Our best future involves technology and creativity harnessed in the name of sustainability, inclusive economic development, and community wellbeing. That should be the big picture and signature tune and action-filled montage of Australia’s best self.
Creativity is gold. Yes, our future will be technology-driven but it will be human creativity behind the wheel, just as creativity gave us the wheel in the first place.
Arts and cultural and creative industries are key. In those habits of mind and processes lie the tools of innovation that are essentially and distinctively human. Sadly, that is not always top of mind in Australia.
Sometimes I think the flipside of our egalitarian and down-to-earth nature has been an unintended diminution of work that isn’t predominantly blokey and physical. We rightly value the effort and family sacrifices of the FIFO high-vis tradie. We should also celebrate the hard-working person behind the mic or the camera, the person with the pen or the paintbrush, the keepers of First Nations culture, and the women and men who build sets, run arts facilities, or code games.
The Albanese Government’s focus on stagnant wages and insecure work has already looked to the neglect of workers in the care economy. Workers in the creative economy have for too long faced similarly poor conditions.
The reality is that arts and cultural production is both enormously important in its own right and a significant feedstock of innovation and dynamism across the board. Creative industry jobs are growing at twice the rate of total employment, and the knowledge economy will drive transitions in areas such as ICT, health and education, and smart cities. Beyond the direct economic benefits, we know arts and cultural activity builds community inclusion, supports mental wellbeing, and boost our two major service export industries: international education and tourism.
Unfortunately, WA’s creative economy is off the pace. Without question, WA has a strong and distinctive arts and cultural sector, but we’re always working harder to counteract the gravitational pull of Melbourne and Sydney.
The 2021 report by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Creativity at the Crossroads shows that despite WA’s creative economy falling behind the relative intensity of the Eastern States, there is clear potential for that to change.
The report sets out three strategic focus areas for getting the West back to the top of our game: Aboriginal arts and culture; emerging digital technologies, including screen tech; and the music industry, with an emphasis on established creative hubs such as Fremantle. As Labor’s co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music it’s a privilege to advocate for bands, songwriters, and venue operators across the nation, but needless to say that last point is music to my ears.
Once you recognise the significance of art for art’s sake there is opportunity to integrate top-shelf creativity into lots of good stuff. Creativity is required in areas as diverse as new energy minerals and the multifaceted blue economy. During the pandemic we had a fast-forward experience of screen-based work and service delivery, yet the expertise of screen professionals should be better utilised as we seek to optimise telehealth, tele-education, and VR technology in design and maintenance.
Again, WA should have a bigger share of national export income for education related services. I would love to see some creative tie-ups that leverage and promote the landscapes and cultural energy of WA’s universities. Why not create a set of student-focused festivals that feature music, writing, screen, performance, and digital art/gaming across our five campuses?
Sensibly, the McGowan Government has identified international education as a priority area within its Diversify WA plan and allocated funding to promote WA as a student destination and to connect emerging local industries with new global growth opportunities in the wake of the pandemic.
The Albanese Labor government takes culture and creativity seriously. Already we have started turning the wheel in realising Australia’s enormous creative potential. Minister Tony Burke has made it clear his push towards a new cultural policy will lay the foundation to better support Australian artists. Implementing the Digital Games Tax Offset is an example of Government making sure there is sensible encouragement for new creative industries. Australian content quotas for streaming services will give our screen sector a fair go. And the commitment to help fund a world-class Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Perth is massive.
Our emphasis on a future that is made in Australia should encompass the making of Australian novels, films, music, art, games, and performance, because a bright and productive creative economy full of Australian voices and stories and landscapes is in the national interest.
Our best future involves technology and creativity harnessed in the name of sustainability, inclusive economic development, and community wellbeing. That should be the big picture and signature tune and action-filled montage of Australia’s best self.
First published in The West Australian on Saturday, 14 January 2023.
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