Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mozart's in the House! God help us!

'Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.' These are the words of Albert Einstein, the father of relativity; a famous physicist, who understood the importance of arts and culture to our lives. He knew that arts and culture enrich everyday life.

Labor governments and cultural policy go hand in hand. Australia's modern cultural policy commenced with Gough Whitlam's announcement of funds, to establish what would become the Australia Council for the Arts, the primary arts funding and advisory body for the country, in 1973. It was the first time that an Australian federal government had formally developed a cultural policy.

Then, in 1994, by then Prime Minister Paul Keating developed Creative Nation, and that was born. That report emphasised culture's importance to national identity and defined 'culture' more broadly than earlier conceptions by including film, radio, libraries and more. It also stressed the economic potential of cultural activity and the arts, stating that:

This cultural policy is also an economic policy. Culture creates wealth. Broadly defined, our cultural industries generate 13 billion dollars a year. Culture employs. Around 336,000 Australians are employed in culture-related industries. Culture adds value, it makes an essential contribution to innovation, marketing and design. It is a badge of our industry.

And then, in 2013, Creative Australia was introduced by Julia Gillard's Labor government. That was designed to modernise our cultural policy and set out pathways to provide a strategic framework for the next 10 years. That policy described the essential role that arts and culture play in the life of every Australian and how creativity is central to Australia's economic and social success—that a creative nation is a productive nation. Described by then Minister for the Arts, Simon Crean, Creative Australia was a 'national cultural policy for the decade', creating excellence in the arts, creating jobs, creating opportunity and creating unique Australian stories, which are all vital to an outward-looking, competitive and confident nation. It was a comprehensive action plan to drive an arts, education, creativity and innovation sector for a decade from 2013—except, in September of that year, the Liberals came to power and scrapped Creative Australia, and replaced it with: nothing; nothing at all.

The complete lack of a cultural policy over the following nine years of deliberately neglectful Liberal administration of the arts made the sector susceptible to harm, neglect and policy drift. The arts industry suffered from cuts and political interference under the Liberals, and one of the worst examples was the $100 million cut made to the Australia Council to pay for then arts minister George Brandis's Catalyst program. Catalyst was Senator Brandis's personal plaything, a $100 million lolly bag to be handed out to artists and organisations that won his favour. All that was missing from that scandal was a powdered wig and a pug on his lap as he bestowed his largesse upon the little people.

Before COVID arrived, the Australia Council's financing had not fully recovered from these reductions. The Liberals then abandoned Australian musicians and artists completely during the pandemic. I recall the words of the member for Sturt, talking so sincerely, it seemed, about how important it was to have direct funding for artists and musicians. And yet we all remember the COVID years. The Liberals could not even acknowledge that artists are workers, with the COVID wage subsidy for everybody else, deliberately designed to exclude artists and arts workers. While the RISE fund did some good, it was set up as a fund where ministers could personally choose pet projects to fund. Our government respects theatre and respects workers in the arts for the contribution they make both to culture and the economy.

Dr Scott East, a lecturer in museum studies and an expert in cultural data, from the University of New South Wales School of Art and Design, is part of a team of academics working on the Australian Cultural Data Engine. The ACDE—unfortunately, we didn't quite get there with AC/DC—is currently examining biographical data on more than 150,000 artists, architects and performers, and studying the rise and fall of arts organisations since 1945. In a recent article in March, he said:

We've had a cultural policy vacuum on a national level for over a decade and this new policy picks up on this, as well as addressing post-pandemic discontent in the arts.

When they work well, cultural policies can facilitate an important vision—bringing the entire arts sector together to work towards something bold and exciting.

Cultural policies can play an important role in shaping and promoting Australian identity. They can also nurture the creativity of domestic talent and help increase access and participation of everyday citizens in cultural activities.

That sounds like a hell of a lot more than a name change, as the member for Sturt was alleging.

Tasmania has a rich arts and creativity sector. It has a thriving arts scene that draws inspiration from its breathtaking natural landscapes, rich cultural heritage and a strong community spirit. From traditional Aboriginal art to contemporary exhibitions and performances, Tasmania has become a haven for artists seeking to push boundaries and showcase their talents. Festivals known throughout the country, like the winter Mona Foma event, the Festival of Voices and Ten Days on the Island, showcase our talents and bring people from far and wide to celebrate our unique island state and its remarkable and talented artists. I've got to mention MONA down there in Hobart, in the electorate of Clark; what David Walsh has done there has reinvigorated the idea of arts and what role it can play in community life. It is an absolutely breathtaking example of modern art.

The Glover Prize and the Bay of Fires winter arts festival are just two of many regional arts groups in my electorate that promote our region on a national level, promoting and celebrating local artists. The Tasmanian Craft Fair and WinterFire are both events out at Deloraine, in the Meander Valley, and they bring people out in droves to see the wonderful creations of our local makers and producers. We are richly imbued with creative people, and our policy, the legislation before the House now, drives a direction for that.

On top of all this, TV and film is increasingly being shot in Tasmania. Forget South Australia—it's flat and dry; nothing to see there! Come to Tasmania. We've got forests, seas, coasts. We've got everything—beautiful light, old towns. That's where you need to be showing your film and TV. Come to Tasmania. Unfortunately, there is an overrepresentation of Gothic cannibalism in some of the films that have been made, but, nevertheless, it all showcases the appeal and potential of the arts in Tasmania. On a serious note, our creatives find it difficult to shine with a lack of structure to their work and without the support and funding they need. That's what they're going to get from Creative Australia and Revive.

The Albanese Labor government's new national cultural policy, Revive, is a new chapter in Australia's cultural story that sets the course for Australia's arts, entertainment and cultural sector for the next five years. Revive will empower our talented artists and arts organisations to thrive and grow, unlocking new opportunities, reaching new audiences and telling stories in compelling new ways. It will bring drive, direction and vision back to this $17 billion industry which employs an estimated 400,000 Australians, after a lost decade of federal policy drift, funding neglect and, frankly, petty politics.

Backed by $286 million in dedicated funding over four years, Revive's centrepiece is the establishment of Creative Australia. Creative Australia will be the government's new principal arts investment and advisory body. The governing body of Creative Australia will continue to be known as the Australia Council. Creative Australia will expand on and modernise the Australia Council's work with additional funding of $200 million over four years, restoring the money cut by the former Liberal and National government. Funding decisions will be made on the basis of artistic merit and at arm's length from government. You can support arts in government without dictating what it has to be.

Within Creative Australia four new bodies will be established, including a new, First Nations led body that will give First Nations people autonomy over decisions and investments. It will invest in First Nations languages and develop a First Nations creative workforce strategy.

There'll be Music Australia, a dedicated new body to support and invest in the Australian contemporary music industry. It'll create music hubs and develop a workforce plan to identify skill and training needs. It'll deliver songwriting and recording initiatives into schools and pilot a program to support access to art and music therapy.

There'll be Writers Australia to support writers and illustrators in creating new works. It'll develop national industry initiatives and international markets to maximise exposure—and I give a quick shout-out to a friend of mine, Jason Chatfield, living in New York. He is a great illustrator, a young bloke who I met many years ago in Fremantle. He is a great example of an Australian doing well overseas. He draws Ginger Meggs. Unfortunately, a lot of the newspapers have stopped running the cartoons now, but still we plug for our illustrators. They do great work.

There will be the new Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces to ensure creative workers are paid fairly and have safe workplaces free from harassment and discrimination. That's an important element to all this. We are treating arts workers as workers.

Revive is built on five pillars and puts First Nations first, recognising and respecting the crucial place of these stories at the heart of our national arts and culture. That's why, in addition to the Creative Australia First Nations body, Revive commits the government to introducing legislation to protect First Nations knowledge and cultural expressions, including the harm caused by fake art; developing a First Nations creative workforce strategy; funding the establishment of a national Aboriginal art gallery in Alice Springs and an Aboriginal cultural centre in Perth—and I know the member for Fremantle will appreciate that—and providing $11 million to establish a First Nations languages policy partnership between First Nations representatives and Australian governments. Revive also commits the government to regulating Australian content on streaming platforms, improving lending rights and income for Australian writers, increased funding for regional art—very close to my heart—and dozens of other measures.

The Creative Australia Bill 2023 is the next tranche of legislation that establishes Creative Australia as a modernised entity with new governance arrangements, including establishing Music Australia and creative workplaces. Since 1975 the Australia Council has been the principal Commonwealth arts investment and advisory body, with a strong profile in the sector. It supports and promotes creative arts practice that is recognised nationally and internationally and it provides research and advocacy on issues affecting the sector.

The Albanese Labor government is proud to continue the legacy of supporting arts and culture in Australia through establishing Creative Australia, a restored and expanded federal entity for arts and entertainment—much more than a name change, Member for Sturt. This bill delivers on key elements of Revive, the government's national cultural policy, to establish Creative Australia, return the Brandis cuts and, within the new entity, establish Music Australia and creative workplaces to support and grow the sector. The bill responds directly to calls for change from the sector received through more than 1,200 submissions and input from more than 800 attendees at the 14 town halls held across the country during the consultation on the policy.

Music Australia will support the Australian contemporary music industry to grow, including through strategic initiatives and industry partnerships; research, training and skills development; and export promotion. Creative workplaces will work with artists, industry workers and employers to raise and maintain safety standards. It will also set minimum standards and rates of pay for the sector, and organisations seeking government funding will be expected to meet these standards—a very important clause.

Timely passage of the bill in the winter sittings will allow the commencement of Creative Australia's new governance arrangements as soon as possible after 1 July 2023, for the benefit of artists and arts organisations.

Under Revive, there will be a place for every story and a story for every place. Tasmania wants more freedom to tell its own stories. Our artists are creators and workers. The sector is essential to our culture and our economy. As the sector recovers from years of neglect, followed by the tough pandemic period, Revive will set the arts sector on a new trajectory, with fresh momentum. I commend the bill to the House.

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