Rabbits Eat Lettuce "faces possible postponement amid political roadblocks"

Much beloved Queensland-based festival Rabbits Eat Lettuce is facing the prospect of postponing its 2025 edition, citing "political roadblocks" as the cause.

The festival shared in a post across its social channels last night that "due to unexpected developments with the Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC), there is a chance we may be unable to proceed with REL Festival this Easter at Cherrabah Resort."

"Despite last year’s festival being a great success that was fully compliant, incident-free, and supported by QLD Police, Ambulance, and Fire services," the statement continued, "SDRC have pre-emptively refused to process our Temporary Event Permit Applications for REL 2025 without following due process."

This year's event, being held on April 17-21 and featuring artists like Yung Singh, Godlands, Ivy Lab, Willo, Luude, Willaris. K and many more, would be the festival's 16th edition.

The festival has faced no shortage of challenges in its lifetime, perhaps most publicly its battle against NSW Police over its Bohemian Beatfreaks development consent approval in 2018, which resulted in the group moving to Queensland for good.

This most recent announcement comes just days after Esoteric Festival announced it would not be going ahead under similar circumstances. In an accompanying statement, REL put these two cancellations down to "mounting pressures facing the music festival industry... instead of working with event organisers to facilitate safe, compliant and culturally enriching experiences, local councils and governments are making it increasingly difficult for festivals to survive, costing jobs and vital tourism dollars for regional communities."

However, unlike Esoteric's announcement, REL have openly cited "political reasons" as the reason behind the rejection of their temporary event applications. As they claim, despite last year's event being supported by QLD police, Ambulance and Fire services, the Southern Downs Regional Council and Mayor have demonstrated a bias against REL while still approving other development applications at REL's venue, Cherrabah Resort.

In a statement published online on February 19, Southern Downs Regional Council cited "incompatibility with the amenity in the rural zone, emergency management, environmental impact and community safety concerns as drivers for the decision.

While 'cultural bias' is difficult to prove, it becomes a relevant talking point when looking at the impact that Rabbits Eat Lettuce has on the area's economy.

The festival shared that an independent 'Economic Impact Assessment' conducted last year found that the Warwick area enjoyed a $3 million injection over a three-week period as a result of the festival. REL has said that "approval of the town planning application (for this year) would have paved the way for up to 12 event days per year, creating a potential $10 million annual boost to the Southern Downs economy. Additionally, the event license would enable Cherrabah Resort to reopen as a year-round tourist facility, bringing even greater economic and employment benefits to the region."

Southern Downs Regional Council's previous statement claims that "while we recognise the potential benefits of hosting large events, we must balance these with the vision and values of our community and ensure we have the right events in the right locations.”

An upcoming council meeting on March 19th is said to be the "final opportunity" to ensure that REL 2025 can go ahead. While the statement does share that in the midst of these issues, ticket sales were stopped and alternative sites and application pathways were explored, it appears that if this is not successful, the festival will be postponed till Easter 2026.

Rabbits Eat Lettuce has encouraged punters to "reach out to Councillors, voice their support for the event, and urge them to allow our permit to be discussed and voted on at the upcoming council meeting."

As of the publishing of Rabbits Eat Lettuce's statement, Southern Downs Regional Council have yet to make another statement of their own.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.