28 May 2020
Committee Secretary
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
[email protected]
Dear Select Committee members,
Thank you for this inquiry into the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ausdance National is part of the Australia-wide Ausdance network that represents the voice of dance at all levels, including performers, companies, studio teachers, academics and independent artists.
Our COVID-19 impact survey is identifying job losses, severe income loss for independents and sole traders, financial stress for large and small companies, and in many cases, struggle to adapt to the online environment with limited resources and student numbers falling away.
We note the actions taken by the Australian Government and the Australia Council in responding to the impact of COVID-19, and appreciate the challenging circumstances in which they are operating.
We thank the Federal Government for the financial assistance measures available to the arts industry, including JobKeeper, JobSeeker, and the $27m for regional arts organisations and artists announced last week.
However, unless arts funding deficiencies are addressed, implications for the dance sector will be severe, threatening the vibrancy of Australia’s cultural life and posing significant threats to the wellbeing of the many Australians who benefit from the health, connectedness and community economies that dance activities generate.
DANCE
Ausdance supports the submission to the Inquiry by BlakDance, noting this observation in particular:
‘First Nations-led solutions that empower our communities to utilise our cultural arts knowledge and build on our unique strengths are the most likely to succeed. This includes the need to sit with, in deep listen and work with our First Nations Elders, leaders, and to prioritise funding for First Nations-led organisations in sufficient sums to enable long-term planning for sustainability.
Self-determination means First Nations people have the right to make decisions concerning our own lives and communities; the right to retain their culture and to develop it, and the right to be full and equal participants in the construction and functioning of the governing institutions under which we live.’
In supporting this statement we reiterate the point about First Nations self-determination being an essential core element of their artists’ practice. The following comments by Ausdance National include First Nations dance practice in all settings.
The recent results of the Australia Council’s four-year funding for small to medium dance companies highlight the ongoing losses sustained by the dance sector, with only eight small dance companies and organisations across Australia now having the ability to employ staff, plan for the future and create new work, while four other highly regarded companies are left hanging by a thread, with one-year transitional funding.
Many other small but artistically significant dance companies and independent artists are completely without Australia Council or State/Territory funding support, and all will be struggling to rebuild creative output, audiences and touring schedules in 2021, further weakening our already fragile dance infrastructure. That the Australia Council was forced to spread available funding so thinly demonstrates the extremely serious diminution of vital dance infrastructure in this country.
The dance industry’s loss of all self-generated income, and its inability to survive long months of shut-down and the road to recovery, is of major concern. The small businesses that are dance studios and small dance companies are in the thousands, and we have been contacted by many who do not qualify for JobKeeper or JobSeeker and are struggling to understand and implement the confusing regulations around returning to studio teaching and rehearsing. Dance has been confused with gyms, boot camps, fitness studios etc., leaving teachers without clear direction about the future of their arts businesses.
The provision of an arts-specific funding package would be an opportunity for the Government to show cultural leadership and a recognition of the ways in which the arts (including dance) could be part of the solution, leading healing and reconnection of communities in the COVID-19 recovery phase, including those facing mental health issues.
People stay physically and mentally well by dancing and moving. The significant role played by dance in communities through dance education, dance for Parkinson’s programs, dance and movement for the elderly and the widespread health and wellbeing programs offered by professional dance artists across the country, must not be under-estimated.
INDUSTRY–SPECIFIC STIMULUS PACKAGE
The absence of an arts-specific support package from the Government – called for by all peak arts organisations including Ausdance – reflects a lack of acknowledgement of the sector’s demonstrated contribution to our economy of $111.7 billion (or 6.4% of GDP), a contribution that will dissipate with an unsustainable loss of arts infrastructure.
It will affect tourism, community health, arts education, tertiary arts training, a reduction in cultural activities and the world-class performances that make Australian destinations great places to visit.
It is also concerning that some Government ministers do not acknowledge gaps in the JobSeeker and JobKeeper packages, particularly as they relate to many casual artists and artsworkers who do not fit the criteria. The reality is that many professional artists and dance teachers are left without the cash flow needed to immediately transition services online and build new income sources.
A survey by Ausdance NSW of 81 independent artists in that State demonstrated that 52% were not eligible for either JobKeeper or JobSeeker. Our COVID-19 impact survey is identifying mental health as a major issue in the current environment, a matter of great concern.
We endorse the recommendations of Live Performance Australia and other peak arts organisations and the call for a dedicated Industry Rebuild and Recovery package for the live performance industry.
THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL
Ausdance acknowledges and notes a particular paragraph from BlakDance’s submission to this Senate inquiry:
While our organisations are financially robust, there is unmet need for support for First Nations artists and arts workers across Australia, as illustrated by the Australia Council for the Arts’ analysis of unmet funding need for First Nations organisations:
“In 2015, the Australia Council received Expressions of Interest from 43 First Nations-led small to medium arts and culture organisations for multi-year funding that equated to a total request of $12.5 million per annum.
We were only able to support 16 organisations with a total $3.5 million per annum, declining over 60% of the organisations that applied and leaving unmet demand of over 70% in terms of dollars – the demand far outweighs the funding available.” Australia Council for the Arts, Submission to the Closing the Gap Refresh (April 2018)."
We recommend a First Nations self-determined approach to recovery of arts practice, ensuring that re-opening actions and funding support are locally-led, holistic and culturally safe for communities.
We are particularly concerned about the Australia Council’s capacity to respond adequately to recovery of the arts sector, leaving many small companies and independent artists without support in an already-diminished funding environment.
As the Federal Government’s own peak arts funding and advisory body, the Australia Council’s funding must be substantially increased in the October Budget. Its present funding levels deprive it of being able to deliver on its vision to ‘support Australia’s arts through funding, strengthening and developing the arts sector’.
The dance ecosystem is inter-dependent, and the Council must be adequately funded to strengthen and develop it. Policy settings should recognise that different dance sectors serve different purposes, from the AMPAG dance companies to youth dance companies, First Nations performers, independent artists, community dance practitioners, school and studio teachers, choreographers and producers.
Increasing the Australia Council's current funding in the context of an arts-specific funding package is not a big request when compared to the rescue packages afforded to other industries. Recognition that increased funding is an investment in our future, and will be part of the recovery solutions, is vital.
It is self evident that 2021 will require more than a thinly-spread funding strategy in order for the arts and cultural sectors to re-emerge as viable creative industries.
We therefore recommend that the government supports individual artists and non-profit arts companies to get back on their feet by providing a Stabilisation and Recovery Fund of $70m to the Australia Council for the Arts, and an ongoing $50m per annum uplift to stimulate recovery for Australia that is led by the arts and cultural sectors. This recommendation is in line with those of Theatre Network Australia and other peak arts organisations.
We also request a full day of hearings to allow detailed advice from various arts and entertainment sectors.
Contact National President Paul Summers on 0417 925 292.