Australia currently has no cultural policy.
The last policy, Creative Australia,
was launched in 2013 - as the successor to Creative Nation delivered by
Paul Keating in 1994. As then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, stated,
the policy is ‘a fresh expression of the values and priorities that will
sustain Australia as a richly creative society in the 21st century’. It
‘continues the spirit of engagement with the arts embraced by my
predecessors Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating, and affirms the centrality
of the arts to our national identity, social cohesion and economic
success’. The much anticipated
release of Creative Australia has
been long awaited with the policy being developed since the consultation
process first commenced in 2009.
The five policy goals?
- Recognise, respect and celebrate the centrality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to the uniqueness of Australian identity.
- Ensure that government support reflects the diversity of Australia and that all citizens, wherever they live, whatever their background or circumstances, have a right to shape our cultural identity and its expression.
- Support excellence and the special role of artists and their creative collaborators as the source of original work and ideas, including telling Australian stories.
- Strengthen the capacity of the cultural sector to contribute to national life, community wellbeing and the economy.
- Ensure Australian creativity thrives here and abroad in the digitally enabled 21st century, by supporting innovation, the development of new creative content, knowledge and creative industries.
Since 2013, the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Paris Agreement have determined new agenda that any new cultural policy should embrace.
What else needs to change?