Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand before you today to advocate for the passage of the Creative Australia Bill 2023 and the Creative Australia (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023. This legislation not only acknowledges the immense cultural and economic value of the creative arts sector but also demonstrates the Albanese government's commitment to fostering a vibrant and sustainable future for Australian creativity. The creative arts industry is the lifeblood of our nation's cultural identity, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping our society. From literature and visual arts to film, music and performing arts, our creative sector enriches our lives, stimulates critical thinking and reflects the diversity of our communities. It is after all only through the telling of our unique and diverse stories that we can truly understand and appreciate our identity as a nation. The Creative Australia bill is founded on the belief that the arts are not just a mere luxury for the elite but a fundamental pillar of all sectors of society. It recognises that the arts have the power to ignite imagination, challenge perceptions and foster social cohesion. By supporting and investing in the arts, we are investing in the very essence of what it means to be Australian, in a diverse, vibrant and culturally rich nation.

It's important to note that the arts and cultural industry is not just an expression of our identity and values. As I've said, it is a vital economic force that generates jobs, stimulates tourism and drives innovation. As an industry, it contributes $17 billion to our annual economy and provides employment opportunities for an estimated 400,000 Australians. I'm really proud that historically it has been Labor. It has been Labor governments that have consistently supported and championed the arts in Australia.

The Whitlam government was the first to truly recognise the immense importance of the arts. In his 1972 campaign speech, Whitlam outlined his arts policy as being guided by four main objectives: to promote a standard of excellence in the arts, to widen access to the arts in the community generally, to help establish and express an Australian identity through the arts and to promote an awareness of Australian culture abroad. That was truly visionary. It reflected a new confidence and maturity and inspired us to embrace our unique national identity, challenging the prevailing cultural cringe which persisted amongst Australians at the time.

Upon winning government, Whitlam's election promise to the arts was fulfilled with the establishment of the Australia Council for the Arts in 1975. A key initiative, the Australia Council has continued to provide vital support for artists and arts organisations through grants, fellowships and funding for major arts institutions up until this very day.

The Whitlam government also established the National Gallery of Australia. With free entry, this world-class gallery provided unprecedented access to the public, inspiring generations of Australians ever since.

In 1975, the government established the Australian Film Commission, providing substantial grants to feature films, documentaries, television and short-film projects. This crucial support provided by the AFC revived the stagnating Australian film industry. This directly led to the renaissance of Australian cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, allowing for the expression of a new and confident cultural identity to a much wider audience, both here and abroad. It's worth noting that without this funding from the AFC some of Australia's most iconic and critically acclaimed films, including Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli and The Last Wave may never have seen the light of day.

In 1973, the Australian Film and Television School was established. Now known as the Australian Film Television and Radio School, the school continues to be celebrated internationally as one of the top film schools in the world. This school has been responsible for launching the careers of countless cinematographers, documentary makers, editors, animators and directors, many of whom have found great success in Hollywood and elsewhere around the globe. Amongst its highly acclaimed alumni are directors Gillian Armstrong and Phillip Noyce, responsible for telling our uniquely Australian stories such as My Brilliant Career and Rabbit-Proof Fence to a global audience.

The Whitlam government was the first to introduce minimum Australian music content for commercial radio stations. It also established what would later become triple J, a station specifically designed to support and promote Australian music and connect with young Australians. The legacy of this great institution of youth culture and music cannot be underestimated. Since commencement, it has unearthed and promoted countless Australian music artists, many of whom have since found success on the international stage. Triple J continues to play a vital role in providing a pathway for young and emerging musicians to tell their stories in reaching our cultural identity, both at home and abroad.

The strong foundations to Australian arts and culture of the Whitlam government continued to be built upon under the Hawke and Keating Labor governments. Reaffirming its true relationship with the arts was the implementation of the Creative Nation policy in 1994. Not only did Creative Nation provide significant funding for the arts and cultural industries, this landmark policy also had the distinction of being the first Commonwealth cultural policy document in Australia's history. The impact of this policy was profound. It changed the way Australians saw themselves and their place in the world by redefining culture as 'that which gives us a sense of ourselves' rather than something only for the elites to enjoy. At its heart, it sought to recognise and embrace multiculturalism in Australia. Describing Australian culture as 'now an exotic hybrid' in the document's preamble, it highlighted the importance of Indigenous and migrant cultures in creating a national cultural identity. It therefore marks an important step in changing of the narrative of Australian identity, one which sought to include non-white Australians in the national project.

This was emphasised by the funding and establishment of the Australian National Institute for Indigenous Performing Arts as well as the creation of a database for Chinese, Japanese and Korean language texts in Australia, allowing for a much more inclusive approach to the arts for all Australians.

It should be noted that Creative Nation was as much an economic policy as it was a cultural one; the economic benefits of the arts could not be ignored. The Creative Nation policy therefore reframed how the cultural industry was perceived. No longer would it be viewed as art for art's sake, but rather as a vital contributor to Australia's economic success. From Creative Nation onwards, art was for everyone rather than just the elite. Cultural engagement was vital not only to the aspirations of the nation but to the economy as well. The Gillard government further expanded the Creative Nation policy in 2013, reaffirming the centrality of the arts to our national identity, social cohesion and economic success. This expanded policy also recognised the importance of keeping pace with the emergence of new digital platforms, providing additional support to the innovative development of new creative content in creative industries.

The Albanese government is proud to build upon the proud legacy and visionary commitment to the arts of previous Labor governments with the introduction of the Creative Australia Bill 2023. It recognises the invaluable role of the creative sector in our society and seeks to provide it with the necessary resources and infrastructure for it to thrive. Unlike the previous government, the Albanese government has listened to the voice of the creative arts. We have listened to their voices at 14 town hall meetings attended by 800 stakeholders, and I was very pleased to attend the first town hall meeting in Hobart. And we've heard their voices in the more than 1,200 submissions to the National Cultural Policy inquiry. This extensive consultation has led us to the formation of the government's National Cultural Policy, Revive, and the establishment of Creative Australia—restoring, modernising and expanding the Australia Council, created, as I said, under the Whitlam government in 1975. This legislation will strengthen the capacity of the Australia Council and provide greater strategic oversight and engagement across the sector. Importantly, it will ensure that funding decisions will continue to be made based on artistic merit and at arm's length from the government.

Labor's approach to the arts stands in stark contrast to that of the previous government. Artists and arts organisations were breathing a sigh of relief when we were elected to government, because they finally had a government that values their work, not just for its economic output but for the contribution it makes to cultural expression and national identity, and to enhancing the lives of Australians. This is what has been missing from arts policy for almost a decade, under the governments led by former prime ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison. What was also missing under the Liberals and Nationals was any sense of an overarching framework of a coherent and principles based approach to arts policy. That framework, that coherence, existed back when we had the Keating government's Creative Nation and the Gillard government's Creative Australia, demonstrating that Labor is the only true friend of the arts in government.

Under the Albanese Labor government, the notion of an overarching approach being embedded into every aspect of arts policy is back again, with our National Cultural Policy, Revive, and its five pillars—a place for every story and a story for every place. To illustrate what a radical shift in attitude to the arts this is, it's worth reflecting on the chaos and vandalism of the previous government when it came to arts policy, and on the damage that was done after a decade of those opposite in power. The Liberals and Nationals led a government that axed the federal arts department in December 2019. It axed the department! I've had a number of meetings with organisations such as Screen Producers Australia, and I admire the strong advocacy and representations they give for their industry. Prior to the last election they made quite clear the damage that was being done to screen production by the suspension of local content quotas for Australian drama, documentary and children's programs, and also the failure of the previous government to make any serious efforts to introduce Australian content quotas for video and on-demand streaming services.

The screen production industry in Australia includes actors, directors, writers, producers, set crews and graphic artists, to name a few. They compete with a global industry that achieves massive economies of scale, including countries that have their very own generous local content quotas. For our industry, it's like being an amateur boxer taking on the heavyweight champion with one hand tied behind their back.

During the COVID pandemic the previous government made the future very uncertain for 50,000 professional artists and 600,000 arts workers by refusing to extend JobKeeper eligibility to many artists and arts organisations, including some that lost 100 per cent of their revenue. When museums, galleries, theatres, television studios and live music venues closed their doors, when concerts, festivals and exhibitions were cancelled, many of the artists they supported got no help from those opposite. The previous government shelled out over $19 billion in JobKeeper payments to companies whose revenue went up, but their lack of support for the arts industry demonstrated the utter contempt they have for arts and artists. Under enormous pressure, the package for the arts industry was eventually boosted by $250 million. But this wasn't delivered until several months into the pandemic, after significant public pressure. Compare this funding for the entire multibillion-dollar arts sector to the $100 million that the previous government gave to zoos.

I also vividly recall, when I was a member of the legal and constitutional affairs committee, taking the lead for Labor on an inquiry into the then government's savage cuts to the arts under Minister George Brandis. The government at that time cut $105 million from the Australia Council for the Arts, an independent body that made merit based decisions about arts funding, and directed it to their little slush fund, Catalyst—a slush fund that was so doled out at the whim of the minister. The inquiry held a series of public hearings across Australia, attended by possibly hundreds of witnesses. Witness after witness lined up to defend the Australia Council and highlight the shortsightedness of the coalition government's policy. With all their efforts to find a witness on the other side—and they went to a lot of effort to find a witness favourable to their position—the government was only able to produce—do you know how many? One witness, out of hundreds—and, I've got to say, he wasn't particularly credible at that. Granted, Catalyst was eventually shut down and the funding was returned to the Australia Council, but only after significant pressure was applied by thousands of furious artists and arts organisations across Australia.

In summation, the Creative Australia Bill 2023 is more than just legislation; it's a bold declaration of Labor's strong heritage of commitment to the arts and an acknowledgement of the transformative power that creativity holds. It's a call to action to embrace and support our artists, to nurture our cultural institutions and to recognise the vital role the arts play in our collective identity and our economy. Let's build a creative Australia together, a nation that values and celebrates its artists, a nation that fosters innovation and creativity. (Time expired)