Australian Labor pledges to protect live music venues in election promise

Entertainment zones protecting live venues from residential noise complaints will be rolled out across Melbourne if Labor is re-elected in November, in a pledge it says will ensure the city’s pubs and clubs don’t stop the music.

Creative Industries Minister Vicki Ward on Wednesday committed to a package of reforms and grants aimed at protecting and encouraging the state’s live music venues.

Special zones will be declared in nightlife and entertainment precincts that will favour the rights of venues over residents and developers who raise noise complaints and other issues. Areas earmarked for the entertainment zones include Collingwood, Fitzroy, Geelong and Ballarat.

Popular Fitzroy venue The Night Cat was nearly forced to close last year after a developer, whose project had not yet been built, sought an enforcement order, claiming the venue was exceeding its permitted noise levels.

The Night Cat ultimately won the court battle, but was forced to make major soundproofing upgrades to avoid closure throughout the saga.

The case also highlighted a flaw in current laws, which were designed to force developers to build noise reduction measures when located close to music venues, where a loophole in this “agent of change” principle was used to shift responsibility back to the Night Cat and challenge their permits.

Labor’s proposal would establish a Live Music Desk to streamline planning, licensing and permits for venues, who under the current system answer to multiple agencies and councils.

The government would also simplify the environmental watchdog’s noise regulations to make them easier for clubs and pubs to comply with and protect them from closing due to noise complaints. The change to noise regulations would apply to all venues, not just those in the live music precincts.

Owner of the Night Cat, Justin Stanford, said he had “fought off” complaints from three developers during his decade running the Johnston Street club.

“Having these live music precincts is really important for us. It gives us confidence to go forward,” he said.

Ward said these changes would preserve Melbourne’s iconic live music scene from developers eager to build apartments in suburbs known for their nightlife and then seeking to shut it down.

“We do not want another venue to have to go through what the Night Cat went through,” she said.

“We want to make sure established venues who are already here are protected.”

Labor on Wednesday also pledged $2.5 million to help venues stage gigs, and $1.5 million to transform underutilised spaces into live music and arts venues.

Since Melbourne emerged from the pandemic lockdowns, live music venues have been under increased pressure as inflation has added to their operating costs. Many have struggled to obtain public liability insurance, with those able to copping premium increases of as much as 800 per cent.

Music Victoria chief executive Fiona Duncan said Labor’s promised reforms were a crucial milestone, but said more was needed to fix structural industry pressures. She said legislating a one per cent ticket levy on all stadium shows to fund a local music trust would present a long-term fix.

“When international superstars fill our stadiums, a fraction of that revenue needs to be directed back into Victorian venues, artists, and the grassroots ecosystem that supports them.”

Following the Night Cat saga, Yarra Council in December moved to protect the live venue sector by inserting five “live-music precincts” into its planning laws, which will require new apartment buildings to pay for any soundproofing a venue may require.

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