Thursday 31st October To Whom It May Concern · 2019. 12. 18. · Rainbow Serpent Festival 3 12 Riverboats Music Festival 3 11 So Frenchy So Chic 1 9.75 St Kilda Festival 1 12 Strawberry

AustralianFestivalAssociation|Level4,12FoveauxStSurryHills,NSW,2010|australianfestivalassociation.com

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Thursday 31st October EPA Victoria Public comment team GPO Box 4395 Victoria 3001 By email: [email protected]

To Whom It May Concern:

AFA Response: Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

INTRODUCTION

The Australian Festivals Association Inc. (AFA) would like to thank The Environment Protection

Authority Victoria (EPA) and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

(DELWP) for the opportunity to engage and consult on new laws that impact our industry.

The AFA is a not-for-profit, member-run industry association formed to represent the shared

interests of the festival industry. A national peak body, our members, comprise festival promoters

and organisers across a range of festival sizes, regions and compositions. AFA members also

include small business owners with a vested interest in the industry such as medical providers,

security agencies, site managers, and suppliers of infrastructure like toilets and marquees.

We operate under the guidance of the founding committee comprised of some of the best-known,

large-scale music festivals that tour Australia including;

Splendour in the Grass

Falls Festival

Laneway

Listen Out

Groovin The Moo

Download

As a newly formed association, we were unable to contribute to previous rounds of this process.

However, we have had the opportunity to review submissions by both Music Victoria and Live

Performance Australia, and we support their work to date in this space. We participated in Music

Victoria’s industry briefing on this topic in September.

The following submission has been compiled using feedback from Victorian and interstate

member feedback as well as the combined industry experience from our committee.

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AFA Response

Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

AustralianFestivalsAssociationInc.|Level4,12FoveauxStSurryHills,NSW,2010|australianfestivalassociation.com 2

IDENTIFIED ISSUES

1. Operating Period, Outdoor Entertainment Event

A carry-over from previous SEPP N-2 in 1971, the Operating Period for an Outdoor

Entertainment Event is 5 hours or less (Subdivision 3, 128 Definition – Operating Time

Period). There is an opportunity to apply for an extension (Part 10.2, Permissions 211, Table

Item 6) for events that extend beyond 5 hours. Further detail on this process is required.

This submission identifies that the average operating time over 24 hours for a festival is

around 10 hours (see below table). The AFA suggests this increase is indicative of a

significantly changed market since SEPP N-2 and new regulations should be consistent with

the market of the day.

FESTIVAL/EVENT NAME Days Maximum Daily Hours (noise)

Babylon 3 11 BeechworthMusicFestival 3 12 BluestoneBluesFestival 2 10 Boogie 3 10 BrunswickMusicFestival 15 8 Download 1 12 Earthcore 5 12 ElectricGardens 1 9 FallsFestival 5 12 FOMO 1 10 GoodThings 1 10.5 GrapevineGathering 1 10 GroovintheMoo 1 12 HotDubWineMachine 1 9 LanewayFestival 1 12.5 LetGoFest. 1 9 ListenOut 1 10 MacedonRangesMusicFestival 1 10 MeridethMusicFestival 3 12 NewportFolkFestival 3 11 NewsteadLive 4 11 PitchMusicandArtsFestival 5 12 PortFairySpringMusicFestival 4 11 QueenscliffMusicFestival 3 12

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RainbowSerpentFestival 3 12 RiverboatsMusicFestival 3 11 SoFrenchySoChic 1 9.75 StKildaFestival 1 12 StrawberryFields 3 11 SugarMountain 1 11 UnifyGathering 4 12 ZooTwilights 1 4

The current industry understanding of a festival from APRA AMCOS (the organisation which

grants the rights to use copyright music) defines a music festival1 as one that:

1. (APRA AMCOS 2019)

A. Occurs on at least one full day (being no less than 8 hours in advertised duration)

B. Is at an outdoor place requiring a stage to be erected, or a specific performance area to be

created, specifically for the festivals

C. Is advertised as a Festival, in which the staging of the event and all associated advertising is

not dependent on any one or two headline acts

D. Includes at least six acts

The current outdoor event operating hours and industry definitions show this draft regulation has

not considered recent market changes.

The combination of the removal of local council’s capacity of Noise Managers and the issue of

leaving these operating hours at their 1970’s level may lead to festivals moving venues, leaving

struggling rural communities without a source of significant income.

Finally, there is no indication of whether soundcheck is considered in the Outdoor Event

operational hours. Soundcheck should not be included and be made explicit in the guidelines.

Recommendation 1: The Outdoor Event maximum duration should be increased to reflect the current festival market. Recommendation 2: Soundcheck hours removed from the hours of operation for an Outdoor Event. 1APRA AMCOS. 2019. “ONEMUSIC: MUSIC AT EVENTS,” no. JANUARY. https://onemusic.com.au/media/Information-Sheets/Events.pdf.

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2. Rural Area - Noise Sensitive Areas

The introduction of tourist establishment, campgrounds and a caravan park (Part 1.1 Noise

Sensitive Area, b)) limits a festival operations drastically. Festivals in rural areas will always

be positioned near to these types of amenities as the patrons require accommodation.

Should this remain, the consequence may be that festivals move from rural locations due to

restrictive operating hours. To demonstrate the potential lost value of a festival to a region,

below is a case study from AFA member UNIFY Gatherings.

Case Study - UNIFY Gatherings, South Gippsland UNIFY Gatherings takes place in the South Gippsland area each year. In 2018, the event ran for three days and two nights and was attended by 8,000 patrons. The following information was captured during a post-event ticket holder survey for UNIFY Gathering.

• 46% travelled from interstate • 71% didn’t know of the Tarwin Lower region before attending UNIFY • 25% stayed in the local area either side of the event • $315,150+ were spent in the surrounding communities • 27% spent more than $76 in surrounding communities • 52% said they would travel back to the area for a holiday/weekend away

We asked Rhett McLaren, Co-Founder & Director of RED HILL Entertainment & The Hills Are Alive about how UNIFY Gathering contributes to regional Victoria. ‘Festivals cultivate and nurture vibrant and geographically diverse arts, culture and creative industries that deliver economic benefits to a region and contributes to, and creates engaged and connected communities.’ ‘Regional music festivals have a huge positive economic and social impact on local towns and communities. Having grown up in regional Victoria, I know first hand the amazing outcomes that are a result of hosting festivals in rural areas. Festivals bring together local residents of all ages and backgrounds, community groups, sporting clubs and local contractors to help deliver the events all while creating opportunities for artists and creatives to showcase their talents. - Rhett McLaren, Co-Founder & Director of RED HILL Entertainment &

The Hills Are Alive Group

Recommendation 3: Remove tourist establishment, campgrounds and caravan parks from Noise Sensitive Areas.

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3. Contrary Documents

"Environment reference standard objectives" are inconsistent with music noise limits in the

"Assessment Protocol". If consideration by authorities is given to the Environment reference

standard objectives, it is unlikely that “Bush Doofs” in country areas will be permitted due to

the extremely stringent acoustic target.

There is a risk that this will lead to difficulty should any complaints move into the courts.

The AFA seeks clarity on how this would be regulated in practice, and what document takes priority from a legal standpoint. 4. Local council reduced noise management function

AFA members work closely with their local government areas regarding noise management in

the lead-up, during and post-event phases. Local councils have a strong understanding of

and reach to, their residents and businesses, and therefore, a consideration of their role in

managing environmental impacts is recommended.

Some AFA members have already noted changes to this part of the regulation may

trigger a move in festival location if implemented.

5. Details for aggravated definition

Subdivision 3, 131 - Aggravated noise from an outdoor entertainment venue or outdoor

entertainment event. In section 168 of the Act, the noise emitted from an outdoor

entertainmentvenueoroutdoorentertainmenteventisprescribedtobeaggravatednoiseif

theeffectivenoiselevelexceeds80dB(A)atanytime.

Ourmembershaveidentifiedthatfurtherclarityinthedeterminationoftheabovecriteriaisstillrequired;

• Isthemeasurementtakenfastorslow?• Howisitweighted?• Whereisthis80DBAmeasurefrom?

Recommendation 4: Further guidelines regarding measurement techniques to compliment the regulations.

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AFA Response



MUSIC VICTORIA SUBMISSION

The AFA recognises the significant work of Music Victoria in this space. Our members

contributed to the discussion that informed the Music Victoria submission and we support the

feedback included regarding festivals.

RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation 1: The Outdoor Event maximum duration should be increased to reflect the current festival market. Recommendation 2: Soundcheck hours removed from the hours of operation for an Outdoor Event. Recommendation 3: Remove tourist establishment, campgrounds and caravan parks from Noise Sensitive Areas. Recommendation 4: Further guidelines regarding measurement techniques to compliment the regulations. CONCLUSION

Our members support estival regulation developed with wide-reaching and transparent

consultation with industry is fit for purpose and considers the economic contribution of this sector.

We recommend a consultation process that implements feedback from those operating within the

regulatory environment on a day-to-day basis. Therefore we look forward to a response to this

submission.

Thank you for your time in considering our feedback. Sincerely, Julia Robinson General Manager Australian Festivals Association Inc.

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