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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-18 Daily Xml
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ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:53): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question related to entertainment in Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Pop star Britney Spears is currently undertaking a concert tour of Australia and is scheduled to perform at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on 29 November. Concern has been raised that Ms Spears is lip-syncing during her performances rather than singing live. As a result, the Victorian consumer affairs minister has promised to legislate. I quote from the Herald Sun of 5 November:

Pop stars such as Britney Spears could be forced to disclose whether they lip-sync under new laws to stop fans being ripped off. The State Government wants concert promoters to place alerts on tickets or promotional material if performers plan to mime. Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson said fans deserved to know what they were paying for.

'We believe it is good business practice for concert promoters to make it clear to consumers before they buy tickets whether the performer will be miming, and make this clear on advertising, posters and other promotional materials'...

My questions are:

1. Does the South Australian government consider that the practice of lip-syncing without full disclosure is unfair consumer practice?

2. Does the government consider that the practice is contrary to current South Australian law, or will the government legislate to require full disclosure?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:54): This is a matter that I have to say I have not put my mind to, but—

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: You're a Lady Gaga fan.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I am a Lady Gaga fan, and a Pink fan, too. To the best of my knowledge, my office has not received any letters of complaint about this particular issue. If there are some concerns here in South Australia, I am happy to look at that issue and see whether we need to address it in any way.

My understanding, though, is that she was pretty up-front about lip-syncing and that it was not something that was hidden or avoided publicly, albeit not printed on the ticket. My understanding is that it was pretty well public knowledge that she was lip-syncing. That issue aside, regarding whether or not that needs to be publicly stated as a condition of the ticket, I will check my office to see what level of interest and complaint there has been about it and, if there appears to be some indication of a need to look into this, I am more than happy to do that.

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