Australia: Melbourne Club Shooting, Bankwest Stadium, Fans Support Cell Phone Ban

A 28-year-old premiership soccer player and Sudanese refugee Richard Arow was the second death from the April 13 drive-by shooting at Melbourne’s Love Machine nightclub. Security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, died that night. Arow succumbed to his injuries April 19 while hospitalized. 

Police investigations are looking at the 3 a.m. shooting being linked to extortion efforts by a bikie gang, tensions within security companies, or simply a revenge motive as the shooter and his three accomplices may have been earlier thrown out of the club.

Sydney’s new 30,000-capacity A$360 million ($257.6 million) sports and entertainment Bankwest Stadium is forecast to pump A$176 million ($125.9 million) in the next two years into the local economy. The venue launched April 22. 

David Borger, executive director of the Western Sydney Business Chamber, said the stadium “will see a surge of new visitations to Parramatta that we have never seen before. This is now one of the best stadiums in the country with a spectator experience unparalleled. The flow-on benefits from the stadium will be immense. Parramatta’s night-time economy will be supercharged.” The rectangular building is operated by VenuesLive and owned by Venues NSW on behalf of the New South Wales government with Daryl Kerry as its CEO.

The Auckland Music Strategy, announced last November after the New Zealand city was granted a UNESCO Music City status, is making moves towards bolstering its music scene through cultural, economic and social benefits. The New Zealand Herald said members of working committees will be announced in May to reach the first two goals. These are to conduct a census of the city’s live music venues and a taskforce “to tackle tension around development, gentrification and regulation.” Spearheading the movement is Max Roach who set up the Music Managers Forum and co-founded Independent Music NZ.

A 25-year-old personal trainer was sentenced to jail for eight years and three months after pleading guilty in Lismore District Court, NSW, to the manslaughter of Dj and artist manager Chris Bradley. The court heard that Javen O’Neill was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at a house party in Byron Bay on Christmas Day 2017 when he unprovoked punched his victim on the head a number of times. Bradley, who ran a dance events company Atypical and performed as Dad Bod, fell to the floor and died.

A survey commissioned by events tech company Eventbrite Asia Pacific found that 53% of 629 Australians surveyed were in favour of fewer photos and videos being taken at live performances, while 73% would support action by venues and performers to minimise people’s use of phones at live events. The survey, conducted by Roy Morgan Research, found women were more likely to take photos and videos at  live events (55% vs. 37%), men (58%) and those belonging to Gen X (52%) are most strongly in favor of banning mobile phones at events. 23% of those surveyed would support a complete ban on mobile phones at live events. “We hope this will prompt discussion on ways to make the most of the event experience – with or without our mobile (cell) phones – both for our own benefit and for the benefit of our fellow fans,” said Phil Silverstone, Melbourne-based general manager of Eventbrite Asia Pacific. In February, Eventbrite launched into Asia with its first localized platform in Singapore and more recently introduced a search faculty for Australian customers.