Organisers of the Sydney Royal Easter Show have clarified their stance on rap music being banned at this year’s event, claiming their intentions had been misconstrued upon the ban’s announcement.

Brock Gilmour – chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, said that rap music could in fact be played at the Easter Show, so long as it abides by the condition that it’s “quite pleasant and [does not contain] offensive language”. He also stressed that NSW Police had no part in establishing the ban, with the RAS having made that decision independently; the board’s president, Michael Millner, reportedly expressed support for it. 

Support for the ban has not been unanimous within civil liberties bodies, however. Josh Pallas – president of NSW’s Council of Civil Liberties – said the ban reflected an abuse of power on the part of those in charge: “In a way it’s thought-policing because rap music is just another instance of free expression. 

“If police have clear evidence of the way this music is complicit in recruiting people into gangs, they need to be far more transparent and specific in producing that publicly. Show us the evidence.”

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