Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will take that interjection—it might sell more if it were on special!

Having support to do the work will have such a positive impact. It is also recognition for the hours and hours of work that go into that glossy book that you pick out at the bookshop, download on your Kindle or select to listen to as an audiobook. I'm particularly excited by the opportunities that Writing Australia will provide for emerging writers and writers from diverse backgrounds who have important stories to share as our society changes and grows. Writing Australia will also establish a national poet laureate. This is something that I actually mentioned in my first speech, way back in February 2008—about trying to bring more poetry back to the parliament but also to the Australian people. That's been 16 years in the making. It's good to see that Minister Burke is making it a reality.

There is a clear need to support the sector as a whole. Australia Reads tells us that national reading rates are falling. A recent study showed that 25 per cent of Australians did not read a single book over the course of a year. New technologies are also changing the landscape. Writing Australia will promote Australian literature while applying innovative approaches to funding models tapping into the commercial sector. As I mentioned, a lot of people now are listening to books, which is another way to access good writing. It will invest in a network of key organisations and develop sector initiatives at a national level. All of this will lead to increasing markets both at home and abroad. We want Writing Australia to become a hub for writers, illustrators and publishers so that they can be front of mind during policy development and all benefit from these partnerships.

Despite the current challenges and the recovery from funding cuts, the Australian literary community is vibrant and bursting with stories to tell. It is supported by extraordinary initiatives such as AustLit, the definitive biographical and bibliographical database of Australian literature. I'm not just talking about AustLit because I'm the only member of parliament to have an AustLit record for fiction, or so I'm reliably informed by my constituent who helps run AustLit! But I am bringing it to the attention of members here because it is part of the cultural infrastructure that Revive champions. One of the 10 principles of Revive is the restoration, building and maintenance of digital collections. AustLit also proudly contains BlackWords, a comprehensive record of First Nations storytelling—the primary pillar of Revive.

AustLit is a fully digitised, not-for-profit collaboration amongst researchers and librarians. It's housed at the University of Queensland, in the electorate of Ryan, just over the river from my electorate. It began in the 1970s as a card catalogue and was officially launched as a telnet service by former prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1988, back when this building was opened. In 2024 it is rightly recognised as a central resource in Australia's national digital creative, literary and research infrastructure. We can all be proud of AustLit. No other country has attempted to compile a comprehensive national record of every work of creative writing and its associated criticism and reviews. This remarkable living database adds to its one million-plus entries daily. It also covers film and television, popular theatre history and awards and festivals—all significant aspects of Australia's cultural history. It is a national treasure.

The establishment of Writing Australia will bolster the next generation of well-supported writers, illustrators, publishers and First Nations storytellers. Their records will find a home in AustLit. These, in turn, will nurture knowledgeable audiences, as well as foster creative and research projects both in Australia and internationally. Perhaps most importantly it will enable AustLit to build on its long history of creating new ways of understanding who we are and how this understanding has changed over time. As more diverse voices tell their stories, this understanding will continue to evolve and flourish.

This bill continues the proud Labor tradition of supporting and valuing the arts and showcases the Albanese Labor government's steadfast commitment to the arts. I particularly commend Minister Burke for his great work in this area. The establishment of First Nations Arts and Writing Australia will foster work that creates shared experiences and human connections. It will add to the rich catalogue of creative work that tells the story of our country. It helps us to understand it, to understand ourselves and to further strengthen our national identity. A writer friend told me, 'We tell stories to make sense of who we are.' I'm proud to support this bill for the contributions its institutions will make to our combined national story. I commend the bill to the House.

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