Music News:  Oz Artists Rock For Rights

It's funny how musicians get behind those who work proper jobs and long hours - considering they work whenever they feel like it, and generally are drinking heavily throughout. Imagine we could all get high and plastered during office hours! But I digress.

Unions NSW confirmed a live concert event called "Rockin' For Rights" is to follow a Protest March from Hyde Park to the Sydney Cricket Ground in protest of the Federal Government’s new Industrial Relations Laws on Sunday, 22 April, 2007.

The Concert is set to feature the cream of the Blue Collar Australian musical talent including Beasts of Bourbon, Dallas Crane, Hoodoo Gurus, The Whitlams, The Screaming Jets, Youth Group, Something for Kate, Kev Carmody, You Am I, The Herd, Mark Seymour, Magic Dirt and Deni Hines (yep - spot the odd one out!!) with more artists still to be announced. 

The family friendly event will include rides and activities for the kids and will follow a Protest March from Sydney’s Hyde Park.  Entry to the concert will be via wristbands and will be limited to 40,000.

Former Midnight Oil frontman and Labor Member for Kingsford Smith and Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett AM MP (What a mouthful...), said "Never before has there been a more critical time to get out and Rock for our Rights. This incredible line up of Australia's best will bring punters from far and wide whose future work experience is up for grabs under the Howard Government’s Workchoices legislation.  I reckon this will be a mighty event."  Garrett will also be acting as MC on the day, with his head acting as a sun reflector.

Although Mark Seymour hasn’t been directly affected by the reforms, he believes he will, “it's only a matter of time”.  He went on to say “Workchoices is a bridge too far in the drive to de-regulate the Australian workforce. Over the past twenty years Australian workers have accepted and adapted to the affects of market rationalisation. This has led to a high degree of mobility and competitiveness at all levels of the economy. The results are self evident. Workchoices is simply unfair because it undermines basic rights of employment that workers have negotiated and won over the last one hundred years. By participating in the Rockin' for Rights concert I am able to lend my voice to the growing chorus of protest by ordinary Australians who are sick of being deceived the Howard government”.

Rockin’ For Rights! will be held at the SCG - Sunday, 22 April, 2007
March starts 11am from Hyde Park North to the SCG.