Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure that I rise to speak on this motion. It's a very important one. The arts has a big role to play in many regional communities. In the electorate of Casey, it's at the heart of what we do and who we are. For myself, personally, as the son of an artist and a musician, it is always nice to stand and talk about the arts. I've seen firsthand the impact it's had on my family, with my deep connection to the arts community throughout our area. It does so many things to bring us together to celebrate what is special about our community and about our country, but one of the things where the arts, in particular in my community, is so valuable is when it brings us together after a tragedy or a natural disaster. It allows people to heal, and not just those artists to heal, but the community.

In June of 2021, my community was devastated by what we call the 'June storms'. Houses were without power for months. We were lucky that no lives were lost. We still do not know how no lives were lost. But trees, hundreds of feet tall, fell down. Houses were hit, and people experienced trauma as they were stuck in their houses, particularly on the Dandenong Ranges. They could just hear this terrible crash after crash in the darkness. I heard terrible stories of houses being split in half and half of the family at one end of the house and the other half of the family at the other end, not being able to communicate. Not knowing if their families were alive. We were fortunate that no-one was lost, as I said. But that trauma doesn't leave those people.

But our community rallied after that. I want to pay particular credit to Burrinja in Upwey. They did many programs and many works for students and for artists to heal after the storms. It was a big part of our community. Burrinja is much loved, all through the Dandenong Ranges. They played a key role.

I was also fortunate, in September last year, to visit the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum for the opening of The Big Anxiety, a dedicated program where those that had been impacted by the storms could share their stories. As everyone in this House knows, sometimes we are fortunate to meet amazing people and to listen to their stories. When those young people—teenagers and young adults—shared their stories and their trauma of that night, and how the arts helped them find a way forward, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It is crucial that we continue to support the arts in every way we can.

Those opposite do like to run with a very standard line about nothing happening in the 10 years of the coalition government. The only problem with that is that it doesn't stack up with the facts and the budget, which is there in black and white. As the member for Riverina said, the $1 billion in funding in 2021-22 was record funding for the arts sector, but also, importantly, the $200 million in the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand Fund, the RISE Fund, helped the arts community to get through COVID, to get on their feet. Again, Burrinja in my community was fortunate to receive funding from that program. I speak to Gareth Hart, the CEO, often. He talks about how crucial that funding was to keeping them going, to keeping the community going and, again, to keeping them connected and having something to celebrate in times of challenge.

Just last Sunday, I was at Belgrave Heights. We were visiting for the launch of Carabiner Bench (Nature found no fault with me). That was a program at Birdsland Reserve in Belgrave, an outdoor spot to bring people together. It was about connection. It brought Tay, a lead artist, together with other artists to collaborate on an amazing project. People can sit, reflect and understand that nature does not judge you. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, where you've been or where you're from. I think that is an important message we should all take in light of significant events here in Australia and overseas.

But the best part of that project was watching those young artists connect. None of them knew each other at the start of the project, but looking at them talking, laughing and spending time together it was like they'd been friends for a lifetime. That's the power of the arts. That's why I'll always support additional funding for our arts community.

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