18 June 2016
ANDREW HASTIE MP
MEMBER FOR CANNING
E&EO.
JOURNALIST:
How much does seeing something like this go on, this kind of event, kind of put your faith into the future of how The Arts are kind of getting developed in places like Mandurah?
MITCH FIFIELD:
The Arts is something that shouldn’t be seen as just a capital city thing. The arts are thriving and alive in regional areas. And when you see young people with such talent, you can only have confidence in the future of The Arts. As I said, I wouldn’t have had the poise or confidence that those guys had when I was their age. It was a really high standard of performance.
JOURNALIST:
What about you Andrew, what was it like to be from this kind of area and being able to portray this on a federal level? This kind of event is something that can be portrayed nationally I guess and it gives Mandurah a really good reputation.
ANDREW HASTIE:
Definitely, I think it’s about opportunity. I think we are an aspirational part of Australia. We do have kids from backgrounds that aren’t as privileged as kids from the city. The whole idea of this was about giving people the opportunity to perform in front of a very well established judging panel, especially in The Arts; Ben Elton among others. But also have the administrator here to coordinate. It goes a long way to showing these kids that they can mix it on the national stage.
MITCH FIFIELD:
I think also that what they do is valued, that the arts is valued. It’s a really important message.
JOURNALIST:
I think one issue is that can come into it is the fact The Arts is a federally funded kind of institute in Australia. I think there might be some issues with people worrying where the funding is going, and whether there is that support coming from the federal government coming to The Arts. How are you guys going to make sure things like Ben Elton coming out, and doing the country film projects, that there is kind of communication, direct contact between the bodies that are funding these projects and the projects going on at the same time?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Arts funding is a shared federal and state responsibility. We each have our own programs. And we’re putting, over the next four years, $2.6 billion into the arts. But it’s really important that those people who have responsibility for administering the arts, like me, actually spend time on the ground with performers, with companies and also with the young people in the arts. And something I want to do is make sure that what the Commonwealth does, in terms of its arts funding, appropriately supports young people. I don’t think we should see the structures that we have in place as set in concrete. We need to continually review them to make sure that they’re fit for purpose. One area that I particularly have in mind to keep focussed on is youth in the arts.
JOURNALIST:
There has been some contention in the last week, especially over arts funding. There were a lot of organisations who were upset that it seems to be that the same traditional organisations are getting funding year over year over year, as opposed to more left of centre, outside of the box organisations. Is that something that you want to do as the arts Minister, branch out in the future?
MITCH FIFIELD:
We’ve tried to do that. The prime funding vehicle for the arts federally is the Australia Council. It makes its decisions at arm’s length from government. But because of the sort of issue that you raise, we set up a new program called Catalyst, which is designed to encourage innovation in the arts. But also create an avenue of funding in the arts for organisations that might not have been eligible or successful through the Australia Council. We have tried to open things up through that program.
JOURNALIST:
One specific has been the Live Music Australia, which represents most of the live music venues, bookers, and managers across Australia are upset that funding has been cut away from live music which is a huge part of Arts in Australia. It brings In over $2b into the Australian economy. Their issue is that funding is being cut from Live Music, and live music isn’t being supported as much as things like ballet, museums would be. Is that something you’d be looking towards in the future?
MITCH FIFIELD:
They do continue to receive some funding through the Australia Council, but I’m continuing to talk to the organisation about what it is they’d like to do. It’s still an open discussion.
JOURNALIST:
Well that’s just about it. Is there anything else you guys wanted to say on the event or anything?
ANDREW HASTIE:
Well it was great. Federal government is about enabling local communities and we enabled a whole bunch of young people to get on the stage in front of an audience today and show how talented they are.
JOURNALIST:
I think from your perspective, you as a federal politician, really taking a big effort to organise something like this which is really technically a local kind of event, but it’s great to see that kind of support.
ANDREW HASTIE:
And the buy in from Ben and everyone else just made it that much more exciting.
[ends]