Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Although I am somewhat surprised that the government has put this motion forward today, after the very heavy criticism it has received from the arts community over the last fortnight, I am always happy to champion Australian artists, performers and arts administrators. As mentioned in the terms of the motion, we are home to some of the world's best artists. Labor has no argument with the government on that fact. My own electorate of Newcastle has borne some of Australia's most renowned artists and produces more artists per capita than any other city or region in this nation.

We warmly embrace the arts as part of our daily practice. We are home to one of Australia's oldest and most distinguished literary prizes, the Newcastle Poetry Prize, which this year is celebrating its 34th anniversary. We host the Newcastle Writers Festival, the National Young Writers Festival, the now annual Hit the Bricks street art festival and the This is Not Art festival, or TiNA, contemporary arts festival.

Also of note are our urban renewal programs and art spaces that activate public places through creative arts. The Lock-Up, which is located in one of Newcastle's most significant heritage buildings, the former Newcastle police station, is now a multidisciplinary contemporary art space and inner-city hub for creative thinking and doing. Their renowned artist-in-residence program is an important and unique part of The Lock-Up's creative programs. This weekend The Lock-Up in collaboration with local creative agency Headjam won Museum Australia's multimedia and publication design award for their innovative website and received a high commendation for their poster design.

Perhaps most noteworthy of our city's contemporary art and cultural programs is Renew Newcastle. It is the brainchild of innovator Marcus Westbury and has been ably carried out since its inception by former general manager Marni Jackson and current general manager Christopher Saunders, with guidance from the remarkable chair Rod Smith. Renew Newcastle has in fact become a national renew movement, with hundreds of renew projects across Australia in major cities and regions alike. The renew model focuses on urban renewal and brokers access to vacant buildings for artisans and inspiring young businesses to make a start and showcase their talents and ideas.

Worth noting is a recent project that benefitted from the first round of Renew Newcastle leases. Filmmaker Stuart McBratney has just completed his second feature film Pop-Up. Eighty per cent of the cinematography was filmed locally in Newcastle. It will have its debut screening in Newcastle in August. This is one of Renew Newcastle's many success stories.

In my opening remarks I mentioned my surprise at this motion brought forward by the government today in light of their recently announced cuts to the arts. It is worth recalling that in this year's budget $104.8 million was moved from the independent national peer-reviewed funding body, the Australia Council, and redirected to the newly created National Program for Excellence in the Arts. Grants will now be decided at the discretion of the arts minister of the day. In addition, the government proposes cuts—an additional $3.7 million from Screen Australia, almost $4 million from various national galleries and museums, $5.2 million from the Australia Council for Creative Partnerships Australia, and $7.3 million in efficiency dividends from the sector. Make no mistake, the government has made clear where those dividends are to come from—from the programs that sponsor young emerging artists in Australia and in regional Australia in particular.

An open letter to the Minister for the Arts, signed by almost 9,000 Australian artists, performers and administrators, outlines the damage that this budget will have on our nation and our arts community. It states:

This Budget is an enormous blow to the arts community in Australia. It will impoverish Australian culture and society. It will mean loss of livelihood for many arts workers. It will mean many important artworks—works that would inform national debate, expanding the possibilities of this country and its citizens—will simply never be made. … Artists are workers and taxpayers, and a vital part of the economy—

and our regional economies in particular. These cuts to Australia Council funding will directly affect new and emerging artists and small organisations in particular. Perhaps it is worth this government reminding itself of the two principles of responsible arts funding: the arms-length principle and the peer review principle. Most importantly, the arms-length principle, like the Australia Council, allows for better long-term policy development and planning beyond election cycles— (Time expired)

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