The battle over busking that has blown up on George Street

3 months ago 26

When Ula Venckus was 16, she decided that instead of cooking fries at McDonald’s, she would busk.

For six years, the 22-year-old has travelled from western Sydney to play on Sydney’s busiest streets. But busking, which she credits for establishing her career as a musician and social media star, faces a sudden clampdown.

Ula Venckus has travelled to the CBD for six years from Parramatta to busk on some of Sydney’s most populated streets.

The City of Sydney emailed registered buskers on Monday saying busking would be restricted to six street corners on George Street effective immediately.

In these sites, known as “special pitches”, buskers can perform an hour a day each between 11am and 10pm.

“[Before], you could basically play anywhere on George Street,” Venckus said. “As long as you weren’t causing any trouble, you could play in reasonable locations ... all of us, we’re in a state of shock.”

The council said the sites were chosen with safety around the light rail in mind. Premier Chris Minns acknowledged safety concerns but said if it was “a Trojan horse to try and cut down on fun” it would be “a huge mistake”.

A City of Sydney spokesperson said: “In a small number of high-traffic areas like George Street and Pitt Street Mall, it is necessary for us to manage busking activity to balance public safety and harmonious shared use of the spaces. Not all locations along George Street are safe for buskers to set up.”

They said “heavily impacted businesses and residents” had raised 311 concerns about busking in the year to September, and of those, 224 were about George Street.

The council’s busking policy was reviewed this year, but performers say the proposed changes were not clearly communicated. Four buskers provided feedback to the council.

After the outcry, Lord Mayor Clover Moore pledged to review the changes with the goal of finding more places for buskers to play.

“The most significant change is that we have identified specific spots along George Street that are safe and don’t force pedestrians in front of the light rail. These sites were chosen because they were places where busking was already working well,” Moore said.

“I’m sorry these changes came as a shock to some buskers. I want to let you know I’ve heard you.”

In a letter to Moore on Wednesday, Sydney’s “core busking community” appealed for the policy to be reversed and for a better consultation process.

“If you want Sydney busking culture to continue, we ask that the policy changes are reversed and reviewed with proper engagement of the busking community and the broader general public,” it said.

Pianist Nick Pollock busks in George Street, Sydney, on a rainy Wednesday.

Pianist Nick Pollock fears the crackdown will force performers who rely on busking for a living to move interstate.

“I would say in Sydney, there are probably a few hundred people who are able to make a living out of just busking,” Pollock said. “I don’t understand how street art can exist under these rules, where there are only six positions on George Street, which is far less than the people who need to use it as their job.”