Over 150 People Were Barred From A Sydney Music Festival Despite Not Carrying Any Drugs

Two weeks ago — in the lead up to an Above and Beyond gig in Sydney — the NSW Police publicly announced a new policy that would see them deny entry to any gig-goer who sniffer dogs “indicated” was carrying drugs, regardless of whether police actually found any drugs on them.

Despite a public outcry — and the Greens anti-sniffer dog initiative Sniff Off seeking an injunction in the NSW Supreme Court — the police went ahead with the policy at the gig, which resulted in five punters being refused entry, with some handed six-month bans from the Sydney Olympic Park venue. In one case a 23-year-old woman was denied entry because the drug dog picked up that she was carrying Vicks nasal decongestant.

But it turns out this policy was being enacted before the NSW Police publicly announced it: yesterday, triple j’s Hack revealed that more than 150 people were barred from a music event in May, despite not being found carrying drugs. 187 people were searched and turned away from the Midnight Mafia gig, but only 35 of those actually were found with drugs.

Thirty of the evicted punters who weren’t found with drugs have now joined with the Greens and Sniff Off to potentially launch a class action against the NSW Police.

“Even though each individual’s claim may be relatively small — the loss of enjoyment, going to a concert, the personal difficulties they have on their night, the loss of ticket, or the travel costs — but when you bring all of these claims together that’s when you have a viable action,” Greens MP David Shoebridge told Hack. “That’s when you get the critical mass to hold organisations the size of the NSW Police to account.

“We really are just trying to work out the most viable course of action whether it’s a case that the police exceeded their statutory powers, whether the police potentially engaged in what’s called an intentional tort of trespass against individuals,” Shoebridge added. “Or it may even be based on consumer protection laws.”

A spokesperson for the NSW Police told Hack that if a person is “suspected of drugs or alcohol”, they will be refused entry into the event.

“Our top priority for police is the safety of all event staff, performers and music fans throughout the festival,” they said. “We want everyone to have a great time but we won’t tolerate behaviour that risks the safety of others.”

Just this morning, harm minimisation organisation STA-SAFE handed down their full report from the pill-testing trial held at Canberra’s Groovin’ the Moo earlier this year. The report found that only 43 percent of substances tested matched what patrons were expecting — that is, it revealed punters had had very little idea of what they were actually taking.

Of the 85 samples tested, two were found to contain deadly substances.

Here is Australia’s first official #pilltesting service in numbers:
128 participants
85 samples tested
50% was ‘other’ (lactose, sweetener, paint)
50% was pure MDMA
2 of the samples were deadly
So, harm reduced.
We did it.

— Matt Noffs (@mattnoffs) April 29, 2018