"The Albanese government has launched Revive: A place for every story, a story for every place, Australia's new national cultural policy that will set the course for Australia's arts, entertainment and cultural sector for the next five years. This government recognises the importance this sector plays in Australia's cultural advancement and that the arts shouldn't be a privilege that only a few can access. It's something all Australians can experience and participate in."

Address to the Federation Chamber, Private Members' Business - National Cultural Policy

Monday 6 March 2023

I rise today to speak in favour of this motion and also to commend the long-term work of the members for Macquarie and Watson. The Albanese government has launched Revive: A place for every story, a story for every place, Australia's new national cultural policy that will set the course for Australia's arts, entertainment and cultural sector for the next five years. This government recognises the importance this sector plays in Australia's cultural advancement and that the arts shouldn't be a privilege that only a few can access. It's something all Australians can experience and participate in.

At the peak of the pandemic, the arts sector worked overtime with little federal support to ensure Australians could still engage with all aspects of the sector, from our cultural institutions and our learned societies to our favourite indi artists. The industry was forced to completely change its ways. Our favourite musicians, artists, comedians and actors went to podcasts, Zoom concerts or other mediums to ensure they could provide sought-after content for their dedicated followers. There are many Australians that are incredibly grateful for the services the arts sector continued to provide during such difficult circumstances.

The former government were no friends to those interested in the arts or those who worked across the sector. The Brandis era cuts devastated the industry and left many industry participants without hope. But now, thanks to the Albanese government, small to medium-sized organisations will have the opportunity to grow again. Revive will also seek to modernise how the government supports the arts sector.

Since its creation by the Whitlam government in 1975, the Australia Council has been the principal Commonwealth body that has supported the arts sector. The Albanese government will now restore its funding and modernise the program by establishing Creative Australia and creating four new bodies: Music Australia, Writers Australia, First Nations First and a Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces. Revive will bring much-needed direction to the industry that was largely forgotten during the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments.

This government recognises that you should not need to travel to the centre of our capital cities to appreciate art and that tourists should be encouraged to visit our regions to appreciate their stories and cultural contributions to Australia. This policy will begin the process of restoring the cuts made under the previous government and increase funding for the Regional Arts Fund, which will increase its capacity to deliver more regional programs. Revive, in this space, will aim to share the national collections with all Australians, by establishing a loan program that will deliver long-term loans of works from the National Gallery of Australia's collection to regional and suburban cultural institutions, and I look forward to some of the potential programs that might run through the Tuggeranong Arts Centre in my seat of Bean.

Our national collecting institutions have provided Australians, whether they are academic researchers, amateur family historians or visitors, with a crucial link not just to our national heritage but also to an understanding of both our past and present. While Revive doesn't directly address the crippling neglect from the Liberal-National government's decade-long cultural war, I will continue to work with the Minister for the Arts and the Special Envoy for the Arts to ensure that the long-term financial sustainability of our national collecting institutions can be addressed in the upcoming budget process.

We owe Australians a policy that will help shape and grow this nation's ability to share its stories through cultural expression. When I first served in this great place, I had the privilege to be involved in the inquiry into Canberra's national institutions and the report that came out of that inquiry, Telling Australia's story—and why it's important. Many of that report's recommendations have remained on the shelf gathering dust. Finally we have a government that is not only committed to our national cultural institutions but is committed to a national cultural policy that will tell our stories, past, present and future. I commend the motion to the House.