Chapter 1Interim report
1.1On 8 February 2023, the Senate referred the inquiry into the National Cultural Policy to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 June 2023. The terms of reference are to inquire into:
(a)the National Cultural Policy released on 30 January 2023; and
(b)any other related matters.
1.2Australia's National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place is a five-year plan to reinvigorate arts and culture in Australia, with five interconnected objectives.
1.3On 13 June 2023, the Senate granted an extension of time to report until 17October 2023; this was extended further on 7 August 2023 when the Senate granted an extension until 1 March 2024. The inquiry was again extended by the Senate on 28 February 2024, to 20 June 2024.
1.4In accordance with its usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry on its website and wrote to individuals and organisations inviting submissions by 9 March 2023. The committee has continued to accept submissions received after this date.
1.5To date, the committee has received 75 submissions, which are listed on the committee's website. The committee has held the following public hearings:
14 April 2023, Canberra—industry bodies, First Nations entities and national cultural institutions;
3 July 2023, Port Adelaide—industry organisations including festival, film, children's arts, theatre and music arts bodies; and
16 April 2024, Canberra—representatives from the music festivals, screen, library, literature and publishing industry bodies, arts and cultural worker and workplaces industries, and Australian Government representatives.
1.6The public submissions, additional information received and Hansard transcripts are available on the committee's website.
Acknowledgement
1.7The committee thanks all those who have contributed to the inquiry to date through their submissions, additional information, and appearances at public hearings.
Interim and final reports
1.1The purpose of this interim report is to summarise key points made in evidence to date, and identify areas where the Government should consider immediate action to support the arts and entertainment industries while they recover from the impacts of the pandemic, including in relation to:
funding and support for music and live performance festivals;
local content requirements for streaming platforms; and
the books and writing sector.
1.2This interim report is not intended to be an exhaustive examination of evidence received by the committee to date. The committee will table a final report which will provide further evidence on issues relevant to the inquiry's terms of reference.
National Cultural Policy overview
1.3On 30 January 2023, the Government released the National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place (Revive). The policy is designed to 'renew and revive' the arts, entertainment and cultural sector over the next five years and will be supported by $286 million in dedicated funding over fouryears.
1.4Revive is structured around five interconnecting pillars and 10 overarching principles (see Figure 1.1), with the intention that the policy set arts, culture and heritage as 'central to Australia's future' and 'provide a pathway for arts and culture to contribute to whole-of-government outcomes'. The policy recognises the important role of culture and arts in developing national identity, enabling reconciliation and healing, promoting social cohesion, health and wellbeing, and encouraging economic growth.
Figure 1.1Outline of the National Cultural Policy
Source: based on content in Revive, pp. 18-19
1.5Key policy measures include:
the establishment of Creative Australia, which has replaced and modernised the Australia Council for the Arts, providing strategic oversight and engagement across the sector;
a dedicated First Nations-led board within Creative Australia to enable self‑determination, support the telling of First Nations histories and stories, and build the capacity of First Nations creative workers;
the establishment of the Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces within Creative Australia to address issues of pay, safety, codes of conduct and welfare;
the establishment of Music Australia within Creative Australia to support the Australian music industry; and
the establishment of Writers Australia within Creative Australia to support the literature sector, from 2025.
1.6On 30 January 2024, the Government recognised the one-year anniversary of Revive and published an update on implementation and progress.
1.7The overwhelming majority of submitters to the inquiry have welcomed the new national cultural policy and related policy announcements, with these matters to be considered more fully in the final report.
Music and live performance festivals: funding and support
Festival sector challenges
1.8The committee has heard of the importance and value of live performance and music festivals: for artists, to enable them to develop their skills, experience, careers and audiences, as well as to experience the sheer joy of performing; and for audiences who get a buzz seeing their favourite performers live; and for locals who support and participate in festivals which bolster tourism, community and jobs.
1.9Ms Jo Thomas from ARTRAGE Inc put it well:
The reason 600,000 people engaged with our festival is the aesthetic, the joy and the delight it brings us in our dark days. This is why we do need the cultural policy and why we need federal dialogue and investment to deliver on that cultural policy.
1.10Over the course of this inquiry the committee has heard that all live entertainment and music sector participants are continuing to suffer following COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and other impacts. This year alone has seen numerous live music festival cancellations.
1.11Ms Thomas, who has considerable experience in the sector, admitted:
… we're all struggling. Fringe World has faced enormous financial challenges over the past three years due to COVID lockdowns and cancellations. We have recorded significant losses. We have just presented our 2024 festival. While our sales and attendance numbers are absolutely significant, we have again reported a financial loss due to skyrocketing costs which are beyond our control, staffing pressures and altered consumer behaviours.
1.12Mr Adam Smith, Director of the Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong highlighted the fears of the industry, saying:
… people who have been around for decades and are the best in the business are really questioning and wondering how they will go ahead. That is something that, again, is extremely concerning.
1.13Significant losses have been experienced by other festivals, with Mr Peter Noble from Bluesfest Byron Bay remarking:
I put on my event knowing two years in a row that I am going to lose money, but I also know that if you do not proceed, you're over. What do you do when you're an institution like we are? We have to support the belief that we will be there after these economic times have diminished to a point where people feel it's okay to go out again.
1.14The impact of festival cancellation or collapse is considerable. As highlighted by Mx Mitch Wilson from the Australian Festival Association, music festivals form a significant part of the Australian music pipeline, providing artists with an opportunity to build their audience, play before large crowds and be spotted by agents, managers and labels:
… So having festivals pull out of the market has a huge flow-on impact on those up-and-coming Australian artists in particular … It's devastating to think that there might be more cancellations or that the current impacts that we're seeing are going to have that flow-on impact on the rest of the ecosystem.
1.15While there has been speculation about the cyclical nature of festivals and a potential surfeit of festivals, Ms Adelle Robinson, Chair of the Australian Festival Association explained there is currently a wide and varied festival sector and the environment is quite different to the situation in 2012–13, when several large festivals collapsed. The Australian Festival Association put the current challenges down to federal and state regulation, ongoing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown and the impacts of climate change.
1.16Ms Robinson told the committee 'festivals are currently experiencing a crisis that is from a culmination of issues all occurring at once to create what we see as a perfect storm'. These pressures include:
rising operational costs—by up to 40 per cent;
cost-of-living pressures, including stagnant wages, and housing costs (particularly affecting young people);
changing risk appetite of insurers and rising insurance premiums—in some cases 10 times more than prior to 2022;
difficulty in enticing and securing top-tier international artists due to the weak Australian dollar and rising travel costs;
onerous and inconsistent regulations across the states and territories;
extreme climate events, noting that since 2015, 47 festivals have been partially or fully shut down due to climate concerns;
cancellations of festivals generally leading to a decline in consumer confidence; and
the false economy created by grants that prop up new events that otherwise wouldn't have been able to operate.
1.17Mx Wilson acknowledged that the industry also needs to work together 'to not only bring down some of those operations costs but also encourage patrons to buy tickets early, attend and play their part, with everyone pulling in the same direction to keep our favourite cultural events alive'.
Funding
1.18The Australian Government committed $20 million over four years (2020–21 to 2023–24) to the Live Music Australia program—substantially less than the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) program which was released in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants were aimed at live music venues, festivals and organisations supporting original Australian music, with Round 5 specifically targeting live music festivals. Applicants were able to apply for up to $100 000 and had to also contribute to their activity.
1.19The committee heard that while RISE funding had a positive impact on the industry, it did not always reach the artists most in need of it. The Australian Festival Association said that a lot of the funding went to new events which competed with existing events trying to re-establish after COVID lockdowns, and that this 'really distorted the market'. The ongoing benefit of the funding has also been limited because a number of those events have not continued. TheAssociation concluded, 'we welcomed the investment from RISE, but on reflection, with the benefit of hindsight, it could have been targeted a bit better at established events that had an existing audience and experience pre COVID'.
1.20The committee heard that not all festivals receive federal funding. Ms Thomas advised that ARTRAGE—and other fringe festivals—received 'absolutely no Australian federal funding support at all', partly because these festivals fall outside the traditional concept of genres, and partly because they are independent and sit 'on the fringe'.
Research into the music festival sector
1.21There was support for Revive's focus on data collection and research into festivals and venues from the Australian Festival Association and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
1.22On 9 April 2024, Creative Australia published its research report Soundcheck: Insights into Australia’s music festival sector. It is the first report of its kind and looked 'at the social, cultural, and economic impacts of music festivals and the logistics of organising them'.
1.23Mx Wilson was effusive in their praise of the work:
… we asked the government to support that research and we welcomed them asking Creative Australia to do it. The research team at Creative Australia were fantastic to work with and engaged with us at every point in the development of that project to ensure that the report at the end was something that we as industry could use.
1.24Key findings from the research included that:
535 music festivals were held across Australia in 2022–23, embracing a wide range of genres, with electronic, rock and country the most popular;
festival ticket sales are slowly rebounding post pandemic, however tickets are continuing to be purchased later, creating uncertainty for organisers;
younger festival goers (18–24-year-olds) are purchasing tickets at lower rates than before COVID-19, with those in their mid to late 20s buying tickets at greater rates; and
the most significant barriers for operators are rising operational costs, lack of funding and grants, insurance, extreme weather events and complex and inconsistent regulatory requirements across states and territories.
1.25The research also produced an interactive dashboard which allows music festivals data to be searched by size, scale, genre and location. The data will provide a building block for further research on the whole music industry, climate research, as well as improving the understanding of how people engage with, discover, and consume music, in particular younger audiences. Asummary of national, state and territory regulatory frameworks for music festivals was also compiled.
1.26The committee heard further research into the arts, including festivals, is planned, encompassing research into economic impacts, audiences (especially younger audiences), discoverability and climate risks. Additionally, Creative Australia will look more deeply into economic pressures on festival organisers.
Problems with insurance
1.27Insurance costs for festivals have increased dramatically. MsThomas said ARTRAGE's insurance costs had gone up 15 per cent, on top of other significant expense hikes.
1.28Other festivals are facing challenges even obtaining insurance. Mr Smith explained that in 2022 the Yours and Owls festival was cancelled due to flooding. The festival made the difficult decision to move venues for 2023 at considerable cost, time and energy. Mr Smith elaborated:
… we would have really struggled to take out insurance if we had tried to stay at the same venue. I don't know if any insurer in their right mind would have insured us. Either it would have been an enormous cost—we didn't actually get a quote for it—or it would have just not been covered. So we had to move, and moving did help, but weighing that all up—it was like a year's worth of planning and extra costs to move to get to a suitable place that is more weather tolerant. But nothing, unless you're inside, is completely tolerant. So, yes, I'd say that that was hard.
1.29However, Mx Wilson explained that not all festival operators have the option to move:
For people who find themselves on private venues where they're faced with bushfire risk or flooding and can't get insurance on those venues because of climate change and the change in the risk appetite from a lot of the insurers since COVID—if those organisers have put a lot of investment into those sites and now are struggling to get insurance, or their coverage has been reduced, or their premiums have gone through the roof—it's harder for those operators to find a new site.
1.30Creative Australia will investigate insurance costs for music festivals in more detail. Separately, the Australian Festival Association is working with RMIT to look at climate risks, particularly in regional areas. Mx Wilson told the committee that, 'given the size and the uncertainty … we 100 per cent need the federal government at the table and in some cases driving those discussions to bring everyone together. We're willing participants'.
Ways forward
1.31Music festival witnesses, including the Australian Festival Association, Bluesfest Byron Bay and Live Performance Australia called for financial support for the sector, including an extension and increase to the Live Music Australia grant program, with higher maximum grants. Ms Robinson told the committee:
[the research is] a great start, but it's not enough. Festivals are an important part of the ecosystem of both the music industry and youth culture generally, and that's why we need support.
1.32There were calls for a government-run or government-backed insurance scheme. Ms Robinson pointed to the Victorian Government's post-COVID insurance scheme as a potential model for any federal scheme. The Australian Festival Association also sought federal government leadership (through MusicAustralia) to connect and coordinate the arts ecosystem nationally, including in relation to regulation and climate resilience.
1.33The challenges in the sector are recognised, with Mr Adrian Collette AM, ChiefExecutive Officer of Creative Australia, acknowledging that there have 'been some real, critical, current issues around festivals'. He noted that MusicAustralia have commenced engagement with the sector and will use imminent meetings with the states and territories to develop advice for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and the Minister for the Arts.
Screen: local content requirements for streaming services
1.34The screen industry has continued to face challenges, arising from the COVID‑19 pandemic, global strikes, and uncertainties in the streaming sector. ScreenProducers Australia told the committee these wider issues are impacting Australia's screen industry.
1.35These challenges are occurring at a time of increasing consumption of paid subscription streaming services by Australian audiences, with 66 per cent of Australian adults watching content on streaming services in 2023, up from 59per cent in 2022.
1.36In relation to streaming provider spending on Australian content, the Australian Communications and Media Authority reported subscription video on demand services spent $324.1 million during 2022–23. Of the 1583 Australian programs commissioned, co‑commissioned or acquired, 67 were commissioned or co‑commissioned and 1516 were acquired (most of which were sporting programs). The research showed a slowing investment in Australian content, with $11 million less spent in 2022–23 compared with the previous year. Thisincluded $34.6million less on new commissioned and co-commissioned programs, and $23.6 million more spent on acquired programs (compared with 2021–22).
1.37Ahead of its election to government in 2022, the Australian Labor Party committed to a range of media regulation reforms. Revive outlined the Government's intention to introduce requirements for Australian content on streaming platforms by 2023, to commence by 1 July 2024, to 'ensure continued access to local stories and content'. Screen Producers Australia described the proposed changes to streaming regulation as 'the most important generational change' in the sector.
1.38The Australian Government has undertaken a number of consultations, with the latest round occurring in November 2023. A Targeted Consultation Paper—Refined Models was provided to steaming services, seeking feedback on two proposed models for local content requirements based on:
an expenditure model—being a progressive obligation to spend a percentage of revenue on local drama content based on number of subscribers, with no obligation for services with less than one million subscribers, up to a 30 per cent obligation for services with more than fivemillion subscribers; or
a revenue model—services would be required to spend 10 per cent of their Australian revenue on new local drama, with sports streamers having a reduced obligation, and with the potential for the obligation to be increased to 20 per cent over time.
1.39The Australian Government proposed that income from either scheme be directed to Australian drama, including children's drama, scripted comedy and dramatised documentary (not including documentary and children's non‑fiction content).
1.40At the time, it was reported that the Government planned to have draft legislation ready for consideration by February or March 2024. At the committee's public hearing in April 2024 Dr Stephen Arnott from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts advised the committee 'the government is committed to having a scheme in place that commences from 1 July 2024', with drafting underway with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
1.41Screen Producers Australia indicated that the industry is ready and has the 'capacity to move quickly and respond to what's there and run at it quickly'. It called for a 'robust, transparent, incorruptible regulatory model on streaming platforms'. Mr Matthew Deaner, Chief Executive Officer of Screen Producers Australia added:
What I don't want to see happen is that the legislation passes and there's a 12‑month-or-longer lag in when obligations for expenditure—for example, in local content, if that's the model—are delayed. It is critical to relieve this logjam that started to happen a few months ago … The legislation will do that, but the legislation needs to importantly commence immediately in terms of requirements for obligations, not pass some legislation and have the regulation kick in at a lagged time.
1.42Further reforms to the screen sector are anticipated; these will be considered further in the committee's final report.
Update on the books and writers' industry sector
1.43At its 16 April 2024 public hearing the committee heard face-to-face for the first time from the books and writers' sector. Witnesses broadly welcomed Revive. DrStuartGlover of Books Create Australia and the Australian Publishers Association observed:
Government investment in the book industry and reading has been so modest that this suite of initiatives [in Revive] constitutes the most significant investment in the literary realm since the formation of the Literature Board in 1973.
1.44The Australian Library and Information Association particularly welcomed the extension of library lending rights to include ebooks and audio books, 'with the first payments due to be made to Australian authors and publishers this year'. The Australian Society of Authors celebrated the initiative as 'the most meaningful way the federal government supports writers and illustrators in Australia'.
1.45'Many of the commitments in Revive that relate to authors and illustrators are yet to be delivered', advised Ms Olivia Lanchester from the Australian Society of Authors. Revive commits to establishing Writers Australia in 2025 to provide direct support to the literature sector, grow local and international audiences for Australian books, and establish a Poet Laureate.
1.46Ms Lanchester submitted that the 'single greatest crisis' in the sector is the 'inability of authors to earn a living wage from their work', with flow on effects to the whole sector and so, when assessing the impacts of Revive, advised:
In our view, a real measure of success for Writers Australia will be its ability to deliver on one of the 10 guiding principles of Revive—sustainable, creative careers.
More to do
1.47The committee heard there are a range of opportunities to improve Australia's cultural landscape, including through:
first-of-its-kind data collection and research on Australian books, reading and writing by Writers Australia to inform future decision-making (in much the same way as Music Australia is doing);
initiatives to support and increase reading and writing, especially for children and in schools;
support for a diverse Australian book ecosystem from creators authoring content, to publishers, and libraries—to support future growth and wider societal benefits;
addressing issues and opportunities arising from the use of artificial intelligence (including in relation to copyright, prominence and discoverability);
improving digital inclusion and media literacy; and
putting First Nations First, including more work on how First Nations collections are accessed, used and managed.
Committee view
1.48The committee welcomes the development of Australia's national cultural policy Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. The policysets the direction for arts and culture for at least the next five years and provides an opportunity to create a more holistic and self-invigorating arts and culture sector in Australia.
1.49It has been rewarding for the committee to share the high expectations that many witnesses have expressed for the policy and their hopes that it will help make arts and culture central to Australia's future and improve the lives and practices of artists.
1.50The committee acknowledges the ongoing implementation of Revive, in particular for the books and writers sector, with the potential for WritersAustralia to model the early successes of Music Australia through new research. There is clearly more to be done to develop reading and writing as part of Australia's cultural landscape, to develop new writers and new audiences by developing an early love of reading in our children, supporting writers with a liveable wage, and ensuring a diverse and sustainable publishing industry.
1.51Given the forthcoming budget, the committee has chosen to provide this interim report, focussing on areas of urgent need. Other matters relating to Revive and its impacts on arts and culture will be explored more fully in the final report.
Immediate assistance to festivals
1.52The committee heard about the significant challenges for the festivals sector, including ongoing impacts of the pandemic, cost of living pressures, changing audience preferences and musician earning models, extreme weather, and challenging business conditions. These issues impact festivals of all sizes, with smaller and independent festivals at particular risk of being unable to recover.
1.53The number of festival cancellations in 2024 alone is a dire warning that support is needed to ensure the sector's viability. Ithas been distressing to see the recent cancellation or demise of long‑standing, big-name festivals including Groovin' the Moo, Splendour in the Grass, the Falls Festival, Caloundra Music Festival, Dark Mofo, and Pitch.
1.54These issues are affecting artists and festivals now. However, these problems also have a long tail and impact on longer-term audience development and the careers of artists, as well as audiences, businesses, workers and communities that support festivals.
1.55Having received evidence about what is occurring in the festivals sector, the committee concludes that urgent, targeted support to the sector is needed to support festivals through the cost of living and climate crises. Australia cannot afford to lose more festivals and our diverse live music industry.
1.56In particular, the committee heard that more needs to be done to make insurance more affordable and accessible. The stability and viability of other sectors is supported by government-backed insurance which has helped to alleviate high premiums and the inability to obtain insurance cover. Relief for festival organisers is needed to ensure that festivals can run, and Australian audiences can safely attend.
1.57The committee recommends the Australian Government consider, as a matter of priority, the provision of immediate funding support to the festivals sector.
1.58The committee recommends the Australian Government lead coordination with the festivals sector and insurance industry to reduce premiums for festivals and investigate options for ensuring access to insurance is available to small and medium operators.
Local content requirements for video on demand services
1.59More needs to be done to support a local screen industry, to redress the power imbalance between global streaming companies and local screen producers and artists, and to ensure that intellectual rights are retained in Australia.
1.60The Australian Government committed to introducing local content requirements on streaming services by 1 July 2024 and has sought feedback on potential regulatory models.
1.61The committee strongly supports the establishment of local content requirements for streaming platforms to ensure that local stories about Australians are made in Australia to support a thriving local industry sector into the future, and so Australian audiences can see Australian stories on their screens.
1.62The committee calls on the Australian Government to provide certainty to the sector and meet its commitment to legislate local content quotas for video streaming services by 1 July 2024.
1.63The committee recommends the Australian Government prioritise the introduction of its legislative reforms for local content requirements for streaming services to the Australian Parliament.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Chair