Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise and speak on the Australia Council Amendment (Creative Australia) Bill 2023. I'm extremely proud that the launch of this policy happened right in the middle of my electorate of Macnamara—and there's a reason for that! One thing that I'm sure about and that every member right across the parliament can agree on is that Macnamara is the home of our creative sector in Australia. It's definitely something that people in this House know. Macnamara is absolutely at the heart of all cultural activity around the country. We have not only some of Australia's best institutions but also some of the world's best institutions, mixed in with some local and independent companies. We are so fortunate to have so many incredible organisations in my electorate.

If anyone comes to Melbourne, you cannot do so without walking through Southbank, walking past the National Gallery, walking past institutions like the ABC and walking past the big spiral Arts Centre, which is one of the most magnificent theatres in the world. They say Australia has the best opera house, with the outside being in Sydney and the inside being in Melbourne, and you'll know that's absolutely true when you see a production in the Arts Centre. We also have some of the most dynamic and modern theatre companies, like the Malthouse Theatre. In our local backstreets, we have incredible local organisations, like Gasworks Arts Park, which is a real mixture of sculpture, theatre and galleries.

One of my favourite local organisations is Theatre Works in St Kilda. It's a small independent theatre company that is home to some of St Kilda's best local productions. It's a place that really characterises St Kilda. It's just down the road from the Palais Theatre, which is one of the most iconic theatres in Australia and where I'm sure many members of our parliament have seen everything from comedy shows to some of the world's best acts. In case you haven't realised, you should come to Macnamara, come to a show and come and experience some of Australia's best art and productions. That is absolutely what we have to offer.

But it's not just about productions and the creative outlets; it's also about jobs. One in 10 people in my electorate work in the creative sector. It's a significant employer of people. It was only fitting that the launch of Revive happened in Macnamara, in the Gershwin Room of St Kilda's Espy Hotel. That's another great place. If you are in Melbourne, want a night out and want to visit a local watering hole, you could pop into the Espy and enjoy yourself, and the Gershwin Room is one of the best acoustic rooms and one of the best live music rooms.

On the morning of the launch, the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Arts came to our iconic Espy. We had some really incredible artists. We had Deborah Cheetham, who is breathtakingly good. She is an extraordinary artist and singer, and she has helped form a company called Short Black Opera, which is one of the first ensembles led by Indigenous Australians to perform opera and classical music. They are extraordinary and they often play alongside the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras around the country. We had Josh, a didgeridoo player, who really set the tone with very impressive didge playing. Sarah Holland-Batt performed a poem that she had written, and she was very, very impressive as well, but one of the big highlights, of course, was having Missy Higgins come and play a song for the cultural policy. It was a great morning. It was one of the best mornings I've had since winning the election because one thing that was clear about the message coming from our creative sector and coming from all of the wonderful institutions that I'm proud to represent was that we needed a change in cultural policy. In fact we needed a cultural policy.

What the sector was desperate for was, obviously, more funds to support the creation of work and also to take those funds out of government hands and put them back into independent industry led bodies, and that's exactly what we are doing. We, as government, are not there to pick and choose our favourites. There is no doubt that the RISE funding of the previous government went to some worthwhile organisations, and there were organisations in my electorate that were the beneficiary of that funding, and I absolutely don't begrudge them for receiving it, but, in terms of the way in which we are here to design policy, it was not the right way to design policy. Industry should be making decisions about what sort of art they should be funding, not government. Going right back to when George Brandis took money out of the Australia Council and decided to play favourites with the arts sector, we have had a series of coalition governments who, in various forms, were trying to take money out of the Australia Council and put it into projects that they wanted to put it into, and that's wrong. That's not how creative policy should happen, and we are fixing that as part—and it is only one part—of this bill.

This legislative reform is part of a series of legislative reforms that will be there to implement our national cultural policy. We are amending the Australia Council Act, and, while many will be familiar with the name 'the Australia Council', it has had a strong profile in the arts sector and more broadly. But let's go back and go through some of the history of the Australia Council. The Australia Council was the principal Commonwealth arts investment and advisory body since 1975. For nearly half a century, it has been supporting and promoting creative arts practice throughout the country and across all disciplines of the arts. It also provides research and advocacy on issues that affect the sector. For this, it has been recognised nationally and internationally. We want to ensure that the work of the Australia Council continues and is enhanced for the changing and evolving nature of our arts sector so that it is strong and supported for the next 50 years, so we're going to modernise, strengthen and rename the Australia Council. It will be known as 'Creative Australia'.

Through Creative Australia, the arts sector will benefit from greater strategic oversight and engagement. This will go alongside a mechanism for funding decisions that will continue to be at arm's length from government and will make decision on the grounds of artistic merit, not decisions based on favourites of the Liberal Party. Our policy also includes the establishment of independent bodies and funds for First Nations arts and culture, contemporary music and for writers, as well as a Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces. This is an important reform and one that recognises that our theatres, sound recording studios and TV studios must be safe places for all workers. Having project work means that sometimes you have new workplaces, and you are frequently in new workplaces as a creative worker, but that is no excuse for some of the behaviour that we have seen alongside and inside our sector. We are going to support our artists with a strengthened body that will be there to support them and ensure that they have a safe workplace to work in.

As I mentioned at the outset, this is the first in a series of legislative reforms that will implement our national cultural policy. The reason we have staged this approach is to provide an opportunity for consultation to take place in our arts community. However, there are a number of elements that require implementation from 1 July this year, and they are covered in this particular piece of legislation. In addition to giving effect to the name change, this bill will enable the commencement of work on the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces and Music Australia, and bring together Creative Partnerships Australia and the Australian Cultural Fund with the Australia Council. Under the name 'Creative Australia', the role of attracting and recognising public and private sector support for the arts will align with the expertise from within the existing Australia Council to ensure maximum benefits for the arts and for artists. We're also beginning consultation work on quotas for streaming platforms to ensure that, whenever you turn on your TV, there will be Australian content there for our kids and ourselves to enjoy.

Through our national cultural policy, we are committed to improving the quality of Commonwealth investment in the arts sector and to strengthen and streamline access to support, including for artists and arts organisations. This is about making sure that government is there to support our artists and that we value the jobs that are created in our creative sector. But we are not there to pick and choose which art gets funded; that is done by industry. We are ending the days of governments playing favourites. We are going back to the days of governments being there to facilitate Australian stories and to empower Australian artists to do their job.

We all derive enjoyment from the arts. Great art provokes thought, feelings and emotions. We are captivated and we are entertained. But its impact exists beyond these individual responses. The arts are a way that a nation reflects itself to itself and to others. We are richer for having a thriving and vibrant cultural sector. It helps us better understand who we are, and it also helps us show ourselves to the world. I look forward to this thriving under the stewardship of Creative Australia. Our reforms will ensure we have a governance and funding body that meets the expectations of the arts community for another five decades.

I am privileged to be the representative of an electorate with arts at its absolute heart. Macnamara is one of Australia's premier cultural precincts. As the federal member for Macnamara, I will continue to advocate to ensure that our workers in the creative sector are supported to do what they do best. Our local community is much more colourful, inclusive and vibrant through our artists. I'm glad we have prioritised ensuring the arts sector is well governed, well funded and well supported. But most of all, through our national cultural policy, we are demonstrating to the arts that the contribution of the sector is valued. I look forward to seeing what will come, what will be produced, what stories will be told and what the future of our creative sector has for our wonderful community. I commend the bill to the House.

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