Flume Calls On Fans To Attend ‘Keep Sydney Open’ Rally Against Lockout Laws

By Emmy Mack

Flume has added his voice to the chorus of musicians calling on lovers of live music, late nights and freedom to attend a massive rally against Sydney’s lockout laws tomorrow (Sunday, 21st February 2016) hosted by Keep Sydney Open.

The Aussie super-producer has shared a brilliantly heartfelt open letter, signed by all of his fellow NSW artists on the Future Classic label, calling on Premier Mike Baird to end the destruction of the city’s night time culture.

“Sydney friends, the time to act and have our voices heard regarding the lockout laws is now…” he writes in a Facebook post alongside the letter to #casinomike. “This is so important to the culture of our city. Show your support by heading along to the Keep Sydney Open rally this Sunday, 12 noon at Belmore Park (near Central Station)…”

As well as Flume, the letter comes baring the signatures of Basenji, Flight Facilities, Hayden James, Jagwar Ma, Panama Music, Seekae, Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer and World Champion.

As passionate as it is logical, the letter agrees that we need to make Sydney safe, but argues that the lockout laws are not the way to achieve this.

It reads, in part:

Dear Mr Baird,

“We write to you as a group of artists and small businesses who while we’ve developed international careers and profile, all still proudly call Sydney home.

We are deeply concerned by alcohol related violence and the impact this has on the victims, their families, friends and our society overall. We want a safe city and absolutely agree that as a community we need to acknowledge this problem and look at initiatives to address it.

The current lock out laws do not solve the problem. Stopping people buying a bottle of wine after 10pm or going out after 1:30am (unless it’s to a casino or to handful of bars to play pokie machines) does not make the city safer. Max Hardwick­ Morris, a recent victim of a coward punch on Australia Day recently wrote an excellent open letter on this topic.

Not only do these lock out laws not solve the problem of alcohol related violence, they are destroying the cultural fabric and economy of the city.

The lock out laws means venues that support the next generation of artists can no longer sustain themselves. It’s not just limited to music careers. There’s a complex tapestry of people who’s livelihoods are impacted on the closing of late night venues. The reduction in people out in the city also means other small businesses ­ (restaurants, news agencies, taxis and so many more) are suffering.”

The artists from Future Classic join a horde of others calling on punters to attend tomorrow’s rally, which will feature performances by Art vs Science and Royal Headache as well as speeches from the likes of The Preatures frontperson Isabella Manfredi, Hoodoo Gurus‘ own Dave Faulkner, Bernard Keane the political editor of Crikey.com and of course Keep Sydney Open’s own Tyson Koh.

When the Melbourne Government tried to enforce lockout laws on its citizens back in 2010, 17,000 people participated in a mass protest which is believed to have been instrumental in the removal of the city’s lockouts in favour of other measures.

Let’s hope we can get that many in Sydney. The Keep Sydney Open Facebook event currently has 14K “attending” RSVPs and another 17K listed as “interested” in attending.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government just passed rushed through their own legislation to introduce the strictest lockout laws in the country.

It’s already sparked a massive backlash from the music community whom Music Feeds have been told were not even considered before the decision was made, with BIGSOUND organisers claiming that no one in government has been able to assure them that “what happened in Kings Cross won’t happen in [BIGSOUND’s home of] Fortitude Valley.”

QMusic Executive Officer Joel Edmondson even fears that Australia’s biggest music industry conference will be forced to move interstate if the effects of lockouts on Fortitude Valley venues are indeed as devastating as they have been on those in Sydney.

Read Flume’s post, including the full open letter from Future Classic’s NSW artists, below.

And remember you can also have your say on the future of Sydney’s lockout laws, which are now up for review, by emailing the NSW Government directly.

Sydney friends, the time to act and have our voices heard regarding the lockout laws is now… this is so important to…

Posted by Flume on Thursday, February 18, 2016

https://twitter.com/theAUreview/status/700669264567488512/photo/1

Emmy Mack
Emmy Mack

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