Art changes lives. Show your support and stand up for Australian arts!

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This petition had 18,996 supporters

The issue

Art changes lives. Show your support and sign this petition.

In Australia, the arts employ more people than agriculture, construction or mining and the creative industries generate $50 billion for the Australian economy.

Independent artists and organisations are the backbone of arts in Australia, generating new ideas and new talent. Artists are the innovators of our nation.

On May 13 this year, 50% of the previously supported small to medium arts companies did not receive funding as a result of the government’s cuts to the Australia Council.

These cuts will result in job losses and will have flow on effects across our cultural industries, educational institutions and the commercial sector.

Here's how you can support the arts on our National Day of Action on June 17, until election day on July 2:

o  Sign this petition 
o  Get on social media and post about your support with #istandwiththearts and #ausvotesarts
o  Write an email or letter of support for the arts to your local candidates 
o  Write to the Arts Minister: minister@communications.gov.au
o  Vote for the candidates with the best arts policies on July 2

avatar of the starter
National Association for the Visual ArtsPetition starter
Media enquiries

The Decision Makers

Mark Dreyfus
Mark Dreyfus
Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary
Responded
“Labor believes the arts are central to our lives as Australians. They define who we are as a modern, innovative, confident and outward-looking society. The arts are how we express ourselves, how we explain ourselves, and how we understand ourselves as Australians. When we tell our stories through the arts, we are creating a chronicle that transmits a shared sense of the Australian self through generations. Our continent is the home of the longest continuous arts and culture makers on Earth - the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples. A lively arts sector is also important to our economy. Supporting our creative industries generates jobs and helps keep talented Australians here at home. The visual arts, film, music, theatre and dance all contribute to economic activity across Australia’s cities and regions at the same time as providing entertainment, delight and meaning in our lives. Australia’s arts sector has struggled under the Abbott-Turnbull Government. From huge cuts to the Australia Council to the steady strangling of national cultural institutions and the messy upheaval caused by George Brandis’ disgraceful intervention in well-established funding programs, the past few years have been tough. The Abbott-Turnbull Government’s savage cuts to the ABC have added salt to the wound. Traditionally, Australian stories have been safeguarded by Australian content quotas on commercial broadcasters and funding to the ABC. The increased acquisition and availability of foreign small-screen content has seen the dilution of unique Australian stories and voices. A Shorten Labor Government will undo the damage and restore Australia’s arts sector to its rightful place at the centre of our cultural life. We have a comprehensive plan for the arts that will see this sector thrive and grow again, reaching out to enrich the lives of all Australians. Labor will renew the Federal Government’s commitment to the arts and the cultural life of this nation. Our plan to grow Australia’s creative industries for a more creative and prosperous country is outlined below. 1. Restore the standing of the Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council has been the pre-eminent body for the arts in Australia for almost 50 years. It provides an independent, peer-reviewed approach to arts funding which protects artistic freedom and expression by working at arms-length from government. Labor endorses the Australia Council’s strategic plan for Australia to be a ‘culturally ambitious nation’. The Abbott-Turnbull Government damaged the Australia Council’s standing by ripping over $100 million from its funding to establish a personal slush fund for George Brandis as then Arts Minister through a so-called ‘National Program for Excellence in the Arts.’ The program was so unpopular that it was rebadged as the Catalyst fund under replacement Minister Mitch Fifield, but the fundamental problems remain. Funding delivered through Catalyst is not transparent or independent – as evidenced by the Turnbull Government’s decision to announce a flurry of grants, some in breach of the program’s own guidelines, just two days before the federal election was called in May. A Shorten Labor Government will close the Catalyst fund and return all remaining money – $32 million over the next four years – to the Australia Council. We will also boost the Australia Council by providing $20 million a year in new funding over four years from 2017. This new funding will restore vital support and stability to small and medium arts organisations across the country. Community-based arts organisations which make music, theatre, dance and the visual arts accessible to all Australians have suffered repeated cuts under the Abbott-Turnbull Government, forcing many to close. The entire arts community will also benefit from putting an organisation that is independent of government back at the centre of funding for our creative industries. This returned and additional funding will see the Australia Council better fulfil its purpose of supporting and championing Australian arts and culture – both at home and overseas. 2. Grow regional arts Australians in regional and remote communities should have just as much opportunity to connect with our shared culture through the arts as people living in big cities. What’s more, the stories of our country towns and regional centres are stories all Australians should hear. Since 2001, the Regional Arts Fund has supported arts and cultural development projects in regional Australia. It supports sustainable cultural development through ongoing artistic initiatives rather than ‘one-off’ events, and increases employment and professional development opportunities for regional and remote artists. The Fund also has a particular focus on artistic skills development among disadvantaged communities, including young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in remote townships. The Fund operates on a four…”
Senator Mitch Fifield
Senator Mitch Fifield
Minister for the Arts

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Petition created on 9 June 2016