Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Art is good for the soul. It uplifts us. It is a mirror to our culture. It is the great equaliser. It bridges our divides and enriches our lives. Whether it's our stories being told, our music being played or our world being interpreted through paint, dance, textiles, stone or clay, the arts are central to our being. It is through these many and varied forms that we build our identity as a nation and project our culture to the world. That's why we must respect and celebrate all those who create our nation's stories, in songs, in words and in visual imagery.

So it was a real privilege to joyously celebrate early this month with the Minister for the Arts and our Left Right Out band as we joined on stage some of our nation's iconic musical storytellers the Wiggles and singer-songwriter Dan Sultan. Everyone knows the words 'Toot, Toot, Chugga, Chugga, Big Red Car.' The Wiggles phenomenon has been exported to the world. Through them and so many other artists are national identity is known globally. The Albanese government understands the importance of this, and that's why we are once again celebrating and investing in the arts, turning the page on a new chapter in Australia's cultural story, a new narrative fuelled by the Albanese government's passion for our nation's artists to thrive and grow.

Our government's new national cultural policy Revive will unlock opportunities, tell stories in fresh and compelling ways and, importantly, drive employment and investment for our creative industries. Through Revive, we have committed to rebuilding a $17 billion industry, which employs more than 400,000 Australians, after a lost decade of federal policy drift and funding neglect. This is important work and long overdue. Backed by $286 million over four years, Revive's centrepiece is Creative Australia. Creative Australia will now include a First Nations-led body that will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people greater say in arts investment. Music Australia will invest in our music industry, taking more local bands from the pub to triple J and on to the international stage. Writers Australia will support writers and illustrators so that our bookshops are filled with our local stories. Finally, Creative Workplaces, a centre for art and entertainment workplaces, will ensure creative workers are fairly paid and have safe workplaces.

Through Revive and Creative Australia, we will expand economic opportunity, support ethical marketplaces and provide more venues to showcase our national identity to the world. Beyond Creative Australia, our government is providing $2.6 million to provide specialist in-school arts education programs that draw from creative-sector expertise. We're investing in digital and media literacy to empower Australian children to become active and responsive online. We're providing pilot funding of $4.2 million to support access to art and music therapy programs. And we're developing an arts and disability plan for people and theatregoers, like the internationally acclaimed Back to Back Theatre based in Geelong, to provide an opportunity to participate fully in the creative life of Australia.

All in all, through Revive's many reforms, we're making sure that Australians have an opportunity to add colour to the canvas of our nation's future. I'm grateful to the many artists and organisations who have contributed to creating this policy, to our arts minister for his work in sculpting a new future through our creative industries and to the member for Macquarie for putting forward this motion today.

In closing, a new chapter in Australia's cultural story has begun. I'm confident that Revive will support artists to survive and grow and will ensure our stories continue to be told with originality, wit, creativity and flair. In the words of the iconic Aussie band AC/DC, it's a long way to the top for our nations artists. But through Revive, I believe we are set for a generation of new sensations to hit our diverse and vibrant arts scene.

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