SLR-0285

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 Laneway Groovin The Moo Falls Festival Listen Out 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.

1 Australian Festival Association | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com SLR-0285 AFA Response Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

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 Beechworth Music Festival 3 12 Bluestone Blues Festival 2 10 Boogie 3 10 Brunswick Music Festival 15 8 Download 1 12 Earthcore 5 12 Electric Gardens 1 9 Falls Festival 5 12 FOMO 1 10 Good Things 1 10.5 Grapevine Gathering 1 10 Groovin the Moo 1 12 Hot Dub Wine Machine 1 9 Laneway Festival 1 12.5 Let Go Fest. 1 9 Listen Out 1 10 Macedon Ranges Music Festival 1 10 Merideth Music Festival 3 12 Newport Folk Festival 3 11 Newstead Live 4 11 Pitch Music and Arts Festival 5 12 Port Fairy Spring Music Festival 4 11 Queenscliff Music Festival 3 12

2 Australian Festivals Association Inc. | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com SLR-0285 AFA Response Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

Rainbow Serpent Festival 3 12 Riverboats Music Festival 3 11 So Frenchy So Chic 1 9.75 St Kilda Festival 1 12 Strawberry Fields 3 11 Sugar Mountain 1 11 Unify Gathering 4 12 Zoo Twilights 1 4

The current industry understanding of a festival from APRA AMCOS (the organisation which 1 grants the rights to use copyright music) defines a music festival 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.

3 Australian Festivals Association Inc. | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com SLR-0285 AFA Response Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

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.

4 Australian Festivals Association Inc. | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com SLR-0285 AFA Response Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

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 entertainment venue or outdoor entertainment event is prescribed to be aggravated noise if the effective noise level exceeds 80dB(A) at any time.

Our members have identified that further clarity in the determination of the above criteria is still required;

• Is the measurement taken fast or slow? • How is it weighted? • Where is this 80DBA measure from?

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

5 Australian Festivals Association Inc. | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com SLR-0285 AFA Response Proposed EPA regulations and environment reference standards

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.

6 Australian Festivals Association Inc. | Level 4, 12 Foveaux St Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 | australianfestivalassociation.com