The advent of the vaccine certificate is a relief and a step in the right direction, the organiser of two major summer festivals says.
Photo: Rhythm and Vines 2019
Hamish Pinkham is the founder and director of Rhythm and Vines which also runs Rhythm and Alps in the Cardrona Valley.
He told Checkpoint the vaccine certificate announcement provides clarity to the events industry that has been "in a holding pattern the last few weeks".
"It's a relief we've got some direction ...we can start to implement some of the direction we've got today.
"As promoters we can start now to work towards running safe and secure events within a pandemic."
He said there is still a lot to work through such as how the certificate will be activated, and how festivals will work with those who won't be vaccinated.
They need entry to the festival to be seamless, so are looking forward to more clarity on how enforcement will be implemented.
"We need some assurance it'll be ready in time for our events… We're in October now and for us Rhythm and Vines is not a small project to pull together."
He is waiting for level 1 and there would need to be serious conversations by the end of November if there wasn't progress.
"The government want to make it happen so we've just got to take each week as it comes. Getting vaccinated is going to be a big part of that so we're encouraging our punters to get on board ....let's get on with it."
Refunds would be given to fans who did not intend to be fully vaccinated, Pinkham said.
"We won't be in a position to host people who are unvaccinated from the news today."
