Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last year I proudly gave a speech in this House, singing the praises of the incredible creative arts industry in Northern Tasmania. The electorate of Bass has long had a strong cultural scene backed by a passionate community who consistently throw their support behind our many festivals, art shows and theatre performances. Although I'm incredibly proud of our arts scene, I can safely say it isn't just blind patriotism about my community, with tourists coming from all over the state and the mainland to attend our events, ranging from the Junction Arts Festival to MONA FOMA or one of our first-rate theatre shows.

As with the tourism and hospitality industries this year, the arts scene, those planned shows, whether they be musicals, dance performances, stage shows or art exhibitions, came to a grinding halt in March this year. From speaking with many involved in this industry, I have some understanding of just how crushing this has been.

For the award-winning Encore Theatre Company, it meant their much-anticipated production of Mamma Mia! the musical was cancelled just weeks out from the first curtain. This was a blow to not only everyone involved in the production but also the team at Theatre North, who manage the Princess Theatre, where the show was to be staged. While some theatregoers have held onto their tickets in the hopes of seeing the show, perhaps next year, hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket sales have been refunded, which has had a major impact on both Encore and Theatre North. As the programs manager for Theatre North, Stuart Loone, said recently:

Theatres like the Princess are not meant to be sitting in darkness, they are meant to be places of a lot of joy.

Stuart and his team at Theatre North have worked tirelessly during the shutdown in an effort to get the theatre back to being a place where they can begin holding, as they describe them, high-impact, small-scale performances for the remainder of this year, including artist talks, poetry nights, fundraising events and the continuation of their wonderful behind-the-scenes tour of the theatre.

I was lucky enough to attend a tour of the Princess Theatre a few weeks ago and was struck by its ornate beauty and history but saddened to see it dark and empty, without the vibrancy that live theatre brings. It also gave me an insight into the challenges the theatre faces now in booking and staging shows, with the safe allocation of seating and the increased cleaning demands being just some of the hurdles the COVID environment presents, making already thin margins even tighter and overheads even higher. To the Theatre North team: I can see the impact that COVID-19 has had on your organisation, and your passion and your determination to build back stronger than ever. I will do whatever I can to help you and I look forward to seeing the lights come on once again.

In the discussions surrounding the arts industry, one area that has perhaps been forgotten is the impact on students both at university and in years 11 and 12 who have also lost the opportunity to stage their works of art or perform on stage in their final years of schooling. In the Northern Tasmania region, the annual ArtRage exhibition provides an incredible opportunity for year 11 and 12 students in our community to showcase their talent. It is now in its 26th year. I'm very pleased to report that, despite fears the annual event would not be going ahead due to the pandemic, the exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery will be held, from December 2020 through to March 2021. I commend the team at the museum for working so hard to ensure this event can go ahead despite the current restrictions.

I do want to acknowledge that, as in many other industries who, overnight, felt the severe impact of COVID-19, there has been worry and concern about the future of those employed in creative industries. JobKeeper and JobSeeker have played a significant role in assisting those in this industry, and the $250 million arts support package announced by Minister Fletcher also marks the government's desire to get the economy going again in the arts sector. Getting our creative industries back on their feet is going to be extremely tough in this new era of social distancing, and I in no way want to diminish what lies ahead. But I am committed to doing what I can to support the local arts community on the journey forward and I encourage everyone in my community to support our local artists and performers, who are trying so hard to innovate and adapt.

See this speech in context