Regulation flaws preventing thriving pop-up event economy, Labor says

One Tassie DJ said the state’s night-life and live music scene is ‘not what it used to be’. Now, the Opposition leader wants to see a new ‘night-time’ economic policy.

The Odeon Theatre. Supplied Image: Dark Mofo / Lusy Productions

Surfacing after an underground rave at Hobart Town Hall, organisers say there is huge potential for more pop-up night time events in the city but regulations are holding them back.

Director of Way Music Group, Manveer Sidhu, said he would love to put on more live music events in venues such as car parks, or have them go later than midnight, but the “flawed” regulatory environment made it difficult.

Mr Sidhu is also a DJ and said Tasmania’s night-life was “not what it used to be”.

“I’ve noted that over the last few years the night-life is definitely dying down,” he said.

“People don’t want to go out to the same venue every single weekend, they want a more intimate experience, something that’s more memorable with local talent as well.”

Generic live music, live band, drummer image. Picture: iStock

Mr Sidhu said a safe and thriving night-life was important to attract and retain youth.

Way Music Group started 10 months ago and several of the directors live in Melbourne where there is a thriving network of events to keep the youth occupied.

Mr Sidhu said the group was trying to reproduce in Hobart, the scene of more “vibrant” cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, who are using pop-up venues to lure people out at night.

On Saturday night, Way Music Group held a successful rave with more than 200 people in the intimate and cave-like space under Hobart Town Hall.

Mr Sidhu said they had experienced setbacks in regulations around noise, heritage and licensing which prevented them putting on more frequent and unique events.

State opposition leader Dean Winter on Sunday called on Premier Jeremy Rockliff to back Labor’s night time economy policy, released earlier this month.

He said Labor had been pleased last week to see the government “copying” Labor’s policies on UTAS, Stony Rise retail development and Government Business Enterprises, and he was hoping they would “take hold of yet another Labor policy to push forward for a night-time economy”.

Leader of the Opposition Dean Winter in Parliament on Tuesday 19th November 2024. Picture: Linda Higginson

“We want to stem the tide of young Tasmanians leaving the state,” Mr Winter said.

He said Labor’s strategy would cut “unnecessary” permits and costs for late-night venues, outdoor dining and festivals struggling to find sustainable business models.

It would also support live music and arts venues by offering liquor licence fee rebates for venues that promote live entertainment.

Mr Rockliff said it was all very well for the opposition to “scribble on a piece of paper” but implementing policy was the key.

“Government is complex. We have to work through a number of issues,” he said, adding the government had “led the way” by bringing legislation on UTAS, Stony Rise, GBEs and Development Application Panels to the parliament.

Mr Rockliff said the government supported hospitality businesses through the Covid pandemic and would continue to support it into the future, and was happy to engage with industry to see what barriers existed.