Growing pains in Byron Bay

UNESCO Courier, July, 2000 by Sebastian Chan

Tourist dollars

To begin with, the local council does not make any money from the free-spirited bush parties. Second, these bring-your-own-booze events tend to draw large crowds away from bars and venues in town. The rave crackdown in Sydney (1995) was largely due to pressure from the alcohol industry. So it was not a total surprise to find "police harassment at the parties all throughout the night," as Diamond describes, "from set-up to dawn leading to the confiscation of equipment and charges being laid." For Diamond, the crackdown represented the council's decision "to put the tourist dollar before the artistic desires of the local community."

With the party season quieting down over the colder months, Byron crews are waiting to see how the political climate develops. Meanwhile, Organarchy is working to release more music from Byron locals to reinforce artistic and political independence. "All struggle is local," says Diamond, "global-anything [music industry, tourism, etc.] reeks straight away of something to be consumed in large doses...".

(*.) Journalist, academic and organizer of electronic music events with the Sub Bass Snarl sound system.