An annual festival near Canberra could have run its race if emergency authorities have their way.
Police, Rural Fire, State Emergency and NSW Ambulance Services will object to any future Dragon Dreaming festival at its current Wee Jasper location, north-west of the nation’s capital.
The event is usually held in November each year; however, its approval to run in the rural area expires next September.
“We have a very positive relationship with the event organisers, but we just cannot mitigate the risks, no matter how many resources we throw at the location,” said Yass Police inspector Alison Brennan.
Inspector Brennan said the location posed a number of threats to safety and that Dragon Dreaming organisers did not have an emergency evacuation plan.
Dragon Dreaming is host to a diverse crowd, aged from infants-in-arms to adults.
In 2015, a 23-year-old Sydney woman died from drug-related causes at the festival; and this year, drug detection rates were higher than ever before.
Further, two people were taken to hospital in 2018. One was conveyed in response to a heart problem and the other was the result of a domestic argument.
It takes an hour to reach the nearest hospital from Wee Jasper and emergency vehicles must take long, potentially treacherous roads. On site, emergency services rely on a single-lane track to enter and exit, enclosed by hills and heavy shrub.
“Then, add a high volume of traffic and people driving on drugs. It’s too high-risk,” inspector Brennan said.
Firefighters also responded to safety and access issues over the festival weekend in 2018, said NSW RFS superintendent Peter Alley.
“From a bush fire point of view, the festival is always held around November. We had a total fire ban on the first day of this year’s festival and the rating was very high risk over the weekend,” Supt Alley said.
“If we had bad weather in the future, trying to get 5000 people out safely would be a nightmare,” he said.
Yass Valley Council said it would consider the objections when assessing an application for the festival to stay in Wee Jasper.
“The operators will need to respond to these concerns and, if they don’t, I think they’ll be falling short of the mark,” said director of planning Chris Berry.
The Dragon Dreaming festival organisers have been contacted for comment.
