COMMENT: New policy shows promise
The new Australian Government has released its first cultural policy under Arts Minister Tony Burke. Called Revive, it has been developed with an independent advisory panel consisting of six arts advocates (including the CEO of the Australia Council, Adrian Collette). These six in turn were advised by five panels consisting of three members each. Rather than being divided up between art "types" or "genre", the panels were grouped under broad titles which reflect aims applicable to the arts as a whole: First Nations First; A Place for Every Story; The Centrality of the Artist; Strong Cultural Infrastructure; and Engaging the Audience.
The result of their deliberations has been published in a document as a set of "priorities" for the short, medium and long-term.
We have seen many grandly worded plans for the arts authored by governments. By contrast, this list of priorities is refreshing practical and free of "motherhood" statements. It shows a genuine familiarity with the "business" of being an artist or arts organisation and recommends some relatively obvious ways this government can support its own culture. Some of the ideas put forward in this document have been floating around for some time, but have fallen on deaf ears. They are quite simple, and yet could make a big difference.
For example, one priority is to "count professional artistic activity towards meeting mutual obligation requirements for Centrelink payments". The lack of flexibility in the definition of "mutual obligation" has long been a frustration for artists, who are always working, just not always for a wage.
Another priority is to "recognise that withdrawing sponsorship from companies involved in fossil fuel businesses may require increased government funding". In the past politicians have threatened to withdraw funding when sponsorship has been refused on ethical grounds.
Another excellent idea is to increase the "representation of artists/cultural practitioners on boards of Australian Government organisations" (thereby embedding the arts as a just another, equally important contributor to policies).
Also excellent is the long term aim that "investment in arts and culture in Australia is incrementally increased to meet the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of percentage of Gross Domestic Product".
As published recently by the cultural think tank ANA (A New Approach), Australian governments are spending significantly less on culture compared to our OECD peers, with research in 2022 showing Australia was ranked number 23 out of the 34 OECD countries for cultural expenditure by governments. That is surely a shameful statistic for a wealthy country like ours.
There's also the wonderful idea to finally establish a National Poet Laureate. High time!
For too long the arts in Australia have been made to feel like they are a nuisance add-on, begging for "hand-outs", or that they are the plaything of the privileged. Too often they are completely overlooked in government policy. In fact, art is part of the mainstream; for every person who takes part in sport, another takes part in art. Art is inseparable from culture; culture is inseparable from human activity; culture is the manifestation of our collective intellectual achievement. How can any self-respecting government overlook that?
Now we just have to see if the Albanese government will make good on these aims.
– KAREN VAN ULZEN
The six on the advisory panel were Janet Holmes à Court AC; Adrian Collette (CEO of the Australia Council); Alysha Herrmann; Sinsa Mansell; Kitty Taylor; Christos Tsiolkas, and Professor Clare Wright OAM, an interesting cross-section of passionate arts advocates. See their details here.