The Music Network (12/14/18) Heyman, Martin

More than 20 venues and bars across New South Wales (NSW) in Australia turned their music off at midnight, Dec. 15, to protest the government's live music and music events policies, 100 days ahead of the NSW election. “Venues provide an essential service to many Sydney communities and need to be valued higher than they currently are,” stressed David Abram, owner of Freda's in Chippendale. Keep Sydney Open, a political party contesting the election, coordinated the protest. “There has been a net loss of 175 venues since the lockout laws were introduced, and the recent scapegoating of music festivals has shown the NSW government is not going to stop until they destroy all the fun in NSW,” said Keep Sydney Open spokesperson Tyson Koh. Darlinghurst Business Partnership chairperson Stephan Gyory adds that, “We have seen a massive decline in economic and job growth in Darlinghurst and surrounding suburbs which can be directly correlated to the lockout laws and anti-competitive policies of the NSW Government.”

Read the full article on The Music Network website.