now dominated by broadcast sport and gambling at the expense of local musicians. Most licensees who wanted to include live music in some capacity gave up, due to expense and red tape under the current Place of Public Entertainment Authority (POPE) process.

Recognised in the new laws as a regulation of State significance, and standardised across NSW as a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), the new regulations will mean that small-scale entertainment, such as playing a Spanish guitar in a restaurant or hotel, will now involve a simple inspection by Council with a checklist. It will not have to undergo the same level of compliance as having ACDC in the Entertainment Centre, as was previously the case. The new system will be assessed using three categories. These include exempt activities, complying development activities – such as large televisions, and low-hazard, low-impact live performance in cafes, restaurants and hotels, and a solitary development application for intensive use dedicated entertainment venues.

“The role of music in a society is an important measure of the health of a community, and it’s obvious to all that live music opportunities in our city are clearly lacking” says Craig Scott, Chair of the Jazz Faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. “NSW has been far behind all the other states in this area. These new regulations will be of immense importance to the future of the musicians and culture of this state, and will benefit all types of music – from jazz to rock to classical and ethnic music.”

Currently in the final stages of preparation by the Planning Department, the new regulations are due to be gazetted and, after a period of a couple of months for local councils to get to know the new rules, will be in force across all councils in NSW by the middle of the year.

Source: South Sydney Herald March 2007