Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

One of the marks of nationhood is artistic expression that reflects our national culture. This week a delegation came to Parliament House under the theme 'Make it Australian: our stories on screen'. This group included Judy Davis, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Philip Noyce, Gillian Armstrong, Andrew Knight, Ellie Beaumont, Jo Porter, Anita Jacoby and Michael Tear. What we have there is the best of Australian creativity. We need to make sure that Australian stories can be told and seen. Recently, I saw the movie adaptation of Tim Winton's novel Breath, an amazing movie that should be seen by all Australians. The stories that we see on TV, like SeaChange and Rake, tell the story about who we are and what we are as a nation. They help us look at ourselves. They help us laugh at ourselves, which is of course the Australian way.

Australia has a rich artistic tradition that began way back, tens of thousands of years ago, with the great art of the First Australians. The oldest art in the world is on rocks and on bark right here in Australia. Today, that tradition continues, along with those who have made Australia their home since the 18th century.

The government have a critical role in supporting the arts sector. This is important for our economy but important also for our culture. A delegation of industry figures asked us to support their industry. They want us to maintain quotas for locally made children's programs and drama. They want us to impose local content obligations on streaming services. They want us to continue to provide adequate funding for public broadcasters and screen agencies. I'm very proud that Labor have announced that we will reverse the cuts to the ABC and we'll stop the attacks that have occurred on the ABC and SBS.

The fact is that culture is important, and the culture of this island continent is different from the rest of the world. The stories of the melting pot that is Australia need to be seen and need to be told, and through the arts is how we do that. I'm very proud that I represent an electorate that has a very high proportion of creative artists from across the sector—writers, actors, producers and others involved in the arts. I call upon the government to recognise the need to support that sector.

See this speech in context