The strength and creativity of our culture depends on sustainable and self-reliant cultural industries. These industries also provide an increasingly important avenue for employment creation. The growing significance of the cultural industries within the economy and to employment is becoming apparent.
The value of the total supply of cultural goods and services in the Australian economy during 1989-90 was $13 billion. Of this, $8.7 billion was used in the production of goods and services in the economy, and $5.1 billion was final demand. In 1988-89 (the last year in which detailed data is available), household expenditure on cultural goods and services was $5.5 billion. Of this, almost $2 billion was spent on television and video goods and services and cinema admissions - over one-third of total cultural expenditure and $1.6 billion was spent on books, newspapers, magazines and other literature.
The Government will assist cultural organisations to operate more effectively within a market environment through:
The development of comprehensive industry-based strategies for sectors of the cultural industry is a priority for the Commonwealth Government and will underpin its program and policy work over the next decade, enabling it to establish the best approaches to Commonwealth support for cultural organisations.
The Government has placed much greater emphasis on statistical analysis of the cultural industries sector which will make it increasingly possible to tailor measures to specific sectors. The success of the current projects being funded by the Commonwealth in the publishing and heritage industries will forge a path for other sectors.
Through the Cultural Industry Development Program, the Government is currently:
A pilot Cultural Industry Development Program has been set up to improve access by cultural industries to mainstream industry support schemes. One of the most successful schemes has been the PAGE scheme, which is described in the Literature section of Commonwealth Support for the Arts.
Design is a primary indicator of the cultural, technological, social and economic standing of any nation. As much as any other art form it fundamentally affects the way we live.
Design represents a significant technological and skill investment which is critical to sustaining a high quality world manufacturing industry.
The Government recognises the importance of design in adding value to manufactured goods, improving export performance, developing elaborately transformed manufactures and succeeding in niche markets.
The Government will ensure that the importance of design is reflected in programs for cultural, industry, regional and urban development. One way of establishing a strong link between the arts and other areas of production is through the better use of design skills.
Through its Cultural Industry Development Program, the Government will examine the extent to which industry development assistance (for example through the National Industry Extension Service) can be utilised in the development of the design industry, in establishing links between designers and other industry sectors such as manufacturing and in the development of new products.
Distinctly Australian announced the Government's intention to develop programs of assistance for the cultural industries aimed at improving self-reliance, management efficiency and links with other industries. Over the next decade there will be significant changes in the shape of cultural industries and in the role they will play in the economy. As major industries within the services sector and as potential exporters they need to be well served by the Commonwealth's various business development programs. The Cultural Industry Development Program established within the Department of Communications and the Arts has enabled a series of pilot programs to be established to ensure that cultural enterprises have access to those programs and that they work effectively.
Partnerships between different levels of government have assisted the production of the arts and cultural products. In the case of the Australia Council's assistance for the development of new creative work, success has been spectacular. In effect, the Council has been the sole source of research and development funds or venture capital to the arts and has been essential to the development of the industry.
The Government will continue to encourage strong links between the cultural and industry portfolios. While the Department of Communications and the Arts will play a major role in the development of industry strategies for the cultural sector, its role will be that of a broker between industry and the program providers. Industry development programs for this sector need to be cognisant of the Government's cultural objectives.
The Department of Communications and the Arts, in association with Ausindustry, will:
The Australia Council sees a critical role for itself in maintaining a relationship with the general public, particularly in relation to expanding the audiences for Australian arts, both in Australia and overseas. Particular attention will be paid to this role over the next three years and extra funding has been provided for this by the Australia Council.
The Australian market for the arts is small, and it faces intense competition from overseas. Like all Australian industry the arts are increasingly recognising that viable industries will in many cases only emerge from export action.
Export is already a priority of a number of Commonwealth arts agencies including the Film Finance Corporation, the Australian Film Commission and the Australia Council. Further information on export activity will be found throughout this document.
The Government will protect the integrity of intellectual property. Measures to increase protection for intellectual property and to adapt it to cover new technologies are outlined earlier in the Protecting Australia's Creators section.
New technologies and changes to Australia's telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology services will have major implications for copyright, intellectual property and moral rights. Some of these changes will also raise questions about notions of authorship and others about the role of arts and cultural institutions in the collection, exhibition and conservation of arts and cultural material created through new technologies.
A growing recognition of the cultural industry's actual and potential contribution to the economy is a feature of recent inquiries into employment and regional development.
In developing cultural industries, an authoritative profile of the industries enhanced by data collection and analysis is essential. Research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a critical element of this.
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