NSW Parliament to hold Sydney live music roundtable this week

The closure of Newtown Social Club on the weekend — once one of Sydney’s most viable live music venues — is emblematic of the crushing impact draconian lock out laws have had on the local live music culture over the past few years.

This Wednesday, NSW Government aim to tackle the venue crisis by holding The Labor Music Roundtable.

The Labor Music Roundtable will include federal, state and local Labor MPs and councillors meeting with key venue operators, music bodies and promoters, and according to a release, is “expected to canvass a wide range of issues including venue closures, the handling of noise complaints, new laws for low impact entertainment, ticket scalping, visas for touring artists, the impact of NSW government planning and lockout laws.”

“There is a crisis. Despite the massive potential of our artists and venues, the State Government’s war on fun is holding us back”, said John Graham MLC, Convenor, Labor loves Live Music.

“It is harder than it should be in Sydney to listen to music, play in a band or run a venue. Labor wants to fix that.”

The roundtable will be held at NSW Parliament on Wednesday, 26th of April from 11.30am-1.30pm.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.