Page 702 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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city plan and prescribes high levels of construction compliance, and it amends the Queensland Liquor Act so that licensed premises in that location can emit more sound than they can in the rest of the state. It has a specific law for amplified music levels, which are regulated by the amplified music venues local law. The new music noise and development laws protect music venues from having to turn down their volumes when residential development is built nearby. Instead the onus is on new developments to incorporate extensive noise insulation.
The creation of a special entertainment precinct in Brisbane does not mean that the valley is only for music. It remains a vibrant mixed-use precinct involving residents, backpackers and hotel accommodation, nightclubs, live music venues, cafes, restaurants and retail businesses. The valley’s large live music scene is important for a creative and prosperous Brisbane, and the community feedback the council has collected suggests broad public support for the continued growth of live music culture and the venues that support it.
Both Sydney and Perth have also introduced development control plans that include areas specific to entertainment and night economic zones. These plans are designed to encourage a mix of land uses as well as those of an entertainment nature, with the Sydney plan specifically tailored towards late-night trading premises. These are the kinds of solutions which we should be exploring in the ACT as a high priority before we put any more small local independent venue operators out of business.
Last night in the chamber we discussed the government’s anti-bill-posting legislation, and we touched upon the implications these strictly framed laws could have on the less-heard voices in our community. Bill posters are often people from Canberra’s struggling independent live music scene trying to get an audience. New and independent music naturally starts small and has to work hard to grow its audience. Mainstream media is expensive and sometimes also refuses to accept material, leaving bill posting as one of the few ways to communicate a message.
SMS and electronic advertising has been suggested as an alternative to bill posting, but those means do not allow easy, targeted communication with a local community that only physical communication can do. These means can easily become spam, and they tend only to reach the people who are already in the know about the event. The government claims that there are already locations where musicians and promoters can post bills legally. It is true there are some areas, but in all of Canberra there are only five legal bill posting pillars. Most areas have no legal bill posting areas at all. Are five poles really enough to support the free dissemination of live event information in a city of over 300,000 people?
Members may recall that when the bill posting laws were introduced a year ago, my predecessor Dr Foskey appealed to the government for more legal locations. The government advised her that it would provide more sites in Civic to compensate for its laws, but it has not done that. In fact, the number of legal bill posting pillars in Canberra has remained at five for the last five years. Providing adequate legal posting space is essential to grow Canberra’s music scene and prevent it being driven away altogether.
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