Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today with some cognitive dissonance, as a boy from the Hunter Valley who grew up on sports, particularly motor sports and rugby league and who is a member of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee that examined these bills and similar ones. As the previous speaker, Senator Roberts, mentioned, the minister has been spending $40,000 worth of taxpayers' money, familiarising himself with the arts. I've got to say my wife, the good doctor Bethan Cadell, has spent thousands of dollars familiarising me with the arts over the last few months, to her great joy, going through my wages that the taxpayers give me. We've seen Come From Away in Newcastle, we've seen MAMMA MIA! in Sydney and, also, Tina the musical, just over the last three months.

As well as that, I've really enjoyed meeting new graduates from arts colleges, talking to them about their futures, how they see money being spent and what gaps they see in that market. At this point I'd like to thank the chair of the environment and communications committee—which is meeting right now—Senator Grogan. Something that came out of that was that inquiry is that there is no single library anymore of plays for semiprofessional or amateur theatres to be able to go to; there is no single source for grabbing licensed works that they can operate. There is no single website where these people can go and apply for auditions, see what's open, and those sorts of things. That has been progressed through this committee, as I have been slowly educated in the ways of those more cultured than me.