The Hon Simon Crean MP
Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government
Minister for the Arts
It is pleasure to be here and I want to congratulate Regional Arts Australia for developing and hosting this Forum today.
Regional Arts Australia has a long record in linking community cultural projects with national funding and national priorities for Australians living in the regions - I can remember being impressed with its work in Tasmania in curriculum development and then seeing its impact in South Australia.
It was one of the first organisations to come and see me after I took up the Regional Affairs and Arts portfolios, and it was immediately apparent that this group understood the potential opportunities arising from bringing the two policy areas together at a national level.
At that first meeting Regional Arts Australia asked me how regional based arts and creative industries should be involved in one of Australia's great nation building projects currently underway: high speed broadband.
In other words, Regional Arts should be congratulated on its quick understanding that change is on the way.
But I don't think anyone appreciated just how timely today's forum would be. The House of Representatives meets today to finalise parliamentary approval of a critical legislative aspect of the National Broadband Network.
So by a coincidence of parliamentary timing this forum takes on additional significance. As the legislative pieces fall into place, as the NBN roll-out continues, you are meeting today to talk about Australian content and projects which will be based on high speed broadband.
I know you have already made a start in discussing potential projects for the NBN. At the last check I made over the weekend you had nearly 140 postcards up on your site with examples and ideas of how creative connections could be enhanced with high speed broadband.
I applaud that work, and I will make some further comments later about the work of this forum in developing projects that link national broadband with regional arts.
But I thought it would be helpful if I first provided some broader context about the Gillard Government's national priorities. Specifically I want to flag the big changes that are planned in the Government's policy for support and nurture of the arts and creative industries.
Key national cultural policy points
The Government is committed to developing and delivering a national cultural policy.
This is a major initiative. It will be the first time in almost two decades that government has embarked on such comprehensive work in this vital area.
The purpose is to revitalise the arts in Australia, by highlighting the significant role that arts and culture play in the daily lives of all Australians, and by integrating arts policy within the broader policy agenda of the Government.
These changes will bring the arts and creative industries into the mainstream for policy makers and community leaders.
A new national cultural policy is my number one priority as Minister for the Arts - and of course it has substantial cross-over impact on my ministerial responsibilities for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.
A creative nation is more tolerant and a more empowering nation that celebrates its diversity. A creative nation is a more productive nation.
A creative nation is a nation where education and training unleashes creative talent and critical appreciation - equipping young Australians with skills of critical thinking, innovation and design that are so fundamental to the nature of the modern economy.
In a few months I will release a paper laying out a framework for the national cultural policy for consultation and development.
Australia's arts achievements
The arts sector now employs more than 200,000 Australians and sustains employment and investment in tourism, exports, education and training.
At the same time Australia has developed an international reputation for its world class artists and arts, recognised by international prizes ranging from the Oscars and the Grammy Awards to architecture to music and to literature.
Australians can be found backstage and on the sets of productions all over the world, and managing live events and major exhibitions everywhere else.
We know about the successes authors like Peter Carey, David Malouf have in international literary competitions - and the sales the authors generate.
At home we take pride in the surveys which show we are a nation of readers, theatre goers and movie lovers.
While the large number of creative arts students and researchers at our universities and TAFEs is a marker of another generation of creative talent coming through.
However the essence of good government is to look to the future and prepare to meet the challenges ahead. In the arts and creative industries massive change is underway - not least because of the NBN - and the national cultural policy will help Australia position itself to take advantage of this.
The structures and funding programs which were effective in the 1970s and even in the 2000s need review and upgrading for this new environment.
National cultural policy must be all about bringing the arts and creative industries into the mainstream of Australian life. Whether it is by providing an empty building for young artists to revive a regional CBD, or by linking designers to high value manufacturers, the arts and creative industries are a key element of driving productivity growth and skills development.
Another key element of the national cultural policy is to better connect what we are doing in the arts with the government's education revolution.
You and other arts leaders have come to me talking of the research which shows that an arts rich education prepares children for better academic achievement and creative flexible thinking.
I am convinced by this research and believe that the Gillard Government's commitment to put the creative arts into the national curriculum will be the catalyst of some exciting programs and teacher development to link the arts to education - complementing it with high speed broadband services.
Now is the time to make arts training and creative industries training a driver to engage students and keep them at school. Let's ensure that kids in disadvantaged areas can access courses which can lead to entry into our internationally renowned elite training academies.
Now is the time to ensure that teachers are equipped and confident in bring the arts forms into class rooms and fostering the talent.
These changes in education should be strengthened by partnerships with the arts organisations already working with schools and curriculum developers.
I will have more to say about arts training and education in coming months, and you will also hear me talk about linking our national cultural institutions into the broadband networks for use by researchers and student, teachers and designers.
But today let's concentrate on the core work of regional arts and NBN.
There is a lot of potential for us to join the dots between the policy streams. The national broadband network is just one of them.
National Broadband Network
The NBN will give nearly all communities in Australia access to both local and global networks.
This is a game changer for Australian regional communities
Its potential impact is only now starting to be grasped. Australia is now committed to the rollout; so I am urging the regions to turn attention to applications, including through the arts.
Twenty-two of the first 29 roll outs will be in regional areas, and as a result many regional Australian communities will be among the first to experiment with and explore this new business and community resource.
So Geraldton and Mandurah in WA will be at the cutting edge of this new network.
So will areas near Townsville and Toowoomba in Queensland and I understand cable has already been laid in Kiama Downs and Minamurra, south of Wollongong. Work is underway in Tasmania in both the north and south, in Victoria at Bacchus Marsh and South Morang, and also in South Australia's Willunga.
The NBN will transform delivery of health services, of education, of financial services. Local government will take advantage of the best of global expertise and technology.
But it won't be just the hospitals, schools and post offices which will change.
It will also be the arts organisations and venues, the indigenous cultural centres; and the locally based designers, film producers and writers.
NBN will transform arts in regional Australia and in Australia as a whole.
The Government will be keen to assist dynamic and entrepreneurial people to use the NBN to experiment and develop.
That is why we have convened this forum: it is the next step to making the arts and creative industries an important driver of change and opportunity in regional Australia - and of truly realising that - through the NBN - a creative nation is a productive nation.
The Regional Arts Broadband Forum
You have a big job ahead of you today.
I want all of you to take up the challenge whether you are from arts organisations and venues, from universities and the peak bodies, local governments and funding agencies.
Use your knowledge and experience of regional Australia, as well as your creative skills and capacity to make real progress in developing proposals to utilise the increased bandwidth of the NBN. Develop the proposals and build the advocacy.
And not just for business growth although that is very important.
Everyone here knows that the arts play a vital role in building a rich community life and in binding communities together. Now you can connect local talent to the international stage, and bring in mentors and collaborators from the next town, or the next continent.
You will have access to new audiences and new talent not just in your local regions but national and international audiences and markets - but you must also come up with some great ideas to attract them.
A further challenge both for you as community leaders and for Government is in skills and jobs development:
In the regions we have to ensure that kids learn the lighting and sound work that can give them a job at local venues and conference centres, or the computer production skills that can link them to international industries. Vocational training options are important.
Adelaide based Rising Sun Pictures picked up an Academy Award for technical achievement because it was able to do production work on international cinema (including the Harry Potter blockbusters). Adelaide had adequate broadband facilities and good creative leadership after four decades of locally based film making.
Now you can build these creative businesses in your town - if the creative drive is there.
Some of the key issues we want to hear about today will also be about what additional resources and knowledge you need to pursue these almost unlimited opportunities.
What do you need to know about the NBN? What alliances do you need within your local communities?
I also urge you to work closely with the Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees in your area.
Is the RDA aware of your ideas? Is it working on developing a plan for the cultural development of the communities around you? As Minister for Regional Affairs I have tasked them with setting priorities and developing infrastructure projects which can apply for funding through the Regional Development Australia Fund.
Do you need training for key people and access to new technologies?
This government has also invested in schools across the regions. Many, and particularly in the regions, have invested in buildings and facilities which can be used for the performing arts. What is the potential you see in your region to base activities at schools?
As you consider these questions, there are a couple of success stories that might ignite your thinking.
The Regional Arts Fund is one such success story, funding an astonishing array of projects that provide a window into the diversity of art making and audiences in the regions. Critically, the Regional Arts Fund's success lies in devolving decision making to locally based authorities
There are other success stories in Indigenous arts and culture which show how remote communities can build economic and community life around their cultural centres. More than 600 jobs for indigenous people have been created in and around arts and cultural centres
Today you might look at where we should take some of these regional arts programs in the future with the NBN element added.
I will finish by mentioning some of the national projects I have noticed which are just a taste of what's possible with high speed broadband.
Map My Summer is a new project from Screen Australia allowing Australians to make and contribute their screen memories of summers to social media network You Tube- with a pathway to professional mentoring by leading Australian director and producer George Miller going to one contributor.
SBS has begun a new on-line Mandarin service, to engage local Chinese speaking communities in local media.
ABC Open and regional arts sites have been opening the doors to new networks for regional arts for some time now.
The National Library's Trove project to make its newspaper archives into searchable archives for professional and amateur researchers became an astonishing exercise in community sharing of the work to make it accurate.
These are nationally focussed projects led by national institutions.
Now it is time to start projects regionally based, regionally led and I understand Screen Tasmania is among those presenting.
So with that, it is over to you.
This forum will help the rapid take up of NBN. It will also help shape to the development of Australia's 2011 national cultural policy.
It is over to you to join the dots between the arts and the regions, between arts and creative industries, between the arts and education, between the arts and Closing the Gap. The opportunities are huge.