House debates

Monday, 9 November 2020

Committees

Communications and the Arts Committee

10:04 am

Photo of David GillespieDavid Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts, I rise to make a statement on the results of a survey conducted as part of the inquiry into Australia's creative and cultural industries and institutions. As the Speaker and members would appreciate, the cultural and creative industries and the arts have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought a survey would highlight a lot of the issues a lot more quickly than the more in-depth inquiry will, and we were overwhelmed by the response to the survey launched by the inquiry.

The survey closed on 22 October and, at completion, 4,871 responses had been received from around the nation. It was the second-most participated-in survey ever undertaken by a House committee. Almost three-quarters of all respondents were middle-aged—it's all relative, I know, depending on one's age, but that means 35 years or older—and two-thirds of respondents were from Victoria, or almost 37 per cent; 31 per cent were from New South Wales. But they came from all over the nation. The majority of respondents were from metropolitan areas, and the majority were female—60 per cent. Fifty-six per cent of those who replied were actually involved in paid work in the arts and creative industries. Many of these had been long-term industry workers. Also a large slice of that—almost 50 per cent of respondents—worked in other areas, outside the arts, and education was the No. 1 area employing people in a second income stream.

All mediums were presented in the survey, from literature through to major cultural institutions—music, live entertainment, theatre, film, television, dance, comedy and video games, and circus had some representation. The digital creative space was also very active in their responses. Digital media is growing. It's not just video games but also video production, video on demand, streaming services. Everything is growing in the digital space. Many called for—surprisingly—greater financial support from various governments. Another common call was for greater recognition by the broader community of the importance of the arts in everyday life. During the pandemic the sector been particularly useful, because streaming of arts has kept people sane. It's allowed an outlet for people with creative talent to go online. But it doesn't replace regular business as usual. We note that the majority of survey respondents came from Victoria, which, unfortunately, has had the most stringent second-phase lockdown, exacerbating the problems they've all faced. Universally, pretty much everyone who responded to the survey had lost their incomes overnight. We know COVID affects everything, but there is a future, which is coming back rapidly.

The committee appreciates the time that all 4,800 people took to complete the survey. The results will inform the committee as we consider further submissions. The importance of this industry—and I say 'industry' because people don't look at the economic side of the creative and cultural sectors—is that it is a massive employer of people. Working in the creative arts has empowered many people who are without other career opportunities, whether in remote or very remote Australia. The Indigenous arts industry is empowering lots of communities in remote Australia. A lot of artists live regionally. They display in metropolitan centres. It is a huge economic driver and empowerer of economic independence, and that is something the inquiry is very much focused on. We are trying to sort out the conflict between various income streams. It is a space of such great interest, and that is reflected in the survey results. Because there was such a major response by the community—as I mentioned, 4,871 people—the committee, my co-members and the secretariat, were very keen to let all of them know, rather than waiting until the middle of 2021, when we should complete this inquiry. I commend this inquiry and the survey to the House.

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