Western Australia reintroduces strict rules for live music sector as eastern states dance free
New limits on live music industry in WA will affect upcoming performances by Missy Higgins, Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil and Crowded House.
As music fans in the eastern states enjoy some of their first restriction-free concerts since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, Western Australia is going backwards by imposing strict rules on live events in response to an increase in Covid cases.
From Thursday March 3, outdoor events held anywhere in WA will be subject to a capacity of 500 people, with these new restrictions to remain in place for one month.
This decision by the WA Government will affect events booked through to early April, including festivals headlined by artists such as Missy Higgins (Sunday March 6), Jimmy Barnes (March 20) and Hunters and Collectors (April 2).
As well, the new rules will affect headline concerts by Midnight Oil (March 26), Crowded House (April 1-3) and Hoodoo Gurus (April 2).
Meanwhile, WA entertainment venues with forward-facing seating – such as theatres and major stadiums such as Optus Stadium and RAC Arena – can proceed with events at 50 per cent capacity.
The policy shift comes just days after the eastern states of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and ACT were all singing from the same song sheet for the first time since March 2020 by removing all restrictions from live music events.
The WA government has announced a financial support mechanism which appears to incentivise event promoters to recover some of their costs by cancelling concerts, rather than postponing until after the restrictions end.
On Tuesday afternoon, Midnight Oil wrote on Facebook, “Yesterday Western Australia announced that outdoor concerts crowds are capped at only 500 people for at least the next four weeks. As such our show at Nikola Estate on March 26, and basically every other big gig in WA this month, will not be able to proceed as planned.”
“Obviously this situation is deeply frustrating given that sports stadiums are still being allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity,” wrote the Sydney rock band, which is midway through its final national tour.
“It is imperative that the WA state government helps local promoters and event workers get back on their feet by staging these shows at a later time. A decision on rescheduling versus cancellation of our Nikola Estate gig will be made by the end of this week so please stand by for more information on that.”
Also on Tuesday afternoon, Missy Higgins posted on Instagram a photo of her bags packed for her planned WA trip this weekend.
“Gutted to learn that WA has just imposed a cap of only 500 people at outdoor concerts which will rule out our big gigs in Denmark and Freo this weekend,” Higgins wrote. “We were really looking forward to playing and we feel bad for all the local suppliers and staff who will now miss out on work. And of course all the fans who were coming to see us play!”
Senior live music industry figures are urgently seeking clarity from the WA government on the reimbursement mechanism for live events scheduled during March, which The Australian understands is subject to ministerial discretion.
National tour promoter John Zaccaria told The Australian on Tuesday, “There’s no support for rescheduling: we would obviously rather reschedule, which is obviously going to cost the government less money, too. It makes no sense.”
His company Zaccaria Concerts is behind touring outdoor festivals including SummerSalt and By The C, headlined by Missy Higgins and Jimmy Barnes respectively, both of which will be affected by the new restrictions.
“This Sunday, we can’t have an event for more than 500 people at a park that has 19,000 square metres,” said Zaccaria. “How can I go to Crown Theatre and watch a musical with 1200 people, but I can’t go to a big wide open park and watch Missy Higgins with thousands of people?”
After nearly two years cut off from the rest of Australia due to strict border controls, WA music fans are set to continue losing out from cultural experiences that can be freely enjoyed elsewhere interstate.
“We all know that the WA government has bigger problems to deal with right now but there’s a quick and simple fix here,” said John Watson of Eleven Music, which manages artists including Higgins, Barnes and Midnight Oil.
“At the moment, the government will contribute to costs if a promoter cancels a show due to Covid rules but they won’t help them pay those exact same costs if there’s a postponement,” Watson told The Australian.
“So the current rules are really giving promoters an incentive to cancel and that’s not in anyone’s interest,” he said. “If someone cancels then that business is lost to WA forever and people miss out on seeing their favourite artists play live.”
“Thankfully the premier did say that he’ll be announcing a new package of business support to accompany level 2 restrictions so hopefully that new package will cover postponements and not just cancellations.”
WA Health was contacted for comment.
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