Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

For the last decade there has been a hole in the national cultural policy of this country. Artists, musicians, storytellers and creatives have been left behind in the face of ad hoc, piecemeal and uncertain policy.

Creatives have contributed significantly to our community through their artistic contributions and their passion for their community. They bring a richness to people's daily lives, and that deserves celebrating. When we look at the essential and basic elements of a robust and functioning society and community, there is no doubt that arts and culture play a vital role. The arts bring us together. They help us reflect our differences and celebrate the stories that we share. It is through art and culture that we build our identity as a nation and a people.

Under the previous government, Australia's cultural policy was gutted and left to the side. In 2015 those on the other side made $114 million worth of cuts to the Australia Council. They withdrew large amounts of literature funding, quarantined funding to major performing arts companies, and decimated funding for small and medium arts organisations and to independent artists.

The reduction in funding for Australian arts and culture by the previous government forced the Australia Council to cancel project funding rounds for small groups and individuals and to cut funding to over 60 arts organisations around the country. Many small arts organisations were forced to contract, merge or drastically change their programs in the face of a 70 per cent reduction in grants to individual artists and their projects. Screen Australia had its funding cut by $51.5 million over four years at the hand of the previous government. The former National Gallery of Australia director, Dr Gerard Vaughan, said that ongoing funding cuts were having a profoundly negative impact on the ability of the gallery to run.

The former government even got rid of the federal arts department and merged it with the transport department. I know some road and rail infrastructure put a little bit of art into their new infrastructure from time to time, but I think merging the federal arts department and the transport department was a bridge too far—no pun intended, of course! If they hadn't already made it clear enough that they had no care for the importance for the arts, they surely did when they made sure it didn't even have a department that bore its name.

Then, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the former government again took the opportunity to show their indifference to the arts community, leaving freelancers out of the JobKeeper package, forcing the Australia Council to create a resilience fund for artists and arts organisations so that their livelihoods, practice and operations could continue to be supported through the pandemic. I saw a lot of these impacts on artists firsthand. I was mayor of the city of Ryde during the pandemic, and I saw the deep impact it had on our arts community and how deeply affected they were. The arts industry, as well as the artistic experience, had been devastated by COVID-19, as events, venues, markets and access to art were shut down in order to protect us all from the virus. It cannot be said better than it was by the Museum of Contemporary Art: 'In times of crisis, bushfires and pandemics, the arts have a capacity to give people ways of coping, imagining a future beyond the crisis.'

In the city of Ryde we understood the importance artists would have in supporting our community to get through those really difficult times. We implemented dozens of innovative and digital creative and professional development workshops to ensure people in our area could continue to develop their craft. We hosted art programs digitally and encouraged artists in residence to engage in our digital entertainment opportunities. We worked with community radio stations 2SER and 2RRR to develop a radio series targeting emerging musicians. We launched the Get Gig Ready podcast alongside a group of local organisations to support and strengthen the music scene in our local area when times were tough. Local artists were hired to paint murals to brighten up facilities while they were shut down—such as the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, which now hosts a beautiful mural painted by City of Ryde staff and their artists. We implemented hardship programs and waived fees for outdoor dining when restrictions were slightly lifted and we could go back out, to encourage venues to host local artists so they could continue to survive. We ensured our initiatives were inclusive of the creative community, who had been left behind by the government. And we did all that because those opposite did not support the arts or artists.

Some of the great events early on were when we hired local artists to do online music concerts. It was the first time the organisation had done that. The feedback we received at the time was extraordinary. People just loved sitting at home and being able to distract themselves from the difficulties of the pandemic at the time. Had the federal government done more for artists, I'm sure the industry wouldn't have been as decimated as it was. I'm thankful that the Labor Party, now in government, can support this industry once more.

Witnessing the key role the arts played in my community throughout COVID-19, it inspired our office, once I became the member for Bennelong, to create the Bennelong Award for the Arts. It's an annual prize presented to students from schools throughout Bennelong who have shown excellence in painting, sculpture, literature, language, music and theatre. In 2022 I was privileged to present this award to 15 students throughout our community who have shown dedication and merit in the arts. These students show outstanding skill and creativity far beyond what is expected of them. I was proud to show support to these emerging artists and to encourage them to continue their pursuit of excellence.

It's for people like the recipients of this award that this legislation we're debating today is so important. This bill is one of many that will support the implementation of the government's national cultural policy, Revive. As a government, we have a responsibility to foster the creative forces that live in our community. This government will provide artists with strong infrastructure, training, development opportunities and space to share their works. It will deliver a framework that empowers our arts, entertainment and cultural sectors.

It's a proud history of Labor governments to provide much-needed support to the arts. This government will continue to carry the torch of the hard work done by the Hawke, Keating and Whitlam governments before us. It was under the Whitlam government that the Australia Council was formed into seven autonomous boards for different areas of the arts. Under the recommendation of the council, they were established as a statutory body, giving the Australia Council the autonomy to make decisions outside of political interference or influence. Under Whitlam's leadership, the council took in the Commonwealth Literary Fund and the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board. In 1984 the Hawke government consolidated the scattered and divergent cultural interests into the Department of Arts, Heritage and Environment, ensuring that the past, present and future of our cultural movements were dealt with all together.

The Australian people have not seen a comprehensive and ambitious cultural policy initiative such as this government's current policy since Keating's Creative Nation in 1994. Creative Nation was the first time an Australian government formally developed a cultural policy. As this government's legislation does now, the Creative Nation policy emphasised the importance of culture to our national identity and widened our understanding of culture and the arts. Further to this, it highlighted the important economic potential of cultural activity and performances. The policy placed new models of cultural engagement alongside traditional forms of artistic expression, highlighting their equal legitimacy and value as art in Australia. The Creative Nation initiative changed the way Australians saw themselves and how we saw our place in the world. It highlighted the importance of Indigenous and migrant cultures in creating a national cultural identity. It funded and established the Australian national institute for Indigenous performing arts and created a database for multicultural texts in Australia.

As Australians, we view ourselves as a proud, multicultural and vibrant community. The legacy of strong cultural policy cannot be undervalued in the role it plays in this identity. It holds up a mirror to our nation and reflects to us who we truly are. This legislation is long overdue and it is the first step in a legislative agenda that highlights and advances the value of arts and culture to this country. Through this legislation, we will amend the Australia Council Act 2013 to support the implementation of a new national cultural policy. The Australia Council will now be able to operate under the name Creative Australia until Creative Australia can be created as a new cultural body in its own right. The establishment of Creative Australia is the centrepiece of this government's national cultural policy. The Australia Council's capacity to provide strategic oversight and engagement across the arts sector will be strengthened and, once again, funding for projects will be made away from government and on merit and value to the sector—no colour-coded spreadsheet in sight.

Under Creative Australia and the Revive initiative, we will establish independent bodies and funding for Indigenous arts and culture, contemporary music and writers and a centre for arts and entertainment workers. The Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces will provide long-needed support to workers throughout the entertainment industry. In collaboration with artists, industry workers and employers, it will ensure that those within the creative field are protected from exploitation. It will raise and enforce standards in the industry, including in remuneration and safety. Further to this, any company found not adhering to these standards will be prevented from receiving government funding.

This bill also reaffirms the commitment of this government to improve and support the arts. It's part of a five-year plan to renew and revive the industry after it faced one of the most difficult periods it had known for generations, at the deliberate design of the former government. The Albanese Labor government will improve the quality of Commonwealth investment in the arts sector and will ensure that artists and organisations have strong and accessible support. The funding of Creative Australia is key to delivering these commitments. With a properly resourced Creative Australia we can ensure that the goals of this important initiative are met.

Cultural policy touches the lives of all Australians, not just those who actively engage in the sector. Robust cultural policy is good for our economy. It's good for our health and education. It's even good for our work around the world. The arts provide a space for every story to be told and for every story to be heard, whether that's through music, literature, visual arts, gaming—as we heard from a previous speaker—or film. This legislation and the accompanying Revive initiative will deliver new momentum and ensure that Australian artists, art workers, organisations and audiences thrive and grow. It will ensure that art, culture and heritage are central to the future of our country.

I commend the government for their commitment to the arts and the cultural industry. In particular I commend the Minister for the Arts, who has done an extraordinary job in bringing this important piece of legislation to parliament. Early on in my time in this place I was walking around with my family and kids. We obviously got lost. We were walking through the ministerial section and the Minister for the Arts came out and said: 'What are you guys doing? You should pop into my office.' I had my young kids with me. I walked in—and I'm sure that he won't mind me saying this—and saw that he had musical instruments everywhere. He had a piano, little guitars and banjos. I have this wonderful picture of my partner, me and our kids—five of us together—with musical instruments. We had a big jam session in his office. It's so refreshing to have a Minister for the Arts, who is not so good at playing music—he confessed that; those are his words, not mine—but who really appreciates the arts and culture.

I know that he has been fighting for these reforms for a very long time. He led this party to promote the arts and to promote the injustices to the arts under the former government. Now that we have been able to form government, I'm sure it is a great pleasure for him and the entire Labor Party to have been able to bring this important transforming legislation to the parliament. I encourage all in this place to support it.

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