Cultural Policies in Australia

Cultural policies in Australia Professor Margaret Seares AO with assistance from Dr John Gardiner-Garden June 2011 Title: Cultural policies in Australia ISBN: 978-1-920784-07-2 Published by: Australia Council 2010 Copyright: © International Arts Federation Services Pty Ltd (IAFS) trading as International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the IAFS. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: IFACCA, PO Box 788, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, Australia Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 2 9215 9018 Fax: +61 2 9215 9111 http://www.ifacca.org Preface This profile of Australia’s cultural policies makes The European Compendium contains cultural a timely contribution to the current discussions policy profiles of 41 European countries and prompted by the Australian Government’s Canada. This Australian profile will be one proposal to release a cultural policy. of the first to be added to the international database during its pilot phase in 2011. IFACCA Cultural policies in Australia offers an invaluable is currently exploring adding similar profiles for picture of arts and cultural polices across all Pacific, Asian and some Arab countries, with spheres of government and agencies concerned longer term plans for profiles of African and Latin with all artforms, screen culture, public and American countries. Current plans are to launch commercial media, Indigenous affairs, heritage, a preliminary version of WorldCP.org, at the 5th education, training and economic policy. The World Summit on Arts and Culture, to be co- profile is an important addition to the many arts hosted by IFACCA and the Australia Council, in research resources now available on the website Melbourne in October 2011. of the Australia Council for the Arts. The work, however, has a further purpose. I would like to congratulate Professor Margaret Seares, a former chair of the Australia Council, Since being a founding member of the for bringing to this pioneering work her deep International Federation of Arts Councils and knowledge of arts and cultural policy in Australia. Culture Agencies (IFACCA), the Australia Council I would also like to thank John Gardiner-Garden has benefitted greatly from this opportunity of the Parliamentary Library of the Parliament of to share arts policy making expertise with our Australia for his assistance. We are also grateful colleagues around the world. to the Office for the Arts in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, for their feedback. IFACCA (www.ifacca.org) has been nominated by Thanks too must go to Sarah Gardner, Executive the founders of the highly regarded Compendium Director of IFACCA, for initiating and guiding this of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe (www. project to publication. It should be noted that this culturalpolicies.net), the Council of Europe profile, while informed by consultations with the (CoE) and the ERICarts Institute, to develop an Australia Council, IFACCA and federal and state international version of the Compendium. This arts departments, is written independently and not international resource, WorldCP, will be a central, formally endorsed by these bodies. web-based and regularly updated database of country-specific profiles of cultural policies. I wish IFACCA well for the development of their In the future, it will also provide the capacity to visionary international compendium, and look monitor and analyse global trends, providing an forward to the continued sharing of cultural invaluable tool for policymakers, researchers, policies around the world. advocates, civil society and the global community. This capacity for comparison is made possible Kathy Keele by all participating nations using a universal set of CEO chapter and section titles for the presentation of Australia Council for the Arts the profiles. Cultural policies in Australia 3 Professor Margaret Seares She holds a PhD from UWA in Music, with her specialty being keyboard music of the 18th Margaret Seares is a former Senior Deputy Vice- century. Chancellor at The University of Western Australia. Margaret is currently on the board of the Perth She was Chair of the Australia Council for the International Arts Festival, the Chamber for Arts Arts, the Australian Government's arts funding and Culture, and the Telethon Institute for Child and advisory board, from 1997–2001, and earlier Health Research in Perth, the Centre for Creative CEO with the then West Australian Department Industries, the Education Investment Fund and the for the Arts. While at the Australia Council, she National Research Infrastructure Council. She was was a member of the Foreign Minister's Australia also a member of the inaugural Advisory Council International Cultural Council and a Director of the for the Australian Research Council and is a Fellow Australia Business Arts Foundation. of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Since then, Margaret has been a member of In 2003, Professor Seares was made an Officer a wide range of boards, including the National of the Order of Australia in recognition of her Portrait Gallery, the Australian Broadcasting contribution to the arts and education in Australia. Corporation's Arts Advisory Committee, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, and the Expert Advisory Committee for Humanities & Creative Arts for the Australian Research Council. In 2005 she chaired the National Review of Music Education and previously chaired the National Collections Advisory Forum. Cultural policies in Australia 4 Cultural policies in Australia Table of contents 1. Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments 7 2. General objectives and principles of cultural policy 11 2.1 Main features of the current cultural policy model 11 2.2 National definition of culture 13 2.3 Cultural policy objectives 14 3. Competence, decision-making and administration 15 3.1 Organisational structure (organigram) 15 3.2 Overall description of the system 15 3.3 Interministerial or intergovernmental cooperation 17 3.4 International cultural cooperation 18 3.4.1 Overview of main structures and trends 18 3.4.2 Public actors and cultural diplomacy 18 3.4.3 International actors and programs 18 3.4.4 Direct professional cooperation 19 3.4.5 Cross-border intercultural dialogue and cooperation 19 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate 20 4.1 Main cultural policy issues and priorities 20 4.2 Specific policy issues and recent debates 21 4.2.1 Conceptual issues of policies for the arts 21 4.2.2 Heritage issues and policies 22 4.2.3 Cultural/creative industries: policies and programs 23 4.2.4 Cultural diversity and inclusion policies 24 4.2.5 Language issues and policies 27 4.2.6 Media pluralism and content diversity 27 4.2.7 Intercultural dialogue: actors, strategies, programs 30 4.2.8 Social cohesion and cultural policies 31 4.2.9 Employment policies for the cultural sector 31 4.2.10 Gender equality and cultural policies 31 4.3 Other relevant issues and debates 32 4.3.1 Rural and regional arts 32 4.3.2 The Book Industry Package Assistance Plan 33 4.3.3 Major inquiries and reviews 33 4.3.4 Government support for screen culture 36 4.3.5 Children in Art Protocols 39 4.3.6 Arts and disabilities 40 Cultural policies in Australia 5 5. Main legal provisions in the cultural field 41 5.1 General legislation 41 5.1.1 Constitution 41 5.1.2 Division of jurisdiction 41 5.1.3 Allocation of public funds 41 5.1.4 Social security frameworks 41 5.1.5 Tax laws 42 5.1.6 Labour laws 43 5.1.7 Copyright provisions 43 5.1.8 Data protection laws 44 5.1.9 Language laws 44 5.2 Legislation on culture 45 5.3 Sector specific legislation 45 5.3.1 Visual arts 45 5.3.2 Performing arts and music 46 5.3.3 Cultural heritage 46 5.3.4 Literature and libraries 46 5.3.5 Architecture and spatial planning 47 5.3.6 Film, video and photography 47 5.3.7 Mass media 47 5.3.8 Other areas of relevant legislation 47 6. Financing of culture 48 6.1 Short overview 48 6.2 Public cultural expenditure 48 6.2.1 Aggregated indicators 48 6.2.2 Public cultural expenditure broken down by level of government 48 6.2.3 Sector breakdown 49 6.3 Trends and indicators for private cultural financing 50 7. Public institutions in cultural infrastructure 51 7.1 Cultural infrastructure: tendencies and strategies 51 7.2 Basic data about selected public institutions in the cultural sector 51 7.3 Status and partnerships of public cultural institutions 52 8. Promoting creativity and participation 53 8.1 Support to artists and other creative workers 53 8.1.1 Overview of strategies, programs and direct or indirect forms of support 53 8.1.2 Special artists funds 53 8.1.3 Grants, awards, scholarships 54 8.1.4 Support to professional artists associations or unions 54 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation 54 8.2.1 Trends and figures 54 8.2.2 Policies and programs 55 8.3 Arts and cultural education 56 8.3.1 Institutional overview 56 8.3.2 Arts in schools 56 8.3.3 Intercultural education 57 8.3.4 Higher arts education and professional training 57 8.3.5 Basic out-of-school arts and cultural education 59 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and civil initiatives 59 9. Sources and links 60 9.1 Key documents on cultural policy 60 9.2 Key organisations and portals 60 Cultural policies in Australia 6 1. Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments As with any country, Australian cultural policy government, which may or may not be, at any needs to be viewed in the context of the nation’s given time, of the same political flavour as the history, its people, and its constitutional structure.

Load more