Australia: New Zealand Festivals Being Pill Testing; Australian Festival Association Launches & More

– Rhythm And Vines Logo

New Zealand Signals Pill Testing At Music Festivals, Australia Remains Cautious

New Zealand’s police minister Stuart Nash signaled pill testing labs will be introduced at major music events, saying they were a “fantastic idea and should be installed at all our festivals.” Nash made the decision after fake pills containing pesticides were seized at the Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne by staff Dec. 31, according to promoter Kieran Spillane.

“The war on drugs hasn’t worked in the past 20 years, so it’s time to change to a more compassionate and restorative approach,” Nash told the Stuff website. “If someone is dealing, they will be taken through the justice system. But if it was someone who has one or two pills, you don’t want them to get a criminal record for a bad decision.”

NZ’s move has angered pro-test advocates in Australia who have amped up long-time calls following five fatal overdoses since September. In Australia, the only on-site testing has been at the Canberra (Australian Capital Territory) stop of the Groovin The Moo touring festival in April 2018. 

A 20-year old man at Beyond The Valley, 100km east of Melbourne, died Jan. 1. A 22-year-old rugby player Dec. 29 at Lost Paradise on the New South Wales (NSW) Central Coast. These followed fatalities at two Sydney EDM events, one at the Dec. 8 Knockout Games of Destiny and two at Defqon.1 in September.

In the wake of public comments from doctors, independent senators, former police commissioners and live music industry figures, two states may be having second thoughts. NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian suggested tests would be adopted if data could be used to prove their effectiveness, while Queensland’s health minister Steven Miles is looking at results from Groovin The Moo. 

Australian Festival Association Launches

Five major festival promoters Down Under set up the Australian Festival Association to help “deliver safe and well-run festivals around Australia, and establishing world leading operating standards for our industry.” It adds, “We support our members to continually improve their operational practices through access to our extensive resources, including festival best practice guides, liquor license application troubleshooting, AFA forums and conferences, industry contacts and legal advice. Where our interests conflict with those of regulatory bodies, we strive to find rational, evidence based solutions.”

The five board members are Jessica Ducrou (Splendour in the Grass, Falls, Download); Matthew Lazarus-Hall (CMC Rocks Queensland); Rod Little (Groovin The Moo, The Plot); Adelle Robinson (Listen Out, Listen In, Field Day, Harbourlife, Curve Ball); and Danny Rogers (St Jerome’s Laneway).

Membership is open to festivals that have been operating for three years or more, are ticketed and licensed to sell alcohol, and draw 2,000 or more. Industry membership is open to festival professionals as site managers, production managers and bar operators, as well as venues and venue groups working alongside the festival industry. 

AP Photo / Christian Palma – Dee Snider of Twisted Sister
Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico

Twisted Sister, Aussie Politician, Row Over Band’s Anthem

Twisted Sister and mining magnate Clive Palmer have been firing shots at each other over the use of the band’s signature tune “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on a TV commercial for Palmer’s United Australia party. 

It uses the melody but Palmer rewrote the words, to “Australia ain’t gonna cop it, no Australia’s not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it anymore.” 

The band claimed on social media that it gave no approval and had not received any payment. Singer Dee Snider said if the band’s legal team couldn’t lock in an agreement, he will speak to Palmer during his four-date solo tour Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. 

Palmer was not backing off. “As foreigners, they should stay out of Australian domestic politics and stay where they are,” he said.

Celebrity Agent Moves To Bankrupt Speaking Tour Promoter

Sydney celebrity agent Max Markson applied in the Victoria Supreme Court to wind up Global Media & Entertainment Pty Ltd, which toured right-wing provocateurs Milo Yiannopoulos’ in 2017 and Nigel Farage last September.  

Markson claims he is owed A$62,925 (US$44,788). Global Media’s owner Damien Costas publishes Australian Penthouse through an unrelated company. 

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Jan. 5 (https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/celebrity-agent-moves-to-bankrupt-penthouse-publisher-20190104-p50pnn.html) that the two men were publically trading blows via the media, with Markson calling Costas “a conman” and the promoter insisting the agent had been paid and he had made a police report claiming fraudulent behavior by Markson.

Sydney printers TMA Australia won a district court judgment against Costas over a $172,000 ($122,420) with its chair Anthony Karam threatening to bankrupt Costas personally at the end of the month. 

Ticketing company White Label Ticketing also alleges it is owed $62,000 ($44,130) for the Yiannopoulos tour, but Costas disputes the claim.