Catherine Scott’s documentary Backtrack Boys had a hard time being financed though Screen Australia and Create NSW came onboard. Our politicians don’t want to talk about the hoops we jump through and the government agencies that run them.
The screen sector now faces a morass of linked issues which will make an enormous difference to our regional industry in a global market. As Kingston Anderson, CEO of the Australian Directors’ Guild said to the Australian International Documentary Conference two weeks ago, ‘We have one go at this I think and if we don’t get it across the line we could be screwed for ten years.’
He is referring to the push to regulate the international SVOD companies so they contribute to the sector. He is also talking about the need to defend and extend quotas in the local industry, intercut with an income model for the ABC and SBS that protects our companies in a disintegrating production environment.
A month ago Screen Producers Australia noted that Senator Mitch Fifield, Minister for the Arts, told a Senate Estimates hearing there would be a statement emerging from the whirl of enquiries about the sector. He promised it in a month and it hasn’t happened.
On a federal level, the current government has dropped the ball. It is not surprising because the solutions fit so badly into the Liberal approach to the world.
The NSW state election is a forerunner both of the approaching federal budget and the election soon after it. Artshub has asked the Coalition, the ALP and the Greens to articulate their policy for the arts.
The Liberal Party is the current government which dismantled Screen NSW and moved the pieces inside the megabeast of Create NSW. The government said this about future screen policy:
‘Over the last two years our $30 million Made in NSW and Regional Film incentives have leveraged 5,000 film jobs to boost the State’s economy. These funds have supported the production of films in the last two years such as: Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit 2, Pacific Rim – Uprising and a new Marvel Studios film.
‘It’s important that NSW continues to lead the nation in screen and TV production. Our NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has driven over $1.2 billion in film production expenditure. We will ensure that NSW remains the number one place for film and TV in the nation.’
There is nothing in there about emerging filmmakers, support for lower budget features, television production, project development, co-investment, digital delivery or interactive projects. I understand that SPA has been asking for clarity about local production and evolution, with no success.
The Labor Party provided this piece on screen policy from Walt Secord’s statements on the arts.
‘As a Canadian university graduate who studied film, theatre and art history before migrating to Australia more than 30 years ago, I will be an arts minister with different priorities to the conservatives.
‘Our state is already home to many exceptional artists, cultural organisations and institutions. However, I believe our true creative potential is yet to be fully realised.
‘Unfortunately, the Liberals and Nationals have the wrong priorities. Instead of supporting artistic and cultural endeavours throughout NSW, the Liberals and Nationals have chosen to:
- Spend up to $1.5 billion forcing the Powerhouse Museum to relocate from Ultimo – and sell the site to property developers; and
- Splurge more than $2.2 billion on Sydney stadiums.
‘As Arts Minister in a Daley Labor government, I will support art and culture throughout NSW. But I will also make sure Western Sydney and rural and regional NSW get their fair share. I am also committed to fostering Australian theatre.’
Nothing really, though at least he acknowledges the need to support people and projects rather than Big Things.
The Greens are more willing to engage with the process and its cultural consequences.
‘Unfortunately, whenever a conservative government is looking for budget savings their first port of call is the arts budget. The NSW Liberal/National Government has done just that, waging a war on our creative industries, limiting opportunities for young people, gutting funding for new and emerging artists, and failing to attract talent to NSW….
‘…. Since the merger under the Liberal/National Government of Arts NSW and Screen NSW, the sector has lost valuable expertise and staff, with ongoing funding cuts leading to a dearth of talent across the state.
‘The Greens are also committed to supporting community television and radio, including more investment into local-content documentaries.’
