Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government is providing support to our media and entertainment sector during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank the member for Moncrieff, who brings a very relevant personal background to that question about the entertainment sector, having worked for some 30 years as a professional musician, and a very accomplished one, too—one of the examples of the great diversity of skills and life experience that we on this side bring to the chamber.

The member is right to ask about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and entertainment sector, because the sector's been hit very hard. Venues are closed, performances have stopped, artists have lost their gigs and revenue for many organisations has fallen to zero. That's why it's been so important that JobKeeper has been there to support people in the arts and entertainment sector. From the numbers in what the Australian Bureau of Statistics calls the creative and performing arts subsector, that's around 40,000 people—actors, backstage crew and others. We now know that over 25,000 people in that subsector received the JobKeeper payment in April. In other words, almost two-thirds of people in the creative and performing arts subsector received $76 million in support in April alone—and that is as it should be, because this sector has been hit very hard and our support is going to the areas where the need is greatest. There is targeted support through measures like $10 million for regional arts; $7 million for Indigenous arts centres; and $10 million for Support Act, the respected charity which supports people in the music and performing arts sectors, to assist musicians who have been hit particularly hard by the loss of gigs, thanks to COVID-19.

I am also asked about the support that we're providing to the media sector. The media sector as well was hit very hard by the sharp drop in advertising revenue when Australians were turning to the media more than ever for information at this critical time. That is why we provided $41 million of relief from the spectrum tax which ordinarily applies to radio and television broadcasters. That's why we have committed $50 million through the Public Interest News Gathering program for regional broadcasters and newspapers. Applications have already closed on that. We have moved quickly, are currently considering applications, and the money will start to flow shortly.

So the member is right to point out that the arts and entertainment and media sectors have been hit hard by the economic impacts of COVID-19, and our government has been there to provide targeted support to these important sectors.