Laneway Festival Hits Back At NSW Govt Calling It High Risk: 'It's Preposterous'

Laneway Festival has slammed the NSW Government after its Sydney leg was included on a list of music events deemed "high risk" over the weekend. 

Laneway Sydney was one of fourteen festivals named on the list on Saturday, which also includes Ultra, FOMO, Electric Gardens and Defqon.1.

"It's preposterous that Laneway is categorised as high risk," organiser Danny Rogers said.

"We are regularly praised for expert operations by the local police, health departments and councillors and attending media. Our audiences are fantastic. They come for the world-class local and international artists.

"We are angry that the NSW Government is so dismissive of the industry who contribute so much to the state's economy and culture. It is a short-sighted political move that panders to the conservative media and vote.

"If Laneway can be categorised as high risk without any reference to the Government's own poorly-defined criteria, then there is a risk that all contemporary music festivals could be categorised in the same way.  We implore all our friends of the festival to contact your local representatives and let them know how you feel. Let's make some noise!" 

It comes as the government responds to intense pressure from the music industry, including the #DontKillLiveMusic rally in Sydney on Thursday, which saw thousands turn out to show their support, urging NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to drop the policy. 

It also follows news that NSW Nationals member, Ben Franklin, broke ranks to speak out against the NSW Government's policy. 

In a statement issued today, Live Performance Australia Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson again called on the Government too postpone the implementation of the festival policy. 

“The government needs to provide evidence to back its assertion that so-called ‘high risk’ festivals have drug or alcohol incidents at a higher rate than occurs throughout NSW on a daily basis," Richardson said.

“This new licence isn’t going to solve these problems and the government has shown no real commitment to backing them up with effective drug and alcohol prevention and harm minimisation programs to address these issues in the community."