Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:44): My constituency question is for the Minister for Creative Industries. The Butterfly Club is a small theatre in the Melbourne CBD. Currently industry restrictions are written in such a way to limit their capacity to 75 per cent of the auditorium. They are also imposing a limit of one person per 2 square metres in their foyer. In practice this limits the capacity of the Butterfly Club and similar theatres to the size of their foyers, because the 50 per cent quotient will always be lower than the 75 per cent limit of their auditorium. While this may be fine for a packed place like the Comedy Theatre, the problem is exponentially worse for a smaller theatre like the Butterfly Club. Larger venues routinely operate presenting a single performance. Will the minister investigate how restrictions might be eased so that smaller venues like the Butterfly Club can be accommodated so as to ensure they can keep operating safely through COVID restrictions?
Fiona Patten MP
Leader of Reason
Member for Northern Metropolitan Region
Constituency question asked 4/2/21
