Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Heritage, the Arts and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support these bills. These bills, of course, are not unfamiliar to the coalition or to me as shadow minister for the arts. It was the Howard government that determined the film industry was best served with an amalgamation of the three different but like-minded agencies to form a merged Screen Australia. Our bill to effect these changes was made available for public comment in September 2007, and you see it virtually unchanged or identical in wording to this bill presented today.

The Screen Australia Bill 2008 will create a single authority that should more effectively and efficiently serve the great Australian film industry. Screen Australia can then better support what is a culturally very important and financially significant film industry; something that we are all very proud of. We have a long history of producing quality, innovative and culturally significant films. Through international exposure, our film work has helped create our reputation based on both our historic tradition and our view of the future. Film making is a high-risk, high-cost business and one that does need careful government support—especially as governments in other countries like Ireland and New Zealand compete with tax measures that offer alternative locations and production opportunities.

The new entity created through this legislation, Screen Australia, will be responsible for managing support and sponsorship for film projects. Still not yet decided, and an issue which I hope the minister is giving his attention to, is just how the Australian content or Australianness of the films will be determined. Will eligibility for funding be cultural context and content or will it be the country of origin of the various workers in that film itself? That is yet to be decided. The film industry, of course, is very keen to know. Screen Australia will be responsible for managing the Howard government’s film rebate scheme as well as the offshore production rebate that we put in place. It should build on the legacies of the Howard government in this area of the arts, provide a solid vehicle for future expansion and encourage quality work within the Australian film industry.

More specifically, the bill provides for Screen Australia to carry out the following functions: firstly, to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable Australian screen production industry; secondly, to support and engage in the development, production, promotion and distribution of Australian programs, and the provision of access to Australian programs and other programs; and, thirdly, to support and promote the development of a screen culture in Australia. Unfortunately, it is not sufficient to create this new entity. It also has to be adequately funded. There has to be resources for the new administration to be set up. There has to be a lot of extra investment in bedding down this new agency so it can fulfil those important and significant functions. We have already been told that this Labor government has slashed some $3 million over the next four years from what was the Film Commission and what will become part of Screen Australia. So it will be a new agency, but it will be, it would seem, a poorly funded new agency, perhaps strangled at birth unless this minister can become more influential with the razor gang.

The second bill before us is the National Film and Sound Archive Bill 2008. This is a bill to establish an independent agency. The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s pre-eminent audiovisual archive. It is to be found not far from here in its home on a Canberra campus.

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