Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last month here I raised my concern that Brisbane's live music scene is under threat. The state government is imposing a one-size-fits-all policy that's killing Brisbane's live music industry and our night-life, which in turn is having a negative impact on our city, economically and culturally. Labor's laws aren't fit for purpose; they're straight from a nanny state playbook. Venues are being pushed to the wall and forced to reduce their opening hours to avoid prohibitive additional costs involved in meeting the requirements, including around the way that mandatory ID scanners are being applied. Overwhelmingly, this is impacting on Brisbane's small businesses as well as musicians, sound engineers, hospitality workers and of course all of the patrons, who just love live music.

I'm pleased to report that hundreds of people have raised their voices on this issue and signed my petition in support of live music in Brisbane. The industry is very willing and trying to be constructive to help guide better policy making, suggesting a commonsense approach that applies differently between large venues, small venues and venues that are set up predominantly for stage and live music. The state government needs to show it can listen and act on these concerns before further opportunities dry up for musicians and patrons. As I've done consistently now, I'll continue to campaign for Brisbane's night-life and the live music industry, which makes such an important contribution to our city.