Background

For several years, the Federal Government has been planning to write a National Cultural Policy.  In early 2010 there was a submission process and we have excerpts of those submissions on this website.  In mid-2011 the Minister, Simon Crean, invited another round of submissions on the National Cultural Policy.  The discussion paper framed the questions and discussion in a different way but many of the issues have not changed since the previous round of written submissions.

Some submissions are online – click here to have a look.

The Music Council of Australia made a very substantial contribution with a detailed and wide ranging submission.  You can read all 104 glorious pages of it here. This is our submission, which is supplementary to the MCA’s.

Submission on the National Cultural Policy

Alongside the submission by the Music Council on a wide range of topics, the Australian  Youth Music Council presents the following discussion of four topics:

• Small Grants
• Youth Participation
• Career Development
• Management

The Australia Council has released another research paper, which “looks at ways in which the policy relationship between these often polarised sectors of arts and creative industries might be re-thought and approached more productively.”

Several days ago we listed the Greens’ Performing Arts policy, today we have the ALP’s Arts Policy “Investing In A Creative Australia”.  We look forward to being able to compare policies if the Coalition releases one before the election.

Labor’s Arts Policy includes:

• Moving funding programs from the Minister’s Department (DEWHA) to the arms-length funding body, The Australia Council
• $10 million for the Australia Council to invest in up to 150 new artistic works, presentations and fellowships.
• Commitments to complete the National Cultural Policy and Strategic Contemporary Music Industry Plan
• Negotiate a new model for supporting Major Performing Arts Organisations “which rewards success, provides greater access for Australian audiences, promotes enhanced artistic excellence, and ensures prudent levels of accountability from major performing arts organisations”

The Australian Greens have launched a policy platform to help ensure a vibrant future for the performing arts in Australia.  When the other major parties launch arts policies during this election campaign we will include them on this website as well.

The United Nations Youth Association of Australia has asked the ALP, Coalition and the Greens to answer 9 questions on youth issues during this election campaign.  

Left Right Think-Tank is involved in running “Arts Election 2010″ a forum to engage young people more deeply in the election campaign around the issue of Arts and Cultural Policy.

At its meeting yesterday, ArtsPeak, the confederation of 25 Australian national
peak arts organisations voiced its concern at the invisibility of the arts in the federal election campaign.

AYMC’s Erinn Swan was a guest on the Shake Up last friday on Triple J’s Hack talking about the Federal Election.  Hack also covered the I ♥ MUSIC AND I VOTE facebook group, funding for contemporary music and policy discussions about the arts.

Marcus Westbury and Ben Eltham recently wrote an essay on Australia’s need for a Cultural Policy, and re-thinking how Governments make policy decisions about culture. 

Should ticket scalping be regulated?  Should it be legal? That’s what an issues paper from the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC) is asking.