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Byron Shire Music Festival Survey Results

Results from the Byron-ballina greens music festival survey have now been compiled.
Background:
During June this year the local Greens group became aware that some strong feelings were being expressed about the proposed festival site at Yelgun and that some people felt that their views were not being listened to.

Some were saying that only the ‘antis’ were being heard. Others that they had big concerns about festivals in general.

The local Greens group decided to put out a survey so that anyone in the Shire could respond. We advertised it, put paper copies in five outlets and put the survey on a website in late June. We didn’t know what sort of response we would get, but guessed that it would not be big enough to be statistically significant. It would just reflect the views of those who cared enough to fill it in.

We asked about the level of support for music festivals, where they should be, how big they should be and for up to three advantages and disadvantages.

58 people posted back hard copies of the survey and 35 completed electronic versions up to 16 July. Two thirds of these 93 people supported or strongly supported music festivals being held in the Shire.

On 16 July, just four days before the survey was due to close, ‘loyal supporters’ were emailed by Splendour in the Grass and urged to ‘jump online and have your say about music festivals in the Byron Shire’.

Well, it did not take us long to delete the entries from as far away as Melbourne and Toowoomba as the survey was specifically for shire residents. We closed down the site prematurely as our sample was being seriously skewed. We did look at the 143 that came in during these few days from local residents and it was no surprise to find that these locals were far more strongly supportive of festivals, and indeed Yelgun became the preferred site.

Taking the whole sample, that is, those before and after the Splendour email, Byron Bay as a preferred site came in at a very close second to Yelgun. Many people said that they liked their festivals in town.

It is a shame that the process was corrupted in this way. After all, two thirds of our sample was in favour of festivals before our website was bombarded.

Some indicated that they liked big festivals (20 000 or more) although also noting an appreciation of the stresses on infrastructure and residents.

Overwhelmingly the major advantages were cultural/social and economic and the main disadvantages were traffic and noise as well as some negative social impacts.

While some comments were unmistakably in favour eg

‘Leave the Blues Festival alone, you fools’

others were just as anti festivals in this Shire. Most people could see advantages and disadvantages, some even finding the same issue (eg drugs and alcohol) both an advantage and a disadvantage.

However, as one person pointed out, it is not just music festivals.

The most common theme in the comments was that while festivals were good for some people and businesses, care should be taken to respect the lifestyle of the many people who live here.

Many thanks to all those who took the trouble to respond.