Music festivals in NSW are again left waiting to see what the future holds for their multi-million dollar industry as the Government rejects important amendments and delays the new festival Bill from moving to the upper house until mid-November.

The Australian Festival Association’s General Manager, Julia Robinson, said, “After genuinely offering to work with the Government to develop safer regulations for over a year, to no avail, our members are holding steadfast on the request to secure a formal mechanism for consultation through legislating for a roundtable. 

“If Minister Dominello is committed to a roundtable, there should be no issue with this being included in this new legislation to give the industry more assurance. Had this amendment been accepted, we would be writing an agenda by now instead of another press release. 

“We have proven our effectiveness in collaborating with Government on the widely-praised NSW Health Guidelines. The same dedication would go into working on better regulation in the interests of our shared goal of safer festivals and a thriving industry.’ she said.