March 11, 2024 • 17 mins
Last weekend, a major music festival in Victoria was cancelled due to severe weather warnings, but it's not the first time this has happened. There have been around 45 Aussie music festivals that have been partially or fully cancelled due to weather impacts since 2015. So, with temperatures soaring and climate change an increasing concern, what does the future of festivals look like in Australia?
Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Zara Seidler
Guest: Berish Bilander, CEO of Green Music Australia
Audio producer: Emmeline Peterson
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Already and this is the DAILYA.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is the Daily OS.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday,
the twelfth of March.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I'm zara, I'm emma.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Over the weekend, Pitch Music and Arts Festival in Western
Victoria was canceled halfway through due to an extreme fire
danger amid heat wave condition.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
But it's actually not the first time something like this
has happened. There have been around forty five Ossie music
festivals that have been partially all fully canceled due to
weather impacts since twenty fifteen. So with temperatures soaring and
climate change and increasing concern, what does the future of
festivals look like in Australia. In today's deep dive, we're
(00:54):
speaking to Green Music Australia. They're the national peak body
for Music in the Environment to unpack the impact of
climate change on music festivals and what climate change means
for the future of live music in Australia. But vers Zara,
what's making headlines?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
National domestic violent support service one eight hundred RESPECT is
launching a video chat support line. It comes after one
eight hundred RESPECT launched a text message support service late
last year. Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said video
calls will allow victim survivors to virtually connect face to
face with one eight hundred respect staff, allowing them to
(01:37):
access support without the need for an appointment or travel.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
A missing twelve year old boy has been found safe
and well after a search lasting more than forty eight
hours in Sydney, New South Wales. Police raised concerns for
the boy's welfare after he disappeared on Saturday morning, as
he has down syndrome and is autistic and nonverbal. The
boy was reunited with his family yesterday afternoon. Police thanked
(02:04):
members of the community who assisted in the search.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will table a
voluntary assisted dying bill later this year. The practice is
currently banned under palliod of care laws in France. The bill,
if passed, would bring France in line with neighbouring countries
Switzerland and Belgium. It comes after several months of consultation
with a panel of French citizens, three quarters of whom
(02:30):
ended up being in favor of the law.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
And today's good news. Older residents of Vancouver's Chinatown have
reclaimed a space in their local shopping center for group
tai chi sessions.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So not where I thought that sentence was going to go.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I love all the things. The seniors are part of
a group called Chinatown Together, and they were actually kicked
out of the space last year for not having the
appropriate permissions. The local council or later apologized for their removal.
Chinatown Together member Melody mart told local media that the
neighborhood is a space where people should feel welcome to
(03:09):
practice their culture.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
So last weekend we heard that Pitch, which is a
festival held in Victoria, had been called off early. It
was called off on Sunday. It was meant to run
another few days, and that was due to the risk
of fire. It's by no means the first or the
last festival to be called off because of weather conditions,
But I do feel like it's happening with increased frequency.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Exactly as I said at the top of the episode.
This is just one example of dozens of Ozzi festivals
that have been impacted by extreme weather in recent years,
and experts are telling us that this is only going
to become a more and more frequent conversation, particularly as
the climate emergency worsens. So when you consider that alongside
(04:00):
the impacts of COVID on the music industry, barriers associated
with the cost of living and live music, it really
has not been an easy run for the music and
festival industry. One of the people working hard to raise
awareness about climate change and specifically what it means for
festivals is Bearish Barlander. He is the CEO of Green
(04:22):
Music Australia and he joins us now, Barris, we're talking
today about climate change music festivals. This kind of ongoing
trend that we're seeing of weather impacting festivals, with temperatures soaring,
with the climate becoming more and more unpredictable. What can
(04:42):
you tell us about how that's impacting festivals in Australia.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
It's having a devastating impact. It's really sad to see,
you know, our beloved cultural events often occur around summer
and we're seeing extreme heat, sometimes floods, sometimes fires play havoc. Already,
over forty seven festivals have been partially or fully shut
down since twenty fifteen as a result of extreme weather.
(05:09):
One of the saddest things for us at Green Music
is that the writing was on the wall. Scientists have
been warning us about this for decades, and we've been
advocating for decades for governments to really step up and
do everything they can to minimize the damage so that
we can continue to go and see festivals and outdoor
live music events and enjoy them, which is a cherished
(05:31):
part of our Australian society.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
This might not be a factor that people immediately think
of when they think about festival cancelations. You know, we
have seen on the other side of COVID a raft
of reasons why live music has shifted, everything from staffing
issues to ticket sale issues and the uncertainty of borders.
Back in the peak of COVID, do you think that
(05:54):
there is enough attension on this issue.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Live music was massively hit by COVID, But as we
move forward, I would say more and more people are
becoming increasingly familiar with the issues of climate change and
how these extreme weather events are going to impact their event,
whether or not audiences are aware of it. Behind the scenes,
insurance premiums already going up because there are more and
(06:19):
more claims. If you were to cancel an event last minute,
you've spent millions and millions of dollars and at times
you're insured for that damage so if you're able to
get the claim on it, the next time around, the
insurance company's going to bump the premium. And they're not
just going to bump it for that festival, They're going
to bump it for all of them. So you know,
there are various factors that play behind the scenes that
(06:40):
are making it harder for live music organizers to work
out the best time to hold the event, work out
the best number of people, work out whether the site's
going to be adequate in terms of being able to
get people in and out quickly if emergency services demand it.
So it's already hard to organize a large scale festival,
(07:01):
and I think this is just adding a huge amount
of complexity.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
How big of a burden is that extra climate cost
on organizers in and already, as you say, kind of
vulnerable market.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Look, I don't have exact figures, but what I do
know for sure is that it's going to increase. That
the impact or the degree to which it make or
breaks a festival is going to get more severe over
time as the weather gets more severe, because there is
always an element of unknown when you're putting on these events,
but the degree to which climate change is going to
(07:37):
make floods, fires, extreme heat and other extremes more prevalent.
It just means that, yeah, these events may well need
to be shut down last minute and you just cannot
plan for it.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Can you tell me a bit about green music Australia.
What are you guys pushing for? What do you really
want to see change in this space?
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Our role as the peak body for music and environment
earlier is to advocate for change primarily at government level.
So it's our governments that hold the economic levers. It's
our governments that set regulatory environments and put laws into place,
and they have a really important role in stopping fossil
(08:17):
fuels from being mined, in basically turning off the tap
when it comes to the stuff that's fueling climate change.
They could be ending native logging for example, or other
really damaging deforestation around the country. That's a really core
focus of what we do, and we've managed to work
with artists like Jimmy Barnes Tayman Parlor to try to
(08:38):
get greater action and audience awareness around this issue and
yet even get people voting for the planet when it
comes to election time.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
The catalyst for the conversation this week is of course,
you know, Pitch Festival. When it comes to that kind
of immediate threat, do festival organizers need to rethink their
approach when it comes to you know, physical spaces, evacuation plans,
how they're responding to those situations, even the scheduling of events.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Look, I can't comment directly on Pitch except to say
that from my understanding, they have followed advice of the authorities,
and I think that's the best anyone can do if
it's at this last minute where you're dealing with an
intensely complicated situation and you're trying to work out the
best path forward. But I will say that absolutely we've
seen Falls Festival their lawn site move because of the
(09:31):
just the prohibitive fire danger associated with that site, and
it's very likely that we'll see more and more events
have to make really tough decisions, whether it is locations
that are more central and less regional, which you know
is really sad because festivals are a boon to regional economy.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I think they pumped twelve and a half.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Billion dollars into economy in twenty nineteen, and that's just
an economic lens. You know, they also provide this great
cultural moment, cultural calendar of any regional community.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Do you think that, you know, if there could be
a silver lining here, that there's an opportunity perhaps to
rethink the relationship that Australians have with festivals. You know,
the summer festival slate has always been a big part
of the live music culture in Australia. But you know,
even I think about what Sydney's done with Vivid, which
(10:23):
was this sort of light show in winter to boost
the tourism economy in Sydney in the winter, and that's
now this larger than life bonanza of a thing. Should
there maybe be more of a discussion about the opportunities
of moving away from a summer festival sort of routine.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
That's such a good question, And honestly, I think there's
always opportunities in a crisis. You know, when you face
with these kind of challenges, there may well be promoters
or others that go, wonderful, let's step into a different space,
whether it is a different time of year or a
different location.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
But I really want to keep.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
People focused on the critical thing, which is keeping global
warming below a certain amount, because once it gets above
a certain amount, it doesn't matter what time of year,
our summers will get more intense, but so are our winters,
you know, and it's not necessarily better to hold an
event when you've got a severe flooding situation or a
cold spike. And yeah, look, one of solutions would be
to have everything inside, take everything inside. But you know,
(11:24):
I think outdoor festivals have this special thing. You know,
we have a special relationship with the outdoors in Australia.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
And for our.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Solution to be, let's take everything into an air conditioned,
you know, black box so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I don't think that's a great answer.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
I think that's really would be a sad state of
affairs if that's that's where we end up.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, I suppose sustainability and climate change really, when we're
talking about festivals is a twofold issue. We're talking about
whether or not the extreme weather event is going to
force the festival to close or if the festival goes ahead.
Then the footprint and the impact of that when I
think back to you know, the start of my festival.
(12:03):
Days you're leaving the festival, there's hundreds of tents left behind.
Not to mention the waste, the food waste, the smell,
I'm sure people viscerally know what I'm talking about. What's
the impact of that, How can we improve that space.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
That's something we're working on really closely with a lot
of live music events, and we're finding really.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Great strategies to lower the footprint.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
So you know, whether it is live music venues installing
solar panels on their rooftops or opting for green power
so that every gig played at that music venue from
there on in is less carbon intensive, or whether it's
bands finding ways to tour and create roots that are
more sustainable and have green artist writers that demand no
(12:47):
single use plastics. In the case of festivals, we've worked
really like heavily on waste reduction efforts, but I think
what we've got to realize is there's a limit to
how far we can go. The government needs to be
helping festivals and really all sectors across Australia decarbonized, find
the best solutions and implement them at scale. But the
government also has a really critical role to play in
(13:10):
stopping fossil fuels from being mined, in stopping deforestation.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Do you look to how festivals overseas are doing things.
Are there any lessons that Australian festivals can take from
how sustainability or natural disasters are being managed around the world.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
I really think the climate adaptation space, so managing extreme weather,
is in its infancy and it's in a conversation where
really keen to help along and talk with all the
key stakeholders about it. It's a role that we see
is needed. But I can't think of a clear example
of overseas practices that surpasses what's happening here in Australia
(13:48):
because of the level of unpredictability. You've already got a
million moving parts putting on a large scale event that
to factor in and somehow mitigate for climate change. Is
I just I don't know yet of a perfect solution.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Having said that, there are some great examples overseas of
best practice when it comes to sustainability. There are some
really great examples overseas. There's also some wonderful festivals, although
I must admit some here at home, groups like Strawberry
Fields that completely switch to one hundred percent reusable crockery,
not just the cups, but the crockery as well.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think that's world leading.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Final question before I let you go, you know, I
think as punters, it can feel quite helpless. What would
your advice be to festival goers given the uncharted territory
that we're finding ourselves in.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I empathize so much. It'd be horrible to have, you know,
planned your entire weekend or holidays around some really exciting
important moment and you're going with all your mates and
then you've got a can it in the last minute,
or even get to site and then have to leave
and look. Extreme weather is difficult for anyone, you know,
talk to people that have survived bushfires like it comes
(14:53):
in a very unexpected way, and all of a sudden
you're fighting for your life or you're fighting to keep
your property from burning down. That that is the magnitude
of what we're dealing with here. I think it's often
kind of referenced in the same way as a whole
bunch of other socially constructed problems. But this isn't socially
constructed in so far as we don't have control over
what the weather's going to be like tomorrow. We have
(15:14):
control over whether we're going to burn fossil fuels when
we've being warm by signists to stop it, and we
have been worn for you know, thirty forty fifty years.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
So I would say audience.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Goes should get really angry, and I would hope that
they direct that anger towards the government, whether it's the
state government, your local government can do more, or particularly
our national government.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, I do know, you said, do you you guys
work with artists, Aussie musicians and global artists. I'm sure
that you know that sense of rage is probably there
for them too, because they're missing out on work and
they're the ones not getting paid at the end of
the days as well.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, it's so disruptive for everyone involved.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
And you know, those that are just going to suffer
the most are often those down the end of the chain.
See the audience members that just see the festival evaporate
in the last minute, and certainly artists whose gig just
and disappeared.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
But you know the fact is we need this to
be dressed at a systemic level.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And there are so many music lovers in Australia and
if these people want their beloved festivals to keep happening,
they've got a voice and they can, you know, get angry,
and i'd say get angry at the right people.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Thanks so much for joining us on today's episode of
The Daily Ods. As we updated you in last week's episode,
there's a fair bit going on when it comes to
news on social media at the moment. It's more important
than ever that you support independent media if you can so.
If you enjoyed this episode, we would love if you
could leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast wherever
(16:41):
you are listening. It just shows us that you're listening,
that you're enjoying, and lets us know what you want
more of. Have a great day. My name is Lily
Madden and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Calcuttin woman from
Gadigal Country.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
The Daily Ods ignore knowledges that this podcast is recorded
on the lands of the Gadigal people and pays respect
to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We
pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries,
both past and present.
Already and this is the DAILYA.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is the Daily OS.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday,
the twelfth of March.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I'm zara, I'm emma.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Over the weekend, Pitch Music and Arts Festival in Western
Victoria was canceled halfway through due to an extreme fire
danger amid heat wave condition.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
But it's actually not the first time something like this
has happened. There have been around forty five Ossie music
festivals that have been partially all fully canceled due to
weather impacts since twenty fifteen. So with temperatures soaring and
climate change and increasing concern, what does the future of
festivals look like in Australia. In today's deep dive, we're
(00:54):
speaking to Green Music Australia. They're the national peak body
for Music in the Environment to unpack the impact of
climate change on music festivals and what climate change means
for the future of live music in Australia. But vers Zara,
what's making headlines?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
National domestic violent support service one eight hundred RESPECT is
launching a video chat support line. It comes after one
eight hundred RESPECT launched a text message support service late
last year. Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said video
calls will allow victim survivors to virtually connect face to
face with one eight hundred respect staff, allowing them to
(01:37):
access support without the need for an appointment or travel.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
A missing twelve year old boy has been found safe
and well after a search lasting more than forty eight
hours in Sydney, New South Wales. Police raised concerns for
the boy's welfare after he disappeared on Saturday morning, as
he has down syndrome and is autistic and nonverbal. The
boy was reunited with his family yesterday afternoon. Police thanked
(02:04):
members of the community who assisted in the search.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will table a
voluntary assisted dying bill later this year. The practice is
currently banned under palliod of care laws in France. The bill,
if passed, would bring France in line with neighbouring countries
Switzerland and Belgium. It comes after several months of consultation
with a panel of French citizens, three quarters of whom
(02:30):
ended up being in favor of the law.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
And today's good news. Older residents of Vancouver's Chinatown have
reclaimed a space in their local shopping center for group
tai chi sessions.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So not where I thought that sentence was going to go.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I love all the things. The seniors are part of
a group called Chinatown Together, and they were actually kicked
out of the space last year for not having the
appropriate permissions. The local council or later apologized for their removal.
Chinatown Together member Melody mart told local media that the
neighborhood is a space where people should feel welcome to
(03:09):
practice their culture.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
So last weekend we heard that Pitch, which is a
festival held in Victoria, had been called off early. It
was called off on Sunday. It was meant to run
another few days, and that was due to the risk
of fire. It's by no means the first or the
last festival to be called off because of weather conditions,
But I do feel like it's happening with increased frequency.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Exactly as I said at the top of the episode.
This is just one example of dozens of Ozzi festivals
that have been impacted by extreme weather in recent years,
and experts are telling us that this is only going
to become a more and more frequent conversation, particularly as
the climate emergency worsens. So when you consider that alongside
(04:00):
the impacts of COVID on the music industry, barriers associated
with the cost of living and live music, it really
has not been an easy run for the music and
festival industry. One of the people working hard to raise
awareness about climate change and specifically what it means for
festivals is Bearish Barlander. He is the CEO of Green
(04:22):
Music Australia and he joins us now, Barris, we're talking
today about climate change music festivals. This kind of ongoing
trend that we're seeing of weather impacting festivals, with temperatures soaring,
with the climate becoming more and more unpredictable. What can
(04:42):
you tell us about how that's impacting festivals in Australia.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
It's having a devastating impact. It's really sad to see,
you know, our beloved cultural events often occur around summer
and we're seeing extreme heat, sometimes floods, sometimes fires play havoc. Already,
over forty seven festivals have been partially or fully shut
down since twenty fifteen as a result of extreme weather.
(05:09):
One of the saddest things for us at Green Music
is that the writing was on the wall. Scientists have
been warning us about this for decades, and we've been
advocating for decades for governments to really step up and
do everything they can to minimize the damage so that
we can continue to go and see festivals and outdoor
live music events and enjoy them, which is a cherished
(05:31):
part of our Australian society.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
This might not be a factor that people immediately think
of when they think about festival cancelations. You know, we
have seen on the other side of COVID a raft
of reasons why live music has shifted, everything from staffing
issues to ticket sale issues and the uncertainty of borders.
Back in the peak of COVID, do you think that
(05:54):
there is enough attension on this issue.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Live music was massively hit by COVID, But as we
move forward, I would say more and more people are
becoming increasingly familiar with the issues of climate change and
how these extreme weather events are going to impact their event,
whether or not audiences are aware of it. Behind the scenes,
insurance premiums already going up because there are more and
(06:19):
more claims. If you were to cancel an event last minute,
you've spent millions and millions of dollars and at times
you're insured for that damage so if you're able to
get the claim on it, the next time around, the
insurance company's going to bump the premium. And they're not
just going to bump it for that festival, They're going
to bump it for all of them. So you know,
there are various factors that play behind the scenes that
(06:40):
are making it harder for live music organizers to work
out the best time to hold the event, work out
the best number of people, work out whether the site's
going to be adequate in terms of being able to
get people in and out quickly if emergency services demand it.
So it's already hard to organize a large scale festival,
(07:01):
and I think this is just adding a huge amount
of complexity.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
How big of a burden is that extra climate cost
on organizers in and already, as you say, kind of
vulnerable market.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Look, I don't have exact figures, but what I do
know for sure is that it's going to increase. That
the impact or the degree to which it make or
breaks a festival is going to get more severe over
time as the weather gets more severe, because there is
always an element of unknown when you're putting on these events,
but the degree to which climate change is going to
(07:37):
make floods, fires, extreme heat and other extremes more prevalent.
It just means that, yeah, these events may well need
to be shut down last minute and you just cannot
plan for it.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Can you tell me a bit about green music Australia.
What are you guys pushing for? What do you really
want to see change in this space?
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Our role as the peak body for music and environment
earlier is to advocate for change primarily at government level.
So it's our governments that hold the economic levers. It's
our governments that set regulatory environments and put laws into place,
and they have a really important role in stopping fossil
(08:17):
fuels from being mined, in basically turning off the tap
when it comes to the stuff that's fueling climate change.
They could be ending native logging for example, or other
really damaging deforestation around the country. That's a really core
focus of what we do, and we've managed to work
with artists like Jimmy Barnes Tayman Parlor to try to
(08:38):
get greater action and audience awareness around this issue and
yet even get people voting for the planet when it
comes to election time.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
The catalyst for the conversation this week is of course,
you know, Pitch Festival. When it comes to that kind
of immediate threat, do festival organizers need to rethink their
approach when it comes to you know, physical spaces, evacuation plans,
how they're responding to those situations, even the scheduling of events.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Look, I can't comment directly on Pitch except to say
that from my understanding, they have followed advice of the authorities,
and I think that's the best anyone can do if
it's at this last minute where you're dealing with an
intensely complicated situation and you're trying to work out the
best path forward. But I will say that absolutely we've
seen Falls Festival their lawn site move because of the
(09:31):
just the prohibitive fire danger associated with that site, and
it's very likely that we'll see more and more events
have to make really tough decisions, whether it is locations
that are more central and less regional, which you know
is really sad because festivals are a boon to regional economy.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I think they pumped twelve and a half.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Billion dollars into economy in twenty nineteen, and that's just
an economic lens. You know, they also provide this great
cultural moment, cultural calendar of any regional community.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Do you think that, you know, if there could be
a silver lining here, that there's an opportunity perhaps to
rethink the relationship that Australians have with festivals. You know,
the summer festival slate has always been a big part
of the live music culture in Australia. But you know,
even I think about what Sydney's done with Vivid, which
(10:23):
was this sort of light show in winter to boost
the tourism economy in Sydney in the winter, and that's
now this larger than life bonanza of a thing. Should
there maybe be more of a discussion about the opportunities
of moving away from a summer festival sort of routine.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
That's such a good question, And honestly, I think there's
always opportunities in a crisis. You know, when you face
with these kind of challenges, there may well be promoters
or others that go, wonderful, let's step into a different space,
whether it is a different time of year or a
different location.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
But I really want to keep.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
People focused on the critical thing, which is keeping global
warming below a certain amount, because once it gets above
a certain amount, it doesn't matter what time of year,
our summers will get more intense, but so are our winters,
you know, and it's not necessarily better to hold an
event when you've got a severe flooding situation or a
cold spike. And yeah, look, one of solutions would be
to have everything inside, take everything inside. But you know,
(11:24):
I think outdoor festivals have this special thing. You know,
we have a special relationship with the outdoors in Australia.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
And for our.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Solution to be, let's take everything into an air conditioned,
you know, black box so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I don't think that's a great answer.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
I think that's really would be a sad state of
affairs if that's that's where we end up.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, I suppose sustainability and climate change really, when we're
talking about festivals is a twofold issue. We're talking about
whether or not the extreme weather event is going to
force the festival to close or if the festival goes ahead.
Then the footprint and the impact of that when I
think back to you know, the start of my festival.
(12:03):
Days you're leaving the festival, there's hundreds of tents left behind.
Not to mention the waste, the food waste, the smell,
I'm sure people viscerally know what I'm talking about. What's
the impact of that, How can we improve that space.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
That's something we're working on really closely with a lot
of live music events, and we're finding really.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Great strategies to lower the footprint.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
So you know, whether it is live music venues installing
solar panels on their rooftops or opting for green power
so that every gig played at that music venue from
there on in is less carbon intensive, or whether it's
bands finding ways to tour and create roots that are
more sustainable and have green artist writers that demand no
(12:47):
single use plastics. In the case of festivals, we've worked
really like heavily on waste reduction efforts, but I think
what we've got to realize is there's a limit to
how far we can go. The government needs to be
helping festivals and really all sectors across Australia decarbonized, find
the best solutions and implement them at scale. But the
government also has a really critical role to play in
(13:10):
stopping fossil fuels from being mined, in stopping deforestation.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Do you look to how festivals overseas are doing things.
Are there any lessons that Australian festivals can take from
how sustainability or natural disasters are being managed around the world.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
I really think the climate adaptation space, so managing extreme weather,
is in its infancy and it's in a conversation where
really keen to help along and talk with all the
key stakeholders about it. It's a role that we see
is needed. But I can't think of a clear example
of overseas practices that surpasses what's happening here in Australia
(13:48):
because of the level of unpredictability. You've already got a
million moving parts putting on a large scale event that
to factor in and somehow mitigate for climate change. Is
I just I don't know yet of a perfect solution.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Having said that, there are some great examples overseas of
best practice when it comes to sustainability. There are some
really great examples overseas. There's also some wonderful festivals, although
I must admit some here at home, groups like Strawberry
Fields that completely switch to one hundred percent reusable crockery,
not just the cups, but the crockery as well.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think that's world leading.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Final question before I let you go, you know, I
think as punters, it can feel quite helpless. What would
your advice be to festival goers given the uncharted territory
that we're finding ourselves in.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I empathize so much. It'd be horrible to have, you know,
planned your entire weekend or holidays around some really exciting
important moment and you're going with all your mates and
then you've got a can it in the last minute,
or even get to site and then have to leave
and look. Extreme weather is difficult for anyone, you know,
talk to people that have survived bushfires like it comes
(14:53):
in a very unexpected way, and all of a sudden
you're fighting for your life or you're fighting to keep
your property from burning down. That that is the magnitude
of what we're dealing with here. I think it's often
kind of referenced in the same way as a whole
bunch of other socially constructed problems. But this isn't socially
constructed in so far as we don't have control over
what the weather's going to be like tomorrow. We have
(15:14):
control over whether we're going to burn fossil fuels when
we've being warm by signists to stop it, and we
have been worn for you know, thirty forty fifty years.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
So I would say audience.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Goes should get really angry, and I would hope that
they direct that anger towards the government, whether it's the
state government, your local government can do more, or particularly
our national government.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, I do know, you said, do you you guys
work with artists, Aussie musicians and global artists. I'm sure
that you know that sense of rage is probably there
for them too, because they're missing out on work and
they're the ones not getting paid at the end of
the days as well.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, it's so disruptive for everyone involved.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
And you know, those that are just going to suffer
the most are often those down the end of the chain.
See the audience members that just see the festival evaporate
in the last minute, and certainly artists whose gig just
and disappeared.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
But you know the fact is we need this to
be dressed at a systemic level.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And there are so many music lovers in Australia and
if these people want their beloved festivals to keep happening,
they've got a voice and they can, you know, get angry,
and i'd say get angry at the right people.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Thanks so much for joining us on today's episode of
The Daily Ods. As we updated you in last week's episode,
there's a fair bit going on when it comes to
news on social media at the moment. It's more important
than ever that you support independent media if you can so.
If you enjoyed this episode, we would love if you
could leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast wherever
(16:41):
you are listening. It just shows us that you're listening,
that you're enjoying, and lets us know what you want
more of. Have a great day. My name is Lily
Madden and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Calcuttin woman from
Gadigal Country.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
The Daily Ods ignore knowledges that this podcast is recorded
on the lands of the Gadigal people and pays respect
to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We
pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries,
both past and present.
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