In an Australian Music Industry first, The Outback Music Festival Group has announced a new "no jab, no jive" vaccination policy across their outback music festival events.
The Outback Music Festival Group are advising all current and future ticket holders, staff, volunteers, contractors and vendors that vaccination will be required to attend Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash, and the iconic Birdsville Big Red Bash in 2022.
All events are staged in remote outback locations and are camping-based, operating over a period of up to five days and nights, with each event attracting a crowd of 10,000 music fans and outback travelers from all corners of Australia.
Founder and managing director of The Outback Music Festival Group, Greg Donovan, said the health and safety of patrons, staff, volunteers, contractors and the local outback communities was the highest priority.
"Staging festivals in such remote locations, where patrons come from all over Australia and travel through small regional and outback communities, many of which have large indigenous populations, has led us to carefully review our position on vaccinations," he said.
"Whilst we respect the choice of individuals as to whether or not they decide to get vaccinated, due to the nature and location of our festivals we have decided to make vaccination a condition of attendance for everyone aged 16 and over - including patrons, staff, contractors, vendors and volunteers.
"This will offer all in attendance the best available protection against COVID-19. It will also ensure that remote communities are protected as much as possible from our patrons travelling through and visiting these towns and communities."
With vaccination roll-out a continued government priority, it is expected that by the time the first Mundi Mundi Bash runs in April next year, everyone who wants to be vaccinated will have had the opportunity to do so.
"Whilst this might impact some people's decision to attend the festivals, we know we've made the right decision to keep everyone, including small regional and outback communities, as safe as possible," he said.
"We understand that this policy introduces a new condition of entry that wasn't in place when current ticket holders of the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash purchased their tickets, so a refund will be available for any ticket holder who will be unable to attend due to this new policy."
