Media Release
Statement on compliance measures affecting music venues
11 March, 2023

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Matt Levinson
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Matt Levinson, Director Corporate Affairs, Committee for Sydney, said: 

“Despite the phenomenal record of regulatory and policy reform around music venues and the nightlife over the past five years, cases like this show we need to stay the course on efforts to protect and support venues.

“Governments are rightly encouraging venues to book live music and open out onto the streets for alfresco dining, but their efforts are challenged by compliance officers who haven’t got the memo. We need to make sure the new positive approach is filtering down to all levels.

“When you look at what venues like The Great Club offer the community by booking up-and-coming and mid-tier performers, it’s clearly a significant community service.

“All too often we’re treating these key venues like any other business, with difficult hoops to jump through, which is tough given many are small operations without the resources to navigate complex bureaucracy.

“Every music venue is precious because each one builds a tight-knit community around it, people who will go out mid-week or on the weekend to see shows. It’s the scaffolding on which a thriving scene is built, and that’s why we need to see them as important community infrastructure, and support as such.