Relief for struggling industry comes after meeting in May on proposed package ended in stalemate
The expenditure review committee of cabinet is expected to sign off
on a support package for the struggling arts and entertainment industry
on Thursday night after talks between Scott Morrison and representatives from the entertainment sector.
The support under consideration includes assistance with startup costs to help artists resume touring as public health restrictions ease, and a dedicated grants fund to help entertainment businesses replenish their capital after the economic devastation created by Covid-19.
Thus far, the emergency relief for the arts from Canberra has consisted of a $27m package, announced in April, directed to regional organisations, Indigenous organisations and music industry outreach outfit Support Act, and the Australia Council’s repurposing of $5m in existing funding for small, quick-release grants.
With the local industry devastated economically because of social distancing restrictions that have shut down the film and television industry, theatres and touring shows, the states have funded support packages of various sizes, with Victoria having committed more than $51m across the sector and the New South Wales government pledging $50m for a “rescue and restart” package.
The support under consideration includes assistance with startup costs to help artists resume touring as public health restrictions ease, and a dedicated grants fund to help entertainment businesses replenish their capital after the economic devastation created by Covid-19.
Thus far, the emergency relief for the arts from Canberra has consisted of a $27m package, announced in April, directed to regional organisations, Indigenous organisations and music industry outreach outfit Support Act, and the Australia Council’s repurposing of $5m in existing funding for small, quick-release grants.
With the local industry devastated economically because of social distancing restrictions that have shut down the film and television industry, theatres and touring shows, the states have funded support packages of various sizes, with Victoria having committed more than $51m across the sector and the New South Wales government pledging $50m for a “rescue and restart” package.
The live performance industry says the pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis, with a catastrophic impact on jobs, but a meeting of arts ministers in late May ended in a stalemate after Canberra blocked a push from the states to broaden the jobkeeper wage subsidy to boost the struggling sector.
The unwinding of income support through the pandemic was discussed at a lengthy cabinet meeting on Wednesday night, but the government is yet to reach a landing point.
Morrison told reporters on Thursday he was not going to be rushed into any decisions, but he gave a broad hint workers were more likely to be given income support through a welfare payment than a wages subsidy once the transition is executed.
The prime minister said if people had lost their jobs as a consequence of the pandemic, “jobseeker is the place where you can connect to other employment services, to training opportunities”. He said he was discussing with premiers how to integrate state and federal support services.
He told parliament during question time the government was “working night and day to ensure we get the right balance of income supports, job programs, employment services, skills training, cash flow assistance, tax reductions, lower regulation and more infrastructure spending”.
Morrison and the arts minister, Paul Fletcher, met by teleconference on Thursday with the heads of entertainment industry associations, including the Australian Recording Industry Association, touring companies, the chief executive of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and artists Mark Vincent and Guy Sebastian.
Afterwards the prime minister said the entertainment and cultural sectors “are obviously doing things very tough and the challenges will endure longer than most”. He said any second wave of Covid-19 infections would create “even more devastation” for the industry.
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