Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Australia Council Amendment (Creative Australia) Bill 2023. I also want to use this as an opportunity to talk about some of the amazing artists and art groups in my community of Mayo. The arts contribute so positively, I think, to all of our communities and certainly to all of the communities across my electorate. They facilitate social harmony by providing an opportunity for individuals and groups to express themselves. The arts also maintain access to community and government funded institutions which preserve our cultural heritage and provide a platform for the curious to engage with various local histories.

I honestly think that, when we're talking about photographs and about history, we are talking about art. The National Library of Australia's digital record platform, Trove, serves as an institutional backbone for the preservation of our cultural heritage and our arts and allows many historical groups within my electorate to maintain their operations in the interest of educating and serving community members seeking greater knowledge of the past.

I'd like to provide context on Trove as a platform and how it has served my local community since its creation. Trove was launched online in 2009. It's the National Library's single business discovery project, and it creates that entry point for the nexus between history and art. It is a treasure trove. I am concerned that, when we're talking about this bill and when we're talking about funding arts, we are potentially missing that link and that that funding is currently under threat. It is a cultural institution, and it's unparalleled in its ability to enhance the knowledge of our various local histories and our community—of all of us, including our souls. I believe it's paramount that it should be continued.

I'd like to talk about some of the amazing organisations that I have in Mayo that, honestly, have just had the most difficult time through COVID. I'd like to just list some of those groups. Many of these are groups that work to support children in their artistic endeavours, but not all of them. Some of them are providing opportunities for amateur theatre as well as other mediums of art. When I'm talking about performing arts, I'm talking about Ink Pot Arts, the Stirling Players, the Yankalilla Youth Theatre, the Hills School of Theatre Arts, the Stirling Community Theatre, the Adelaide Hills Performing Arts Centre, the Adelaide Hills Arts, Rockit Performing Arts, Theatre Bugs, South Coast Choral and Arts Society, JamaeRaw School of Performing Arts, Fortuna House of Performing Arts, Fleurieu Dance Collective and—this one's really cute—Laughing Llama Dance and Drama based in Cherry Gardens. Cherry Gardens is a small community of mine. All of those performing arts groups live within Mayo, and all of them have managed to survive to varying degrees through COVID.

I think it's really important, when we're looking at this bill, that we don't just fund and focus on the very high end but that we make sure that there is funding for community and grassroots arts. I'd like to acknowledge some of the art programs that exist in my community and across South Australia. I'm really fortunate to have a lot of people in my electorate who are actually employed in the field of art. They are children's books illustrators. They are people like Silvio Apponyi. He's a sculptor. In fact one of his works is here in our Parliament House gardens. They are potters; they work in the fine arts and the visual arts. Then we have festivals like the SALA festival and Country Arts SA. We have wonderful facilities such as the Hahndorf Academy and the Top of the Torrens Gallery, which is in Birdwood and is run entirely by volunteers.

When we talk about fine arts and the making of artwork, we sort of forget about music and how important music is—live music, composing, local festivals. And I think it's going to be really important, when we're looking at funding the arts moving forward, that we don't forget about fantastic local organisations. In my community, I would say, very few people have ever got to the Sydney Opera House. In fact, not all of my community would even have been to the Adelaide Festival Centre. So we need to make sure that the arts are within reach for every Australian and that we fund the arts appropriately in that regard. Whether it's street art or volunteers who are working with young people, teaching them how to act, how to perform, it's critical that we put that focus in.

I recently met with Evette Wolf, who established the Yankalilla Youth Theatre. Evette's home has doubled for years as a makeshift storeroom for props and costumes used in the theatre productions. This has made it very difficult. It has made her home a tripping hazard. It's such a shame, when all she needs is a shed to be able to put the equipment in. She volunteers all of her time. She gives support to young people to improve their wellbeing—young people who don't necessarily fit into the mould of football or netball or other group sports. She provides a home and a safe space for those young people to thrive, and it's just so challenging.

For many years we've seen arts and the funding of arts as an afterthought, so I'm pleased that there is this significant investment here in the arts. But I do want to make sure that that filters down from the national galleries and the high end and goes all the way down to the community.

As I was saying, Yankalilla Youth Theatre just need a small storeroom. It would be their dream to actually have somewhere real to perform, some kind of amphitheatre. They're inspirational in what they do, and I want to support them in both of those dreams—to get a small shed to store things in without them getting wet and without them being in people's homes and, more broadly, to get a space where we can see performance down in the Fleurieu.

I'd like to talk about another group that operates within my community, the Stirling Players. Last year they celebrated 50 years of operation. I'm fortunate enough to be their patron, and I thoroughly enjoy attending their performances. The players provide an opportunity for people of all ages to come together, sharing a common passion to be involved in productions, either on or off stage. It's been a great starting ground for many young performers who have then gone on to brighter lights. This is the kind of thing that we need to be investing in. They shouldn't be needing to spend every other moment that they have, when are not performing, running fundraising just to be able to keep the electricity on.

Inkpot Arts is another example of local group which continues to grow and thrive within my community. This group offers workshops on a regular basis for children, young people and adults. Everything from drama to dance, creative writing and improv sessions is on offer, meaning there is truly something for everyone.

As I mentioned before, music is such a huge passion in my community. I am a true believer in live music, being the daughter of a muso. It's incredibly important that we support live music. We've already seen, across my electorate—and I think this is across much of South Australia and probably Australia—that pokies have, unfortunately, taken the place of live music in so many venues, particularly pubs, where people often get their start. Dining rooms and large areas with stages have been converted into pokie rooms, and it's left very little place for budding musos to play.

I would also like to mention—and I'm sure many people here in the chamber would know these two, because they've been on national television, on The VoiceElla and Sienna. They performed live on The Voice. They're two wonderful young women in my community. I've been lucky enough to see these women perform. I've seen them grow from quite young people and watched them take that significant step into the national spotlight. They've done that as all musos do—with very little support, apart from family support, and a true belief in themselves.

The benefit of creative arts cannot be understated. Time and again we are presented with findings that highlight a strong relationship between the development of cognitive capacity through visual arts and improvements in both academic and social performance. Our artistic experiences help to develop individual creativity and self-expression, along with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills we require through all stages of our life.

Henri Matisse said, 'Creativity takes courage,' and I could not agree more. I take courage from people who get up on stage and sing and dance and write. I will happily speak in front of thousands of people but you won't hear me belt out a tune, that's for sure! I take such courage and such value out of people who bear their soul and put their words to paper. It is this courage, which equips us with a capacity to accept anomalies and embrace the abstract, that allows us to engage with tested concepts and test the boundaries of what is possible.

I support this bill. It provides a platform on which to recognise the contribution of arts to our society and the way in which greater investment will allow all artistic pursuits, irrespective of origin or size or flourish. I would just say to the government: don't forget the communities and please don't forget regional arts.

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