What About the Arts and Entertainment

Scientific advice to governments and communities is one important thing scientists do. There are many scientific voices in the media, so it can be confusing. These voices can also often lobby politicians for vested private interests rather than for broad community benefit. That is why CSIRO is important – it is largely funded by the public for public benefit in Australia. It is regularly scrutinised in open senateestimates committee hearings to test its integrity and it is an independent statutory agency, not a government department controlled by a Minister.How have you been spending your days during this coronavirus lockdown? Have you been listening to music, watching movies? Such entertainment content relies on people working in the arts industries.

In a signed open letter to the federal government, academics working in creative and cultural fields called for urgent crisis-support for the arts: “The Australian music, arts and live events industries have been among the first to feel the immediate impacts from the Coronavirus pandemic. These industries are also the first to bring joy, music and art into the lives of Australians, and to give hope and a sense of community in times of crisis.” (You can see the letter on the Australian Music Centre website). 

The letter expressed, “concern for the plight of the many freelance artists and musicians around this country now desperately striving to survive in the gig economy.” Over $280 million of income for creative industry businesses and workers was lost in just one week; this represents 255,000 gig/event cancellations and impacts 500,000 people. The letter called for significant and immediate support to protect the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of artists, managers, agents, crews, venues, contract, and casual workers, all of whom rely on these industries.

Sadly, in South Gippsland, so many wonderful arts events have been cancelled. Two examples are the award-winning live music shows at Meeniyan Town Hall and, in Fish Creek, the 2020 Tea Cosy Festival (which has moved online). 

Once the rule restricting the size of gatherings came in, it was clear that the arts and entertainment sector would be the first to shut down and might be the last to get back on its feet. The pandemic has devastated the sector, with artists and entertainers experiencing desperate problems with their livelihoods. Our arts industries fundamentally rely on public engagement. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 47% of arts and recreation businesses remain trading, and that number is falling. In comparison, across the majority of Australia’s industries, over 90% of businesses are still trading. 

In April, during the special one-day sitting of federal parliament to consider the Morrison government’s $130 billion wage subsidy package, Tony Burke, the shadow Arts Minister, moved a motion calling on the government “to recognise that the Australian arts and entertainment sector needs a specific, tailored, fiscal response package to ensure its ongoing viability, given the structure of the Job Keeper payment has been designed in a way that leaves many workers in the sector ineligible.”

But this is an industry which is vital to both the economy and the wellbeing of the population. According to the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research, the arts industry injected $111.7 billion into the Australian economy in 2016-2017. That’s a huge contribution to our economy and it dwarfs the aviation industry’s contribution of $18 billion to Australia’s GDP. Yet the government, having refused to help the arts, has pledged over $1 billion to support the aviation industry.

It is true that Arts Minister Fletcher did outline an allocation of $27 million of targeted support for Indigenous Arts, Regional Arts, and the industry charity Support Act. By way of contrast, England’s Arts Council announced a package of £160 million (A$340 million) to support the arts, while Germany rolled out a massive aid package of €50 billion (A$85 billion) targeting their creative and cultural sectors, which speaks volumes to the importance in which Germany views its arts sector.

Earlier this year, the arts and entertainment sector in Australia was demonstrably generous and quick to respond with fund-raising events to assist bushfire victims, with concerts, exhibitions, and benefit albums raising money for bushfire relief. Artists give so much to Australia, yet they are almost entirely left out of the Job Keeper scheme and the federal government has not provided an appropriate aid package. 

How much do Australians value our music industry, our film industry, our whole arts, and entertainment sector? The open letter noted, “Australia’s cultural future is now as much at stake as the livelihoods of its artists and musicians.”

Susan Quinn Fish Creek

Reprinted from Just Communities Newsletter with Permission