Co-owner of famous Melbourne venue The Tote Jon Perring has slammed the Yarra City council and the state government over what he sees as “a spectacular piece of policy failure” that resulted in an illegal New Year’s Eve dance party that trashed North Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens.
Perring had previously complained of the NYE licensing freeze by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) that saw several inner city Melbourne live music venues without a 3am New Year’s Eve extension, warning that it would result in more illegal activity.
“This policy will only result in more house parties and mass parties in public parks such as Edinburgh Gardens that have no crowd controllers or RSA-accredited staff to keep these events safe,” Perring told Fairfax’s Sticky Carpet column just days before NYE, adding that it was also “not profitable.”
“I feel justified in saying, I told you so,” wrote Perring in an email to liquor regulation minister Edward O’Donohue and Yarra mayor Jackie Fristacky, obtained by The Sunday Age. “We have just experienced a spectacular piece of policy failure. A situation that was predictable,” he added.
The illegal Edinburgh Gardens party, which saw 15,000 punters descend on the park in spite of council rules and attempts by police to shut down the party, has left residents in the area with a $30,000 clean-up bill. Over 20 people were injured on the night, including one police officer.
“I believe that the combination of flawed licensing policy (the current licensing freeze) and the denial that this event would take place (again) by the City of Yarra created a situation where the only cultural relevant option for young people in the inner north to celebrate NYE was to go Edinburgh Gardens or to attend house parties,” wrote Perring, who also owns Bar Open and Yah Yah’s.
Perring added that “Regulators need to stop seeing venues as the problem and to instead partner with experienced licensed venues to provide the necessary cultural infrastructure.” However Mayor Fristacky disagrees with Perring’s assessment, labelling his criticisms as “inaccurate.”
“There were five or six events that were organised without any reference to council,” Fristacky told Fairfax. “I am also aware that at least some of the bars and hotels sent people down to Edinburgh Gardens.” Meanwhile a spokesman for Minister O’Donohue said it was “ludicrous” to suggest the restrictions were solely responsible for the “disgraceful and unacceptable” conduct on NYE.
According to Fairfax, internal council correspondence indicates that while the City of Yarra was aware that illegal parties were likely to take place, council’s preparations focused on refusing event permits, following social media, ordering portable toilets, and assigning extra clean-up staff.
New Year’s Eve 2013 marked the second consecutive year that an illegal dance party was held at the North Fitzroy park, following-on from 2012, when approximately 15,000 people similarly flooded the Edinburgh Gardens and trashed the area following NYE celebrations.
(Via The Age)
