Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to second the motion moved by the member for Herbert. The member is right: as a nation we do have some of the world's best artists, performers and administrators of the arts. This was no more obvious than at the 2014 Regional Arts Summit held in Kalgoorlie-Boulder from 16 to 19 October last year. As the summit was held in my electorate, I was able to attend and welcome Attorney-General and Minister for the Arts, Senator the Hon. George Brandis, to open the event. The Regional Arts Summit is a biennial event with a 16-year history, starting in 1998 with the inaugural national conference in Mount Gambier in South Australia. The nine conferences since have travelled far and wide, from Launceston to Alice Springs. The event showcases the vibrant culture across regional Australia. It is distinguished by the creative leaders who attend and is a trusting environment for networking, collaboration and model sharing between artists, community volunteers, arts and cultural workers, community development managers and cultural leaders. Twice the national event has been held in WA—luckily for me, both times in my electorate. I think it is fair to say that this shows that O'Connor has a very strong arts and cultural environment.

In 2000, the second national conference was held in Esperance under the title 'Making Waves'. It was a resounding success and, since then, the biennial event has grown bigger and better. Last year's Regional Arts Australia Summit in Kalgoorlie-Boulder offered delegates a chance to experience the desert life through stimulating contact, networking, artistic programs and inspiring talks. Artistic director Ben Fox curated a creative voyage featuring international keynote speakers, outstanding arts, strategic leadership discussions, peer learning, open spaces and masterclasses. Across the summit's four days, there were over 40 events attended by 574 delegates from across Australian, resulting in over 500 media articles being published. This was not just some small arts event in the middle of Australia; this was one of the nation's foremost cultural conferences being held in a culturally diverse, ever-changing community. The event was attended not only by the federal Minister for the Arts but also by the Western Australian Minister for Culture and the Arts, the Hon. John Day, and by the US Consul-General, Cynthia Griffin.

The Regional Arts Australia Summit was also a resounding success in terms of its economic impact. It is estimated that the economic impact from the 2014 summit in Kalgoorlie-Boulder was over $2 million. While in attendance, I personally enjoyed the forum, 'On the Edge of Something Big', with Senator Brandis; Opera Queensland's Lindy Hume; the MONA FOMA curator, Brian Ritchie; and Genevieve Grieves, a lecturer in the Australian Indigenous Studies program at the University of Melbourne. I enjoyed the open and frank debate that was not limited to making art but included discussions on freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression, censorship of opinions, how art can be part of healing and how art is part of our culture. I was impressed that an arts forum was so diverse.

During the event, the Hon. George Brandis announced that a further $187,000 would be invested in regional Western Australian arts projects through the Australian government's Regional Arts Fund. Ten arts and cultural projects will be supported by the fund and delivered in locations across the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Peel, Goldfields-Esperance, Great Southern and South West regions. The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian government program supporting sustainable cultural development in communities across regional and remote Australia. It has an emphasis on youth and on disadvantaged, remote and Indigenous communities. The funding is targeted at activities that will have long-term cultural, economic and social benefits for individuals and communities.

Also announced were five regional artistic development fellowships aimed at helping the fellows develop professional skills and gain experience in the national and international arts landscape. This is a tremendous opportunity for regional artists to work in other regions or cities—or even overseas—alongside experienced artists. Both funding rounds are now closed and I look forward to the announcement of successful applicants.

Currently open for application are the Australia Council of the Arts scholarships. The scholarships provide $150,000 over the next three years for high-performing regional arts leaders to participate in the Australian Rural Leadership program. The scholarships will allow high-performing arts administrators or managers working in regional Australia to participate in the Australian Rural Leadership program to develop their management skills and build networks with other regional leaders. I encourage arts leaders in O'Connor to apply.

In conclusion, I have very strong views about making sure our regional and rural residents are not disadvantaged by where they live. Part of that is making sure they have great access to the arts.

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