THE HON. MARK DREYFUS QC, MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ARTS
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
SENATOR CATRYNA BILYK
DEPUTY OPPOSITION WHIP IN THE SENATE
SENATOR FOR TASMANIA
TASMANIAN ARTS TASKFORCE CONSULTS ON HOW TO CREATE JOBS
Federal Labor's Tasmania Taskforce today met in Hobart to discuss the future of Tasmania's arts industry.
The Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC, MP Shadow Minister for the Arts and Senator for Tasmania Catryna Bilyk held a roundtable with Tasmania's arts organisations to listen to the views of industry on how to create jobs by growing the arts in Tasmania.
Developing jobs in the arts will enable Tasmania's sustainable development into the future, Senator Bilyk said We can leverage off the already fantastic success of the Tasmanian arts industry to become a real focal point of the Australian cultural experience.
The Taskforce heard that growing the arts industry will result in jobs in other industry sectors.
Growing the arts sector means more than just direct employment for actors and artists, Senator Bilyk said It can result in more employment in tourism, hospitality, even manufacturing and construction. With our fantastic food, wine and arts, Tasmania should be a real drawcard for Australians wanting a high quality get-away.
Earlier in the day Shadow Minister Dreyfus and Senator Bilyk toured the set of Terrapin Puppet Theatres new production Red Racing Hood, at Backspace Theatre.
Terrapin Puppet Theatre is one of Tasmania's shining success stories for the arts industry, Senator Bilyk said. This morning we saw that the performing arts employs more than just the cast on stage, but also a large number of behind-the-scenes workers.
While consultation with the industry produced some positive visions for the future, there was a lot of concern about the policies of the current Federal Government.
Unfortunately, the Tasmanian arts industry is feeling betrayed by the Abbott/Turnbull Government, Senator Bilyk said, There's a large amount of anxiety about the future of Tasmania's small-to-medium arts organisations, which could threaten jobs and the success of this important Industry.
The Abbott/Turnbull government is out of touch, Mr Dreyfus said. Labor invested $37 million for the Creative Futures Project Tasmania because we understood the importance of the creative industries for the Australian economy.
I call on Senator Fifield to reverse the changes to the Australia Council and end the disruption to the Australian arts sector.
TUESDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2015
