Ms CHARISHMA KALIYANDA (Liverpool) (16:25): I speak in debate on these important cognate bills, the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Bill 2023 and the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Bill 2023. I thank the Minister in this House and in the other place, Commissioner Michael Rodrigues and the staff of the department for bringing these important bills to the House. In substantive terms, these cognate bills are a long overdue shot in the arm for our night-time economy, our creative industries and the way we all enjoy our communities. The member for Tamworth spoke extensively about the importance of this space in regional communities, and I will highlight the important role that the night‑time economy plays in Western Sydney.
Over the past 12 years, we have been witness to a pretty sad state of affairs. In New South Wales, we have lost over half of our licensed music venues, which fell to a low of 133 across the State before the election this March. We also had a web of confusing and inconsistent regulation that was built up over time, making it difficult for businesses to open, host live performance, experiment and adapt. We are losing creative workers, who are some of the most passionate, hardworking and talented in the world. Unfortunately, we are losing many to our neighbours/competitors in Queensland and in Victoria.
Some of this happened as a result of deliberate government policies, such as the lockout laws; other things happened while our eyes were closed. Take, for example, the situation in Liverpool. Over the past five years, we have heard Liverpool called the third CBD in Sydney by a broad number of stakeholders on many occasions, but investment in the night-time and creative economies is inconsistent, piecemeal and, frankly, unsustainable. It is also split between different parts of government, without much regard to some of the key barriers to organic growth, which is what is necessary.
The New South Wales Government has its eyes wide open. We know that the planning, liquor and sound rules need to change so that we can support our music venues and help community groups and councils put on events, concerts, festivals and other types of activities that bring our broader communities together. We know that going-out behaviour has changed. People do not want to just spend their nights drinking, holed up in a bar in Kings Cross or other parts of the CBD. They want a range of options across entertainment precincts that showcase different neighbourhoods across the State. It is important to take the demographics and the unique features of our various communities into account.
For example, in Western Sydney we want a diversity of options that are close to home and help us present our rich communities and cultures with pride. We know red tape has to be removed so that we can create certainty for businesses and investors, particularly before summer is upon us. Finally, we know that this is what people want—outside the CBD, just 23 per cent of respondents to a Department of Customer Service survey felt that they had good-quality night-time entertainment options in their area. The people of New South Wales want to live to in a State where fun does not end with the sun going down and where food, music, entertainment and art are all accessible in a way that balances vibrancy, safety and diversity of experience.
The 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Bill 2023 not only starts to address some of the problems that I have spoken broadly about but does so in a way that is appropriate for our modern contexts. Firstly, the bill will bring back the music by focusing on sensible venue sound management and incentives for live entertainment. We have too many regulators for entertainment sound—up to seven—and that system does not work for anyone.
Putting Liquor and Gaming in charge of venue noise and increasing the threshold for what constitutes a formal complaint is plain common sense. The change means that a formal complaint will require five complainants, there will be a greater emphasis on mediation and order of occupancy tests will be strengthened. The current system does not allow neighbours to easily navigate the system and have their issues considered. I have seen that occur far too often during my time on local council. Is it any wonder why young people are either addicted to gaming devices or getting up to antisocial behaviour when venues are shut down and they have no alternative options? In the worst case, a single malicious neighbour can shop their complaints to multiple regulators and shut down a music venue that they have moved next door to. Again, I have seen multiple examples of that. It serves nobody except for that complainant.
The change is being supplemented by financial incentives and longer trading hours for live music venues. We need to make live performance profitable, rather than having our venues rely on alcohol or gaming. Liverpool and south-west Sydney more broadly are strongly affected by gaming- and gambling‑related harm and the losses associated with those. It is of vital importance for our community that venues move away from relying on alcohol and gaming so that we can better protect community members and ensure that our young people, in particular, have opportunities in creative spaces, for example, if they are talented and that is the career they want to pursue, or if they want to enjoy time with friends and others in such pursuits.
Secondly, the bills improve the special entertainment precinct framework to deliver a network of vibrant, safe, well-organised going-out destinations across New South Wales identified in agreement between State and local governments and with the right conditions for entertainment and unique local culture to thrive. As has previously been identified, areas where there are special entertainment precincts have seen positive impacts. We should expand those and ensure that other communities can benefit from them. Thirdly, the bills help communities, businesses and councils activate outdoor spaces. That includes permanently empowering councils to close public streets easily for temporary events and dining, and permanently relaxing the rules for outdoor dining, which allows venues to make the most of their outdoor space with a quicker, light‑touch application process.
I cannot tell members the number of various businesses and community groups that have sought my assistance whilst I have been on local council to negotiate some of those labyrinthine—if I can call them that—regulations so that those groups can bring their flavour to our broader community. Fourthly, the bills bring a coherent approach to the night-time economy by empowering the 24‑Hour Economy Commissioner. The commissioner has done some great work in Greater Sydney under the remit given by the former Government. However, we need to go further and do more. The statutory position expands the commissioner's role and gives them teeth to work alongside the big government agencies like Transport for NSW, NSW Health and police. We know and understand the risks associated with a siloing effect. The measure will help to ensure that government works as a holistic and cohesive whole rather than a "computer says no" bureaucracy.
Fifthly, the bills reduce red tape with licensing. A commonsense approach to risk will be adopted on liquor regulation, removing outdated rules and beginning work to streamline planning and licensing processes. More efficient consultation will make it easier for venues to open and diversify, and for communities to have their say. In addition, meaningful incentives for venues to feature live music and performances will drive new employment opportunities for creatives and entertainment options for audiences. I cannot stress the importance of that enough. As I mentioned previously, we are losing many of our creative talents to other States or countries because they see no pathways or opportunities to pursue their creative talents as paid ventures.
I will highlight a couple of other aspects of the bills in summary. The COVID pandemic period showed us that Sydney is a city that does alfresco well. It is also a city that is increasingly localised in terms of what we look for when we gather with community members or friends and others. The reforms will, in permanently relaxing the rules for outdoor dining, allow venues to adapt to the changing nature of our broader community and ensure that councils, which are often at the community coalface, will be better supported to ease the way for creatives and community groups to stage things like pop-up events and festivals. That also includes street closures and global pre-approvals for event sites. The importance of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner cannot be overstated. The Government is committed to coordinating across the whole of government to make sure that we have policy driven by data and evidence and that we implement changes to make a meaningful difference to our community. New South Wales is the first jurisdiction in the world to a appoint 24-Hour Economy Commissioner.
