Ballina Electorate Media Releases
Festival Funding Welcomed By Ballina MP (17/04/2009)
Member for Ballina, Don Page, was relieved to hear the NSW Premier, Nathan Rees announce that the decision to cut funding to four music festivals, including the Bangalow Music Festival was now to be reversed.
The Bangalow Music Festival, The Bellingen Jazz Festival, the Tyalgum Classical Music Festival and the Camden Haven Music Festival will now be funded according to the Premier who made the announcement during a recent visit to Bellingen.
“I am pleased that the Premier has reversed his decision. I, along with many others, were aghast at the decision to cut funding to these festivals, which was announced in January this year,” Mr Page said.
“I immediately wrote to the Premier asking that he reverse the decision and I also raised the question in Parliament when it resumed,” he said.
“It is an enormous relief for all of the festival organisers and the communities who host these important cultural events.
“The Bangalow Music Festival has established itself as a music festival of excellence with world-class musicians providing classical music entertainment to locals and visitors alike,” Mr Page said.
“The Music Festivals such as the Bangalow Music Festival provide significant promotion of the local area as well as economic benefits to the local communities,” he said.
“I am personally impressed with the level of skill and professionalism of the organisers of the Bangalow Music Festival, both artistically and administratively, which has also engaged the support of the local community to ensure the success of the Festival.
“For all of these reasons it was clear that the NSW Labor Government’s decision to cut funding was a travesty. I am pleased to see that consideration of the issues I raised has resulted in the reversal of the funding cuts,” Mr Page said.
“In these economic times, events such as these are vital for the cultural and economic wellbeing of small regional communities.”
