Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Creative arts and the industries are a mainstay of my electorate of Wentworth. They are part of the local culture, they support careers and businesses, they nurture talent and they make our eastern suburbs a vibrant and exciting place to live. And that's why continued support of the arts is crucial for the cultural and social vitality of my community and why I'm fighting so hard to make sure that these sectors are not overlooked for assistance as we go through these difficult pandemic times.

I'm really pleased to announce that an additional $20 million is now going to be going to Support Act to enable Support Act to extend its support beyond the music sector, so it can offer support to artists, creative production and technical crews right across the arts sector. We have also got a further $15 million in assistance going to the sustainability fund, which will help significant Australian arts organisations continue to operate during this period of severe disruption. The National Institute of Dramatic Arts and Opera Australia are just some of the 10 leading organisations that've already benefited from the over $20 million already allocated.

I'm also pleased to announce that under the RISE Fund an additional $1.45 million has been awarded to four organisations in my home electorate: the Australian World Orchestra, Love Police Touring, TEDxSydney Limited and Imagination Workshop—four locally based arts and entertainment sector organisations.

Finally, we're supporting independent cinemas, particularly the Ritz Cinema in Randwick and the Chauvel and Verona cinemas in Paddington. We must not only support our arts, but support our artists, and I'm pleased the government is doing just that.

See this speech in context