Even if you haven’t been following NSW politics, you’re probably familiar with Sydney’s current (and dumb) lockout laws.
Keep Sydney Open began as a social movement in backlash against Sydney’s stupid lockout laws, and has progressed into a fully fledged political party, ready to fight at the state election next month.
Keep Sydney Open has announced their lead candidates and manifesto for the state election on March 23rd, with a focus on preserving music and culture in NSW
KSO embodies the upset amongst musicians, young people and anyone who ever wants to go out at night and is gearing up to fight in response to failed government policies, lack of accountability and transparency, and continuation of creating unnecessary and lousy regulations (*cough, lockout laws, cough, war on festivals, cough*).
With 176 venues being forced to close since the introduction of the lockout laws, something needs to be done.
Lead candidates include:
- Tyson Koh (founder of the KSO movement in 2014, producer of ABC’s music show Rage, and music programmer for events including Sydney Festival, Darling Harbour’s NYE fireworks, and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi),
- Jess Miller (Sydney’s Deputy Lord Mayor from 2016-2017, councillor and current deputy chair of the Environment Committee, sits in on the Disability Panel and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel, and project manager of Republic of Everyone), and
- Jesse Matheson (chair of the Mardi Gras, the Mardi Gras’ Social Justice Committee, and sits on the People and Culture Committee).
KSO’s main policies include repealing the lockout laws, repealing the new festival licensing laws, investing $100mil in music and culture (paid for by reducing pokies subsidies), ending exemption of casinos from three-strikes liquor licensing laws and the violent venues list, and using tax revenue from the pokies to fund gambling addiction support services.
You can read all of Keep Sydney Open’s policies here.
Make sure you are registered to vote on March 23rd to make a change!
