Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take great pleasure in speaking to the chamber tonight about a passion of mine, one I have a personal connection with and one that is also entwined in the lives all individuals whether they are aware of it or not. What I speak of is the arts and, more broadly, Australia's connection with culture and its creative industries. Diversity though, as I have spoken about before in this chamber, is what I believe defines our Australian culture. Diversity of language, arts and culture is what I believe to be our nation's strength. Our nation needs to focus on our strengths in order to deliver a rich future for generations to come.

I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a state that has always had a very strong arts and vibrant cultural scene, as I know many other states in Australia also share. The appreciation of our natural environment, the somewhat remoteness of our island state—Tasmania—but also the connectedness of the Tasmanian community has helped to create such a scene. One only needs to wander through Tasmania's iconic Salamanca market on a Saturday to witness first-hand the talent and innovation on display: the jeweller who has crafted wares from our natural resources, the furniture makers using our Tasmanian oak, the fashion designers selling their first collection, and the young musician busking outside the pub.

This industry and the artists who enrich our daily lives and add to our cultural vitality need to be appropriately supported and recognised. History reveals a society that is quick to embrace our sporting champions through public support for the Olympics, sporting teams and their budding stars, but when it comes to the arts our society appears to lack the awareness of its power upon the cultural life of all Australians. However, last week at the National Press Club I had the privilege of witnessing Labor's arts minister, Simon Crean, releasing the much-anticipated national cultural policy Creative Australia.

Creative Australia is an investment of $235 million into the creative industries with $195 million of that investment being new money. This new policy comes 19 years after Paul Keating took on the ambitious task of delivering Creative Nation, the very first formally developed cultural policy released by the Australian federal government.

Labor has a strong and proud history of recognising the vitality arts and culture delivers to our nation. That is why it has been Labor who has provided the direction in this area and delivered two very bold, ambitious, but very achievable blueprints for our nation's future. Upon handing down Australia's first cultural policy, Prime Minister Paul Keating stated:

This cultural policy is also an economic policy. Culture creates wealth … Culture employs … Culture adds value, it makes an essential contribution to innovation, marketing and design … It attracts tourists and students. It is essential to our economic success.

Keating understood the rich social dividend of focusing on the arts for individuals, the nation and the economy.

What this Labor Government released last week was a policy designed for the new digital and global age we now find ourselves in. It is a model that acknowledges the role of the arts, our cultural heritage and creative industries in modern Australia. It celebrates our culture by placing it at the forefront of our future. It is about creating opportunity by providing Australians the skills, resources and recognition they require to play an active role in shaping our nation's future. As stated in our newly released document:

Culture is not created by government, but enabled by it.

It is up to us as individuals and as a collective to recognise the valuable contribution the artist makes to our society. It is only through the empowerment of individuals that we can create an inclusive and productive society.

In Tasmania we appear to be experiencing a growing cultural renaissance. This, I believe, is in no small part due to the extraordinary impact of the Museum of Old and New Art—MONA—founded, built and curated by Tasmanian David Walsh. Our new national cultural policy rightly proclaims:

… the project has invigorated the town centre and made it a place where they want to be. In turn, this makes Hobart more productive and competitive.

As thousands of people flock to the Louvre in Paris, MONA is also a huge drawcard for international visitors. Since opening in 2011, just over 781,000 people have visited the world-class museum. Twelve per cent have come from overseas and 52 per cent from other parts of Australia.

The artists, musicians, dancers and authors who enrich our daily lives and add to our cultural identity need to be supported and recognised. Indeed, MONA employs some 170 full-time staff from gardeners to curators. A massive 85 per cent of the museum staff are practising, studying or graduated artists.

MONA complements Tasmania beautifully. The museum, on the grounds of the Moorilla winery, is a three-level structure carved strategically into the cliffs overlooking the idyllic Derwent River. It houses an extensive display of over 400 artistic works from David Walsh's own private collection. It hosts exhibitions by local artists and is frequently used as a performance venue for festivals introducing international acts, local talent and upcoming Tasmanian musicians. It is now home to the local MoMa market on the weekend, where locals can sell their produce, and provides a platform for local artists to perform and introduce their talent to the community.

This year Tasmania was listed at the top of the industry news website: Artshub's 10 best places to work in 2013. Prior to this accolade, Hobart made the Lonely Planet list of the top 10 cities for 2013, and the city was also listed on the popular travel website TripAdvisor as one of the top 10 destinations on the rise. A secure future for MONA is good news for the local community and for all who support investment in the arts.

In Tasmania we are seeing creativity becoming a driver of enterprise and innovation as a result of our investment and recognition of the arts. Never before has our island state witnessed such a display of inspiration. Last weekend Tasmania displayed why it is quickly becoming recognised as a hub of culture and creativity; hosting the biennial international arts festival Ten Days on the Island. Ten Days also coincided with the reawakening of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, which has undertaken a remarkable $30 million transformation signifying a record investment of public funds into cultural infrastructure. The investment is clearly paying off with 14,000 people flooding through on that weekend, including families with young children who were exposed for the first time to some of our Aboriginal heritage, art and culture.

Tasmania's cultural festivals are set to continue with the Tasmanian Writers' Festival commencing this weekend. In April the Nayri Niara Indigenous cultural festival will run for three days and Hobart's Theatre Royal will become home to the very first Hobart Baroque festival. Through June till November we will also feature festivals including the inaugural Dark Mofo, a spin-off from MONA, the much loved Festival of Voices, Junction Arts Festival and the Breath of Fresh Air Film Festival to name a just a few. It is no wonder it was revealed in the Australian Bureau of Statistics that more Tasmanians attend theatre performances than people in any other state.

One major development announced last year is the exciting project jointly funded by the federal and state government, the Academy of Creative Industries and Performing Arts. The academy will be the new home to the University of Tasmania's prestigious Conservatorium of Music and will also house a new performing arts space and recital hall and amenities for the Theatre Royal, Australia's oldest operating theatre.

I am confident that Creative Australia, although long overdue, will provide the right framework to build on our already burgeoning creative culture. This 10-year framework will give our next generation of creative talent a strong and viable future through the establishment of the ArtsReady program, an extension of the government's SportsReady grants program. We are able to grow and support young students in their field of talent.

I believe the recent comments made by Australia Council chair, Rupert Myer, adequately sum up the flow-on effects of introducing a strong creative framework. He said:

New arts funding through the National Cultural Policy will not only fuel creativity, but also jobs, future industries, health, education, exports and pride.

I believe it is evident that this policy and the economic and cultural value it will harness is definitely worth waiting for.