Maitreya Organisers Break Silence; There Will Be No Refunds

9 May 2016 | 5:17 pm | Neil Griffiths

"There were no winners out of this, and hopefully from this realisation we can move on."

After nearly seven weeks of silence on their Facebook page, organisers of Melbourne's Maitreya Festival have suddenly re-emerged to announce they will not be giving out any more refunds for the cancelled 2016 event. 

Punters were left seething after the Charlton-based tenth anniversary event was axed at the last minute back in March and many have been demanding refunds ever since. 

"We cant in any number of words express to you the ins and outs of the rabbit hole that the event ended in this year," a statement on the Maitreya Facebook reads. 

"We are very sorry to those who were negatively impacted by the finality, from the patrons, to market stall holders, performers, artists, and the local community of Charlton. There were no winners out of this, and hopefully from this realisation we can move on.

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"Unfortunately we are unable to make any more refunds for tickets purchased for the 2016 event."

The statement adds that there are plans for an event to be held exclusively for ticket holders of this year's cancelled festival at Lake Wooroonook this September.

"We cant turn back time and give you back what might have been...but we do hold a deep belief that everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is really hard to understand or uncover in the short term," the post continues.

"If we can collectively walk forward with this knowledge, together we can take the time to unravel the lessons that it has for us all, and for this be better individuals in the communities we live."

Read the full statement below. 

A spokesperson from Consumer Affairs Victoria told theMusic in March that anyone who bought a ticket to the now-cancelled festival is entitled to a full refund. 

"People should request the refund from the company that sold them the festival ticket," the CAV spokesperson said.