Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like me the people of Higgins are passionate about the arts. Recently I was thrilled to participate in the Melbourne Fringe Festival's event Multiply. Together, hundreds of local amateur movers and shakers participated in a socially distanced contemporary dance event. Our show-stopping dance moves will be immortalised forever in a stunning Fringe film which will be available next year. So watch out for it. Thank you to the CEO Simon Abrahams and his team at the Fringe and, of course, all the talented artists and participants who contributed to this event.

I am proud that the Morrison government delivered $275,000 to the Melbourne Fringe to deliver safe and viable key festival programs for independent artists and venues through COVID. The funding was part of the Morrison government's $250 million Creative Economy Support package, which was designed to help restart activities such as festivals, concert tours and events as we reopen after COVID. This year our government has announced almost $800 million in extra arts funding. That's on top of our record annual investment of around $750 million in core funding. I am proud of our arts sector. That's why I advocated for an inquiry for the arts to ensure that we provide hope and confidence to the sector as they seek to grasp the opportunities of a post-COVID world. As they say in the industry, the show must go on—and that is what the Morrison government is committed to supporting.

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