Page 5716 - Week 15 - Thursday, 10 December 2009
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I move:
That the report be noted.
Mr Assistant Speaker, as you would anticipate, this interim report primarily focuses on the issues identified in the inquiry’s terms of reference. The committee’s recommendations focus on recognising the rights of existing entertainment and live music venues by including order of occupancy considerations in the Liquor Act 1975 and ensuring that people moving into residential areas where live events are provided are made aware of those considerations.
The committee also recommends that the concept of reverse sensitivity should be included as an overarching objective in the relevant territory plan development and precinct codes, recognising that existing activities set the ambient environment for a region and the new development should bear the cost of attenuating ambient environmental nuisance, such as noise, within their development.
The committee’s interim report emphasises the need for more flexibility in the noise standards to enable small and medium venues to run live events, including consideration of higher noise standards on Friday and Saturday nights in Canberra city and town centres.
The committee’s report recommends that the availability of community venues for live performances also be considered by the ACT government’s interdepartmental committee on barriers to the production of live music. It also considers the need for existing community venues, such as community halls, to have improved sound attenuation so that they can be more readily used as live event venues. The committee also recommends that private businesses and commercial developments be encouraged to provide bill posting facilities.
As previously noted by the deputy chair this morning, the committee is aware that the cultural ministers council working group on contemporary music development is currently developing a best practice guide for the development of a legislative and regulatory environment supporting live music and entertainment. As the deputy chair reported, the guide was not available at the time of finalising this interim report. Therefore, the committee awaits the guide in order to consider it before assessing the most appropriate combination of regulatory mechanisms to support live events in the ACT and before comparing and analysing the approaches of other states and territories.
In addition, the committee acknowledges that there are also a number of other regulatory approaches to supporting live entertainment that warrant consideration, such as transport; access; public liability; security; amenity, or public interest considerations, when granting liquor licences; noise limits and noise zones and entertainment precincts. I would like to thank my fellow committee members, Ms Caroline Le Couteur and Mr Alistair Coe, and also my committee secretary for her work on this report.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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