Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 5) Bill 2021.

The government needs to support the screen sector. We heard from previous speakers how vital it is to the telling of our Australian stories, and I can only agree 100 per cent with the comments that have been made. In my electorate, like in many other electorates around our country, there are absolute professionals who are so excellent at their jobs in this sector and who have been telling those stories to a grateful nation and to international audiences for a long, long time. As the member for Lyons mentioned in his contribution, there was that first feature film about Ned Kelly and how many times that has been retold over time and given new perspectives. It's vital that we make sure that these excellent Australian professional people are able to be competitive in the world.

The government, those opposite, need to implement Australian content obligations immediately on global streamers, to ensure that our stories—Australian stories—are told. That's so our culture and our values, those values which define us, are displayed on screens where not only Australians but people from all around the world get a sense of our stories, our values and our various and amazing cultures.

Those opposite, the Prime Minister in particular, have wanted to use our Olympians—he has tried to attach himself to them at a time when he has failed when it comes to the vaccine rollout. What he needs to understand is that, as good as our Olympians are, Australian screen professionals are every bit as good. They are world class. They are the best. They represent us around the world. So many of them go overseas to continue to ply their trade, being the professionals that they are. They bring us credibility, whether they're working in Australia or overseas. They bring credibility to Australia because they are excellent at what they do. With support from the federal government, they will be able to do a lot more of it right here in Australia. They are quite brilliant at what they do. I've worked with some of them, but they shake their heads at the lack of understanding from those opposite about how important the telling of these stories is to a nation.

Now, during COVID, as previous speakers have mentioned, we have sometimes taken for granted, I think, being able to binge on some of this content. Due to the great work of the Northern Territory government, I've not spent that much time locked down, but I know that those who have been and continue to be locked down are having more screen time than perhaps they have in a long time. What we will continue to find is that there'll be fewer Australian stories told on those screens if the government doesn't change tack. If the government doesn't act right now then, just like this bungled vaccine rollout, our industry and our content will be left behind, particularly as European and Canadian content obligations swallow up the global revenue and content slots from these massive businesses, these streaming organisations.

In other words, Australian professional workers and Australian film and TV production businesses that are not being supported by the coalition as well as they should be will lose out to international competitors. It would be nice to see more support for them from those opposite by way of this need to put these obligations on the streamers. It would mean that, like our Olympians, they would be able to compete on the international stage. Australian businesses and Australian workers in the creative arts would be able to compete.

Our stories from my electorate—from Darwin and Palmerston—and from the Northern Territory are particularly epic. They are really critical to the definition of who we are and what we want our children to identify with. Our Top End industry has some of the greatest storytellers Australia has to offer, but, unfortunately, their voices will be silenced without a demand for content on these streamers. We welcome the government increasing the offset credit for TV to 30 per cent and retaining the film offset at 40 per cent, because, without these, movies like High Ground would not have been able to be made in the Top End. I use this film as an example, and I know some people who worked on this particular film. For those who haven't seen it, I can really recommend it. It is a stunning film. Not only does it show the stunning landscapes of Arnhem Land; it tells a very important story about First Nations people coming into contact with non-Indigenous Australians. It is a great story about the effect of war on those that go to it and the conflict that happened in our nation, so it really is a vehicle for reconciliation.

Those opposite are not too fond of truth-telling, it must be told. That's why they've seen fit, for some unknown reason—perhaps an aversion to the truth—to not support documentary films. That is short-sighted and unfortunate as well. Those opposite really need to think more about this sector, about the telling of Australian stories and about making our professional people in the screen industry, and in the creative industries more broadly, more competitive against foreign companies in this same sector.

The need for obligations around local content, particularly for these streamers, will make all the difference in the world, to make sure we've got a sustainable industry for job growth and economic growth in this sector—a sector that has been decimated by COVID. We've heard from previous speakers about the lack of support for this sector and for creatives in general from the government. If we can make sure that there are these competitive obligations for streamers then our industry will grow. That will mean more Australians in jobs and more successful Australian companies, and we'll have an industry that reflects who we are as Australians. We need that systemic support for the screen industry. I think one of the previous speakers likened these big Hollywood numbers to a bit of a sugar hit; they employ a lot of people for a short amount of time. They are welcome, of course, but it is this systemic support of the screen industry that will drive growth and, as I said, will make us more competitive internationally.

Cutting support to documentaries is just dumb. It's stupid. Truth-telling will never get us the reform we need in our country. It won't give us the facts. It won't give us the data that, in our busy lives, other than through documentary film-making and good current affairs and investigative journalism, we can find out. The Australian people deserve to have those documentary stories told.

Maybe it is, as another speaker previously mentioned, that those opposite haven't had much to do with the creative industries in their careers. Maybe that's true. I learned, when I started making some films, that a documentary film is a lot of work, employs a lot of people and is really, really important. One of the films was called A Debt of Honour. It is a good example of a film that would not possibly have been made and licensed, but the Nine Network had documentary content obligations. The reason we were able to make this film is that the Nine Network had documentary film obligations. They're important. This film was able to get funded, and Australians, on Anzac Day 2005, when it first screened on Channel Nine, were able to watch an hour-long documentary that told the story of Australia's deep relationship with Timor-Leste from World War II through to the current day. That story had not been told in a documentary format. There was filming in Timor-Leste and in Australia, with veterans from World War II and veterans from INTERFET, telling that story through 1975 and through the intervention to the current day, reflecting the stories of our soldiers in their own words about their deep feelings about not only their country but service to our nation. That film was able to be made because there were these content obligations. Post-production is also something I learnt on that film. You write a script, you go away, you shoot a film, and then the work begins in post-production. That is, unfortunately, where this legislation lets down members of such an impressive and important sector, those who are in post-production jobs in particular.

So what are we on this side on about? We are committed to supporting Australian stories being told—and told by Australian creatives, not people overseas. People from overseas will always be welcome to come and help tell us our stories, but we want Australian companies to succeed and we want Australian workers to come up through the trade and see a career in telling Australian stories. We have a long-term commitment to a well-supported and well-funded Australian film industry. I again encourage those opposite to do more to assist with local content.

Jobs and a talented and creative workforce will enable small to medium sized businesses to produce diverse and quality Australian content that local and international audiences will love to watch. At the end of the day, we are an excellent country and we are great storytellers—from First Nations Australians through to the young people who are making films in my electorate right now telling local stories. They are important stories and we have the ability to tell more of these stories and be internationally competitive if we get behind this vital industry, this vital sector for our nation.

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