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

It is my pleasure to speak about the next phase of Labor's implementation of Revive, which is the new Australian National Cultural Policy. I love the word 'reviver' in this context. Not only is it a palindrome; it means something that re-energises, restrengthens and revitalises, and it is what our arts sector deserves.

To say that Australian artist, performers, writers and musicians have had a tough time over the last decade is an understatement. First there were the bleak years of cuts, mismanagement, policy neglect and confusion when the opposition was in government. The undoubted lowlight of this was the cutting of $104 million of funding in the 2015 budget under Tony Abbott and George Brandis, the arts minister. As one of my constituents, a published novelist, said of the cuts, 'They not only damaged the amount of work that could be produced, but to be so little valued at a government level was a shocking attack on morale.'

Then came the pandemic, which had a devastating impact on the arts and on anything that basically required public attendance. We all remember the rolling lockdowns, the health directives and the social distancing restrictions that constrained so much of cultural life, particularly live music. In many cases it shut down artists totally. And with that, of course, came significant consequences such as reduced and unreliable incomes and, flowing on from that, job losses for many of those involved in the arts sector.

Revive was launched by the Prime Minister, who we know is a great lover of the arts. I know he's a great lover of the arts because I've been to see Billy Bragg with him two times in Brisbane and once in Canberra. In fact, he even introduced me to Billy Bragg, which was one of my political highlights. The Prime Minister did that launch in January 2023.

Revive has been enthusiastically welcomed by so many. It is a five-year plan to revitalise Australia's arts sector. Revive supports our creative Australians whether they're artists, contemporary dancers, poets, playwrights, singers, theatre directors or back-of-house people. Revive recognises and celebrates Australian stories, Australian culture and Australian heritage.

The key themes, or pillars, behind Revive articulate what this looks like. It's about recognition and respect for the place of First Nation stories at the centre of our cultural life. How proud are we to have the oldest words on earth at the heart of our culture! This confirms that there is a place for every story. In fact I came up here from a Google event where I was talking to the Mechanics, who have a couple of million hits on YouTube. They create content out on the bush at Arnhem Land, and it's going all around the world. Kids love it. It's incredible. When we tell our stories the world will listen. So there is a place for every story reflecting and valuing the immense diversity that is Australian 2024. It puts the artist at the centre, supporting and celebrating their work, and it also channels to the infrastructure and institutions around them.

Finally, Revive recognises the importance of connecting with audiences both here and around the world. It's good for diplomacy, good for trade and good for safety in our region when we tell those Australian stories and they're heard by our neighbours, all things that we need while maintaining control over our part of the earth—which is11 per cent of the earth's surface. It's a difficult job so we need to have good friends and good connections with our neighbours.

Revive also outlined 10 core principles and I want to highlight a couple. The first of these is the development of long-term and sustainable career pathways for creatives and arts workers, and the second is that these pathways will be supported by fair renumeration, industry standards and safe and inclusive workplaces. My philosophy is always that the artist must be paid. People say, 'Can I have that for free?' Remember the artist should always be paid. Try to use a service, read a book, see an artwork—whatever rewards the artist.

These measures will assist in providing stability and clarity to the people in the arts sector who did it tough during the pandemic. Labor has made substantial progress with Revive since January last year. Creative Australia, the overarching body for the arts—some might have known it formerly as the Australia Council—was launched in August last year. We then established Music Australia to support the contemporary music industry—perhaps reflecting Minister Burke and the Prime Minister's interest in music—including supporting contemporary music and creative workplaces which focus on workplace safeguards and best practices.

The Creative Australia Implementation of Revive Bill will deliver the final two pieces of the puzzle, with First Nations Arts and Writing Australia, which I'm particularly passionate about. The Albanese Labor government strongly values the crucial place of First Nations stories at the centre of Australia's cultural life. For 65,000 years, this land has echoed with the stories, music, art and dance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As many Australians know, the oldest art on earth is First Nations art. Imagine that—we're connected with the first artists on this planet. First Nations Arts will commence in 2024, and it will be a dedicated new body to support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts. The body will have the autonomy to control the allocation of its investments. In keeping with the principles of Creative Australia, this will be First Nations led and overseen by a board of 10 members, all expert First Nations people. The board's remit entails promoting best practice in cultural protocols, providing financial assistance to support arts practice and reporting to the Creative Australia board.

The establishment of First Nations Arts builds on the substantial work already undertaken by Revive. This includes the Australian action plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages and the provision of continued support for First Nations people to express and promote their culture through language and the arts. Just as an aside, having been in this parliament for nearly 17 years, one of the policies that I'm most proud of is that schools around the country can now access support to pay for someone to teach a First Nations language in their schools, whether it be in Tasmania, Hobart, the Top End, Cairns or wherever. That's one of my proudest achievements—that we're able to turn a policy from opposition into a reality in government.

We also continue to advocate for the unconditional return of First Nations ancestors and priceless cultural heritage artefacts held both domestically and internationally. The establishment of First Nations Arts builds on the substantial work undertaken already by Revive, as I said, and it's particularly important for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. How good would it be to have Australia helping to lead that process, with our First Nations ambassador going around the world telling that story?

This bill also establishes Writing Australia, a new body to support and promote Australian literature. I am all for this—not just because I was an English teacher for 11 years but also because I've published three fiction books and I've co-authored one biography with my good friend Wayne Long, which is currently out. So writing is a subject close to my heart, and it's something that I try to do every single day, apart from when I'm in Canberra. Writers have wholeheartedly welcomed the establishment of this dedicated funding body, with one saying:

It acknowledges how central writing is for other pieces of creative work—all of which inspire the conversations about who we are as a country.

Writing Australia will start on 1 July next year, and it will be responsible for supporting authors, illustrators and publishers to create new work. The key word here is 'create'. My conversations with writers in Brisbane's vibrant literary community indicate that financially supporting themselves to write is, as one of them said, 'a tough gig at the best of times'. I can personally attest to that, as someone who's sat around in bookstores trying to sell one's books. I'm glad I've got a day job outside of publishing. But I will be at New Farm this Saturday from 10 till one trying to—

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