Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Australia Council Amendment (Creative Australia) Bill 2023 and of the arts in Australia. It has been a very tough few years for the arts in Australia, with the pandemic and before that the Black Summer bushfires and a decade of coalition cuts, so I'm very pleased to be standing here today with good news for the vibrant and innovative arts sector.

Art is a crucial expression of our humanity. It is a central part of how we express and define ourselves as a community, and how we tell our stories. It's where we turn for inspiration, comfort and entertainment. It was a lifeline for so many during the pandemic when lockdowns meant so many of us had to turn to the arts for support and distraction. I thank the Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, for his hard work and leadership in this area through that difficult time in the previous parliament and for now bringing forward this work and getting the national cultural policy off the ground. I acknowledge his genuine passion and commitment to the arts in Australia, which is very obvious for all to see. It is a very refreshing change.

The minister has, of course, consulted far and wide to get the national cultural policy right, including last year holding a town hall in my electorate here in Canberra. I know representatives of the local arts sector were relieved and excited to finally have a minister willing to meet with them and discuss the challenges they face and the policy settings required to help them to thrive again. I've been very proud to advocate for Canberra's arts community through what has been an incredibly challenging few years for the sector. I'm very, very proud to represent an electorate so rich in artistic talent and creativity and also blessed with amazing access to experiencing the arts at our galleries, theatres, museums, festivals, markets and so on. A wonderful example of this creativity can be seen around the national capital at the moment with the delightful Enlighten festival, which includes this building being lit up at night with the work of local artists. I encourage members and senators to get out and have a look at that if they get the chance this week.

Special events aside, Canberrans and visitors need attend only one of our many national institutions to be immersed and inspired by some of our nations and the world's great artists. One of the great highlights of the Canberra calendar is the opening of the National Gallery's blockbuster art exhibitions. Over the years I've attended many of these exhibitions and seen some of the world's greatest works of art. I know that many visitors come to Canberra to see these, but, as Canberrans, we are so lucky to have this on our doorstep all the time. One such exhibition is the Cressida Campbell exhibition, the most recent exhibition at the gallery. I was really pleased, when I had my parents-in-law visiting, to go and visit it one afternoon with my mother and my mother-in-law. And we were just blown away by that exhibition. It's just another example of the fantastic art they have there at the gallery.

Last year, I was thrilled to join in a very special celebration, as well, at the National Museum of Australia, to open two new galleries: the Great Southern Land gallery, and the Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre, which is a very special section for children, and I can report that my two children absolutely love it. The free public event included a performance by iconic Australian band Icehouse, a wonderful example of the artistic talent that our nation has to offer. It was especially memorable because it was wonderful to see so many people—over a thousand, from memory—come together after the incredibly challenging few years that our community and our national institutions had been through.

It was a valuable reminder of the central place that our national institutions have in Australian life and of how we, as the Canberra community, are so privileged to live here where they are and to be able to visit them anytime. But just a reminder: these institutions actually belong to all Australians. They are critically important to Australian life, to telling our stories, to maintaining our history and to inspiring and delighting visitors from around our nation and the world. It's incredibly important that they are supported and resourced in the way that they need to be, not just to maintain that work but to build on it and to deliver on the great visions of the people running these organisations, to continue to deliver for all Australians. They have really been neglected over the last decade, and I am very hopeful that our government is going to address these issues.

These institutions bring us together to learn, to relax, to be inspired and to have our thinking challenged. As I say, over the last decade we have seen them become the subject of devastating neglect, dealing with issues such as leaking roofs, and looking at needing to lay off staff or even close on certain days of the week in order to keep running. There are urgent repairs needed in the National Gallery, for example; it alone says that it needs more than $67 million to repair the 40-year-old building. Those repairs will help protect its art collection, which is worth an estimated $6.1 billion, and it urgently needs to come up with those extra millions to cover repairs to the building.

So I was pleased to hear the Prime Minister, earlier this year, confirm the importance of our institutions and commit to address this problem through the budget. Further evidence of the Australian Labor government's commitment to properly funding the arts can be seen in my electorate, through the $5 million in funding announced in the October budget to revitalise Canberra's beloved Gorman House arts centre, in preparation for the house's centenary in 2024, and to support our vibrant arts community.

Of course, the arts community in Canberra is not just about our national institutions, either. We have a thriving and vibrant local arts community, which, despite the challenges of the past few years, continues to produce some of the most incredible art in this country. Just to name a few spaces—and I apologise; I will probably leave some off the list—our arts community here in Canberra thrives in spaces such as: the Ainslie Arts Centre, the Canberra Contemporary Art Space in Manuka, Canberra Glassworks, Gorman Arts Centre, Manuka Arts Centre, the Street Theatre, the Canberra Theatre Centre, the Watson Arts Centre and the Megalo Print Studio and gallery.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the leadership and advocacy of the ACT government and the arts minister, Tara Cheyne, which includes a $28 million commitment to revitalise Civic Square and expand the Canberra Theatre Centre, which is a very exciting project for Canberra; I'm hoping to see that develop into somewhat of a national theatre centre.

It has been a stark turnaround since the Albanese Labor government won government last year, because, for 10 years, Australia was without a national cultural policy. For 10 years, the arts in Australia were neglected by the coalition, as part of, essentially, a culture war. I'm happy to say that Labor will end that lost decade and end the policy drift with our national cultural policy, Revive. This builds on Labor's already-proud history of delivering for the arts in Australia. Revive will be the third cultural policy of its kind, following Paul Keating's Creative Nation and Julia Gillard's Creative Australia. Revive will give direction to the $17 billion industry that employs an estimated 400,000 Australians.

At the centre of this policy is the establishment of Creative Australia, which will be governed by the Australia Council. Since 1975, the Australia Council has had a strong profile in the arts sector as the principal Commonwealth arts investment and advisory body. The Australia Council supports and promotes creative arts practice, which is recognised both nationally and internationally, and provides research and advocacy on issues affecting the sector. A restored and modernised Australia Council, through Creative Australia, will strengthen the capacity of the Australia Council, provide for greater strategic oversight and engagement across the sector and ensure that funding decisions continue to be made on the basis of artistic merit and at arm's length from government, which is critically important. It will also include the establishment of independent bodies and funds for First Nations arts and culture, for contemporary music and for writers, as well as a Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces.

The implementation of the Australia Council reforms under the national cultural policy will be staged to allow for necessary consultation across the sector. However, there are a number of elements that require implementation from 1 July. This bill amends the Australia Council Act 2013 to give effect to elements of Revive that need to be in place by 1 July.

The bill provides for the Australia Council to operate under the name Creative Australia and provides new functions to allow the commencement of work related to Music Australia and the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces. The Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces will work with artists, industry workers and employers to raise and maintain safety standards for all art forms and ensure matters are referred to relevant authorities as appropriate. Music Australia will support the Australian music industry to grow, including through strategic initiatives and industry partnerships, research, training, skills development and export promotion. A follow-up bill will be introduced later this year to establish these critical bodies. Ongoing consultation with the sector will inform this legislation.

This bill will provide authority for the Australia Council to deliver the functions of Creative Partnerships Australia, including to attract and recognise private-sector support for the arts and undertake research on public and private investment in the arts. This increased access to private-sector funding for the arts will maximise the impact of public investment and support a sustainable arts sector. The transfer of Creative Partnerships Australia will leverage the Australia Council's expertise, bring together arts philanthropy and arts funding within one entity, and create synergies between public and private partnerships as well as between government and philanthropic investment.

The bill allows the Australia Council to assume responsibility for the Australian Cultural Fund from 1 July, including for all donations made into the fund prior to the transfer. The Australian Cultural Fund is an important mechanism utilised by Creative Partnerships Australia to deliver its objectives to grow the culture of giving to arts and culture and bring donors, businesses, artists and art organisations together. Through this legislation, the Australia Council will assume responsibility to assist Australian artists and arts organisations to attract and maintain support from donors and businesses, diversifying their sources of revenue and encouraging and celebrating innovation and excellence in giving to and partnerships with the arts and cultural sector.

The bill includes transitional elements to support a smooth transfer of functions and ensure continuity of business between Creative Partnerships Australia and the Australia Council. These transitional elements cover the transfer of assets, liabilities, records and staff entitlements and will ensure that at the time of transfer employees of Creative Partnerships Australia will be taken to be Australia Council employees and receive equivalent accrued entitlements to benefits.

This government is truly committed to improving the quality of Commonwealth investment in the arts sector and to strengthening and streamlining access to support, including for artists and arts organisations. A properly resourced Australia Council is key to delivering on this commitment, and the transfer of the functions of and funding for Creative Partnerships Australia to the Australia Council will align with this objective. Most importantly, we have a government that recognises the importance of the arts and that they are essential to all facets of Australian life. It supports our artists not only as creatives but also as workers. That was a really important point that came through in the pandemic when artists were left out, in many ways, from the JobKeeper scheme and were essentially not seen as workers. Aside from the real cultural importance of the arts, the arts have a huge economic significance for Australia. This should not be ignored either.

Here in Canberra I will continue to stand with our arts community. I am so proud to advocate on your behalf in this place as we continue to consult and implement our national cultural policy.

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