Committees
Economy and Infrastructure Committee
Inquiry into the Cultural and Creative Industries in Victoria
Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:36): Pursuant to standing order 23.22, I table a report on the inquiry into the cultural and creative industries in Victoria, including an appendix, extracts of proceedings and minority reports, from the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, and I present the transcripts of evidence. I move:
That the transcripts of evidence be tabled and the report be published.
Motion agreed to.
Georgie PURCELL: I move:
That the Council take note of the report.
In undertaking this inquiry the committee recognised the economic and social impact of the cultural and creative industries, and particularly the performing and visual arts, on the lives of Victorians. In doing so, the committee accepts that it has defined the cultural and creative industries quite narrowly and freely accepts that there are many industries that could be defined as cultural or creative. However, the committee has chosen to limit the scope of the inquiry for strictly practical purposes and to make the inquiry more manageable given the committee’s inquiry schedule. The scope of the inquiry’s consideration covered a wide range of issues, including the funding and investment in the cultural and creative industries across governments; access and participation in region and rural areas was a focus; the representation and the role of public broadcasters the ABC and the SBS; workforce development and industry sustainability; and sector recovery from the COVID pandemic and future resilience.
The committee is grateful to the arts organisations, industry representatives, regional communities and public sector agencies as well as individuals who took the time to make a submission to the inquiry and to appear before the committee in public hearings. In addition to thanking those who made such a valuable contribution to the committee’s work, I would like to express my appreciation for the collegiate and positive approach taken to the inquiry by committee members at most times. Committee members may have come to the subject matter from different places but were at all times respectful, added different perspectives and conducted the inquiry in a highly professional manner.
As always I would really like to thank the committee secretariat of Michael Baker, the committee manager; Jessica Summers, the inquiry officer; Alyssa Topy, the research assistant; Caitlin Connally, the inquiry officer; Julie Barnes, the senior administrative officer; and Sylvette Bassy, the administrative officer, for the professional and thorough assistance that they have given to the committee throughout the inquiry and always give to us as the committee. I would also like to thank Matilda Dunn, the committee’s intern, for her excellent background research work on this topic and this inquiry. The committee has greatly appreciated the support.
Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (09:39): I rise to speak on the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee report into cultural and creative industries in Victoria. I thank my colleague David Davis for getting up this motion in the first place. I thank the chair Georgie Purcell for the way in which she has carried herself in this inquiry and also the staff, including Michael Baker and the secretariat staff as well. It was a thorough, decent and thoughtful inquiry. I think everyone came to the inquiry with a mindset of how important our arts and creative industries are to Victoria – the contribution our arts and creative industries make. We know from the inquiry that particularly regional Victoria is not getting its fair share of the revived national arts policy. Certainly there is a lot more work to do to advocate to the Commonwealth government for Victoria’s fair share of creative industries funding.
I would note, just looking at some of the extracts, the committee supported continued advocacy on the ABC and the SBS, particularly a return for a Victorian-based 7.30 report, something I am quite passionate about. I was very surprised to see the Labor members of the committee oppose that. Also, given the motion yesterday, I was very surprised to see Labor members of the committee opposing the SBS being located in somewhere like Broadmeadows or Dandenong. I think we all support the SBS, as we heard yesterday. It is important to note those votes in the chamber that Labor members would oppose that. Why would Labor members oppose the ABC bringing back the Victorian-based 7.30 report when it is important for integrity in Victoria and to scrutinise both governments and oppositions here in this state.
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (09:41): I will also open my contribution by thanking the committee secretariat as usual for their incredible hard work. I also want to thank all of the incredibly hardworking creative organisations that took time to come and provide information to the committee that allowed a really thorough examination of the value that the arts and creative industries bring to Victoria. That was never in question throughout this inquiry. I think what we delved into was what we then do to recognise and support that contribution to continue to grow into the future.
On the topic that we spent some time discussing yesterday, it is good that the chamber has had an opportunity to talk about the value that the ABC and the SBS bring to the national conversation. It is really good to reiterate that that is much appreciated. My view is that those independent media organisations provide a great public service to us in progressing national conversations, and I think the committee was at its strongest when it recognised and confined its advocacy to getting a better share. I think it is really important that we always reiterate the independence of those institutions and the need to protect them from political interference in their operational matters. But the chamber had an opportunity to discuss those matters yesterday around a greater presence for the SBS in multicultural communities in Victoria, and the committee was glad to ventilate that issue.
Returning to the main issue that we heard from creative organisations, the need for funding and certainty around funding, on that note I think the committee has made some recommendations. The Victorian Greens have put in a minority report suggesting that extra measures that Victoria could explore would be a living wage for artists pilot program; some assistance to access affordable insurance, particularly for the live music and events industries; and of course a big uptick in small to medium organisation funding, which is sorely needed.
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (09:43): I also want to join in comment on the cultural and creative industries in Victoria report by the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. I want to thank the committee staff for their work. I want to thank the chair, and I also want to say that in many respects the committee did come to some very sensible bipartisan conclusions. There is also, importantly, a minority report which the Liberals and Nationals have put to this. It is a stronger call for more resources in Victoria, a stronger call-out for the interference in the ABC and the SBS that has occurred in driving the staffing and the head office locations into western Sydney. This is not a decision made by those organisations; it is a decision made by the Commonwealth Labor government, which has interfered in these organisations’ independence and forced them to move to western Sydney. It is an absolute outrage that the two government-funded national broadcasters are both based in Sydney and are both overwhelmingly now concentrated in western Sydney. Melbourne has been short-changed. If anyone wants to go and check this, they can look at page 63 of the report, and there is a stark table, 4.1, which breaks down the staffing: 51.9 per cent of staff costs are expended in New South Wales; in Victoria, 17.5 per cent of staff costs. These are stark differences that relate to hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers money which is siphoned out of Victoria and funded now into western Sydney. It is about jobs, it is about our creative industries, it is about artists and it is about the reflection of Australia to Australians. It cannot be done from western Sydney. It is a scandal, and somebody needs to really fight on this.
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (09:45): I was honoured to be part of this inquiry. I have always absolutely enjoyed the cultural and arts scene. I grew up in community theatre and I worked at the ABC for a number of years. But it was wonderful to be with different political parties around the table. I do enjoy that part of Parliament, so I appreciate colleagues on that committee and the secretariat, who provided so much support with submissions and scheduling the public hearings. I do want to thank those that attended the public hearings. We had Bendigo Theatre Company come down as well as Arena Theatre and Leah Sertori. They made a very valuable contribution to the inquiry.
Culture and arts are just so important in regional areas. We have so many great festivals. Even our historical museums are part of that scene. Our RSLs are involved, our showgrounds committees – there are just so many aspects of the arts and culture that are reflected in regional communities. It does, as an industry, contribute $30 billion and employs 300,000 people directly. I think some of the stories that were shared during the hearings were so important, including the impact of the COVID lockdowns and hearing about one young person who had a very vibrant, outgoing personality and then over the course of the lockdowns they gradually saw them really become a very different person, very insulated and disconnected from society – and we heard that time and time again. It was important having people living in regional areas sharing those stories. We saw that there are thousands of employees employed in Sydney for the ABC and SBS, and I think having a spread is so important, because just like MPs, you need to live in your region – or you should – because that is when you know your community and you can represent them. I think the same goes for our public broadcasters. I encourage everyone to look at the report, and hopefully from this we will see a much fairer share of funding coming to regional areas.
Sonja TERPSTRA (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:48): I also rise to speak on the report tabled today in regard to cultural and creative arts industries. It was a very illuminating inquiry. I also wish to thank all those people who came to give evidence in the inquiry, because obviously going to an inquiry and giving up your time, energy and effort to represent the organisations you are from but also talk about the challenges that impact you is no mean feat. I want to thank those people who came to give their evidence so the committee could consider it. In regard to the national broadcasters, the ABC and SBS, both those organisations, and particularly the ABC, came under significant attack from the conservative Morrison government. There is a litany of stories in the press about how the ABC has been used as a political football and how its funding has been absolutely throttled. So for those opposite to talk about the fact that the Labor government is making sure that the organisation somehow has to put all of its staff in western Sydney I find a little bit rich, to be perfectly honest. One thing I do know is that organisations like the ABC and the SBS have a very important role in telling stories about multicultural communities, but also organisations like National Indigenous Television, which also tells important stories about Indigenous people all over Australia. So there are a lot of cultural organisations that tell important stories about all manner of people – also stories about our LGBTIQ+ communities. I for one am pretty sure that the ABC, the SBS and TV stations like NITV do a fantastic job every day telling stories, whether it is about regional Victorians or suburban Victorians or any Australian people all around the world. Telling an organisation what it should do in regard to operational matters was something that was very disappointing, but it is something that comes from those opposite all the time. That people should uproot their lives and somehow move to another state I thought was rather ridiculous.
Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:50): I also rise to speak on the cultural and creative industries in Victoria inquiry. I am grateful to have attended some of those sessions and had some small involvement in it. One of the conclusions I took away from it is that, with no ill intent, and through events of COVID and lockdowns and things, we in Victoria have perhaps been a little bit complacent about the health and value of our creative industries. Because they have always been so strong, I think there has been a temptation to assume they always will be strong. I look around at the community groups, the cultural groups, the creative groups in my electorate. All of them struggle now for volunteers. In most cases they are still struggling to get back to the numbers of participation. And at the end of the day, the arts are about participation. Art is participatory, whether you are the creator or the audience of it. The one lesson in and the indirect value of this report is to refocus our attention on what the arts do to uplift us, to help all of us, whatever our perspectives, to find the greater part of ourselves, to inspire us to be better, and we should not take that for granted in Melbourne. Whatever the magic was that allowed Victoria and Melbourne in particular to become a cultural heart of Australia, whatever that alchemy was, we cannot take it for granted. That alchemy will not just renew itself, and while we are probably amongst the least creative people in the state, it is our job here to make sure that we provide the environment in which it can not just functionally but enthusiastically.
Motion agreed to.