ABC Submission on the Australian Government’s “Inquiry into Australia’s Creative and Cultural Industries and Institutions”

October 2020

• The ABC is at the heart of Australia’s creative and cultural industries, which deliver significant economic and social benefits for Australian society. As an engine of creative development, employment and innovation, the ABC helps to support and promote these industries in line with its Charter obligations.

• The ABC contributes economic benefits as a significant employer of content makers, through partnerships/interactions with other organisations (including in the screen, music, arts sectors), and through regional production and events. It also contributes broader social benefits by: providing a national platform upon which local artists and content makers can be “discovered”; as a primary way for audiences to discover and enjoy Australian creative and cultural content; and by supporting Australian storytelling (whether through the screen, music, written word or other creative outlets) and events that contribute to our national identity.

• COVID-19 has had a significant impact on live performance and the broader creative and cultural industries. In line with its Charter requirement to encourage and promote the musical, dramatic, and other performing arts in Australia, the ABC has found additional ways to support Australian artists and creatives impacted by the COVID- 19 pandemic.

• The Australian Government has a range of policy tools at its disposal to support the activities of Australia's creative and cultural industries and institutions. Some have recently been deployed in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Adequate and sustainable funding for public broadcasters remains one of the most direct and proven ways to help support and sustain these industries and institutions.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) provides this submission in response to the Inquiry by the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts into Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutions (Inquiry). This submission addresses the Inquiry’s terms of reference (TOR) and how the ABC itself contributes to the economic and social benefits generated by these important sectors of the Australian economy and society.

Throughout its 85-year history, the ABC has been, and remains, one of the most important cultural institutions in this nation. Indeed, a case can be made that it is our most important, single cultural institution.

The ABC’s commitment to the creative and cultural sectors is integral to achieving its obligations under the Charter, including to broadcast “programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community”. The overwhelming majority (74%) of Australians agree that the ABC does a good job of encouraging and promoting the performing arts such as music and drama.1

It is difficult to comprehensively define the “creative and cultural” sectors. Further, this submission cannot detail all the related and relevant activity that a large institution such as the ABC engages in across these industries. The creative and cultural sector is represented at the ABC through a range of formats and platforms: performance, news, criticism and review, profiles, promotion, documentaries, landmark series and popular formats on video, audio and digital platforms, and spans all elements of screen production, music, visual and performing arts, publishing, live events, creative and cultural festivals, Indigenous culture and national events.

It is also relevant context for this submission that since 2013 the ABC's operational revenue has declined by more than 10 per cent in real terms.2 This situation has been made more acute with the costs of producing various types

1 ABC Corporate Tracking Study. 2 ABC Annual Report 2019-20, p. 119.

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of content rising faster than inflation over recent years – for example, the cost of producing Australian TV drama increased by more than inflation over the period 2013/14 to 2018/19.3

While the ABC has been able to find efficiencies to help address these trends, it remains the case that all content areas across the Corporation (including those that contribute and support creative and cultural output) have faced funding pressures over recent years. For example, the ABC's submission (July 2020) on the Australian Government Options Paper "Supporting Australian Stories on our Screens"4 highlighted that its continued investment in drama and children’s content at current levels beyond 2021/22 is likely to be unsustainable unless indexation of the ABC’s operational funding is restored and the enhanced news gathering program is extended.

Nevertheless, the ABC still maintains its strong commitment to delivering content and services which enhance the creative and cultural sectors and subject to funding considerations would always be open to looking for new opportunities to innovate and contribute in the future.

This submission is structured as follows:

• Section 2 provides relevant background and examples of the ABC’s recent activities in the music, arts and screen industries, as well support for Indigenous culture and national events, and future opportunities.

• Section 3–5 comments on specific matters raised in the Inquiry’s TOR, and where relevant cross references back to examples outlined in section 2.

The ABC enriches the lives of music lovers and nurtures Australian musicians through a range of music programs.

In 2019–20, the ABC’s music-focused radio stations reached 3.2 million people aged 10+ each week across the five cities.5 These stations are a vital way of connecting Australian artists with a national audience.

On ABC Classic, listeners hear performances, news, stories and interviews from the world of , including background, features on music history and the careers of musicians and , as well as information about concerts and other music events throughout Australia.

ABC Classic records hundreds of Australian concerts each year, from major orchestral and operatic events to small- stage festivals in regional towns. 52% of music broadcast on ABC Classic is performed by Australian artists, and the ABC is committed to developing the next generation of artists – including through the ABC Young Performers Awards. ABC Classic is focused on sharing the love of classical music with new audiences and new generations; through its Classic Flow and Classic Kids podcasts and live events, and with a series of rich and informative online resources for parents and teachers, ABC Classic engages a broad range of listeners.

Building on the ABC’s tradition of discovering and developing new music by diverse artists, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz has commissioned and funded 25 new Australian works and will bring them to a national and international audience over the next year. The debut works receiving support include musical responses to COVID-19, new jazz projects, a suite of dances by female composers reflecting on the 2019-20 bushfire season and emerging Indigenous composers exploring the 250 years since Captain Cook’s landing. promotes every aspect of contemporary youth music, featuring interviews with musicians and other artists together with news, analysis and discussion of music events and concerts. Australian music constitutes 60% of music on triple j. The annual institution of triple j’s Hottest 100 typically features many Australian musicians, many whom credit triple j as contributing to their success (discussed further in section 4).

3 ABC Corporate Plan 2019-20, p. 10. In part, this has been driven by global streaming services driving up competition for quality content. 4 https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/supporting-australian-stories-our-screens-options-paper 5 Gfkdata

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With 100% Australian music, digital station triple j Unearthed broadcasts unsigned and undiscovered Australian bands. Unearthed allows young Australian musicians to establish an audience. The accompanying website and app offer audiences direct access to over 99,000 Australian tracks.

Digital stations , ABC Jazz, and ABC Country cater to specialist audiences, with a mix of music, interviews, articles and analysis of music and musicians. They showcase and support both established and emerging Australian artists, and in 2019 Australian music constituted 38% on Double j, 34% on ABC Jazz and 63% on ABC Country.

Ausmusic Month, an annual ABC event, celebrates Australia’s rich musical landscape, and the incredible contribution musicians and their work have made to this country. Across triple j, Double J, ABC Jazz, ABC Country and ABC Classic, on television and ABC iview, on local radio and RN, Australian music is featured and celebrated.

On RN, programs like The Music Show share conversations and analysis of the history, practice and experience of musicians. ABC local programs regularly promote and discuss local music events.

On television and ABC iview, the Corporation regularly showcases local music and musicians via programs such as Rage, The Set, The Sound, and Spick and Specks specials. Feature documentary Mystify: was a highlight of AusMusic Month in November 2019, and in 2018, Don’t Stop the Music showed the transformative effects of teaching music in primary schools. Together with Musica Viva and the Salvation Army, more than 7000 instruments were donated to Australian schools following the documentary. New content in 2020 includes films on Midnight Oil and Australia’s “Queen of Honky Tonk”.

Stable and adequate funding would ensure that Australian music and music-related content can continue to play a vital role in the cultural lives of Australian audiences. The ABC's commitment to sharing the music of Australian artists, promoting metropolitan and regional festivals and performances and providing a platform for new artists, is critical to sustaining the industry.

The ABC plays a vital role in supporting and promoting Australia’s arts institutions, and in providing a forum for the arts and artists in Australia to share their work.

The ABC’s ongoing commitment to the arts and culture across multiple platforms includes, for example, RN’s The Stage Show, The Art Show, The Book Show, The Screen Show, The Bookshelf, Blueprint, Stop Everything! and Indigenous program Awaye!. These programs provide dedicated coverage of literature, film and poetry, as well as other forms of artistic expression, and include interviews, debates, news, documentaries, stories and features on the life and work of writers, filmmakers and artists. Artists, authors, and musicians feature regularly as guests of RN’s Conversations. Recent guests have included musician Dave Graney, author Gabrielle Carey, Stephen Page of Bangarra Dance Theatre and poet Geoff Goodfellow.

The ABC’s 55 local radio stations feature a significant volume of arts content across each week. On average, around 20% of the output of the ABC’s metropolitan and regional radio services is related to the arts. Local stations cover all the important local and national arts and cultural events for their communities, both on-air and through live broadcasts from events, interview and showcase artists, and feature regular segments across the week covering a range of artistic genres. For example, ABC Radio Sydney has 12 separate regular segments across its programs that cover arts, music, theatre, film and screen, writers, and performers, and also hosts a mass choir event each year, Sing Out Sydney.

On television and ABC iview, regular programs include ABC News’ weekly arts, entertainment and culture program The Mix, and popular ABC TV titles include Anh’s Brush With Fame. often shares the personal stories of artists, told in their own words; recent episodes have featured actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton, musician Nathan Cavaleri, comedians John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver, and musician James Morrison.

In 2020, new television and iview content includes: Richard Leplastrier: Framing The View, tracing the life and work of one of Australia’s most original and eminent architects; The Leunig Fragments, about the iconic Australian cartoonist; and Getting Their Acts Together, a documentary about the knife-edge challenge of putting together the 2020 Festival.

The ABC Arts on Stage channel on ABC iview contains a comprehensive suite of acquired and commissioned arts programming from art documentaries to Australian made music, classical concerts, to symphony orchestras,

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quartets, and ensembles. Archival programs such as Rewind introduce and revisit some key Australian artists, while Artists at Work explores some of the best Australian and international artists.

The ABC broadcast the 29th annual Helpmann Awards in July, celebrating Australia’s live entertainment and performing arts industry. The program featured a world-first televised performance from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two live from ’s Princess Theatre.

The ABC also works closely with Australian arts organisations and institutions to raise awareness of Australian artworks, performances and exhibitions. Recent examples of such partnerships include:

• In June 2020, ABC Classic partnered with the Australian Chamber Orchestra to spend a week celebrating the Orchestra’s 30-year relationship with their Artistic Director, .

• In May 2020, the ABC partnered with the University of Melbourne and the Australia Council for the inaugural ABC TOP 5 for artists and arts scholars.

• In 2020, the ABC partnered with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) on their #knowmyname campaign to advance recognition of female artists.

• From November 2019 to February 2020, ABC Classic partnered with the NGA around their summer exhibition Matisse & Picasso.

• In 2019, the ABC entered into a media partnership with the Copyright Agency for the Miles Franklin Award.

• In 2017, the ABC announced a three-year creative collaboration with the National Gallery of (NGV), including the Finding the Field documentary on ABC TV.

• ABC RN has an annual media partnership with the Sydney Writers’ Festival. The ABC also promotes the arts to young Australians through its education content. There are currently 306 pieces of content mapped to the Australian Curriculum area of ‘The Arts’ available on ABC Education. This includes content across visual arts, dance, music, media and other creative arts. ABC Education has active content partnerships with the galleries, libraries, archives and museum sectors to create and deliver online education content to audiences.

COVID-19 has highlighted the opportunities for arts organisations to keep audiences engaged and reach more Australians by providing online experiences. The ABC has the platform to reach all Australians, and with additional funding could increase its collaboration with artists and arts organisations to facilitate high-quality content and share this with audiences.

Australian storytelling is crucial to the nation and our national identity and provides important social and cultural outcomes. The ABC plays a crucial role in Australian storytelling by producing and commissioning Australian audiovisual content and making it available to audiences through broadcast and online platforms for free and without advertising.

The ABC collaborates with the Australian screen production industry to deliver its Charter obligations and does so with a strong sense of public purpose. The ABC’s slate of programming engages a range of Australian creative talent, including directors, editors, actors, camera operators, musicians, writers and visual artists, as well as providing career development and training opportunities.

ABC has a long and distinguished history in Australian storytelling on television and has been responsible for an array of highly regarded content; from the trailblazing drama Stormy Petrel in 1960 to the powerful contemporary series Redfern , which was Australia’s first prime-time drama where almost all creative roles – writers, directors, cast and crew – were held by . More recently, Mystery Road, Total Control and have all showcased the diverse depth of talent in Australia and captured the imagination of audiences with their compelling stories. For kids, Bluey has been a stand-out, as have Hardball and Itch. These cultural touchstones are only a few among a host of iconic ABC programs that have entertained, enriched Australians’ lives and informed who we are as a society.

The ABC has a strong commitment to Indigenous content and storytelling, which is reflected not only in its programming, but in the ABC Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan 2019–22. The Corporation has a dedicated

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Indigenous unit that works with the Indigenous creative sector, and it has, over the last 10 years, increased on- screen levels of Indigenous content and greatly enhanced representation across all genres, including drama, comedy, factual, and digital / social media.

The ABC acknowledges recent positive measures to support the Australian screen industry, such as changes to the producer offset and additional Screen Australia funding. Despite these measures, Australians will continue to be presented with a flood of international content. The ABC is a key commissioner of Australian scripted content. With additional funding, the ABC could increase the number of scripted productions in regional Australia, support Australia's screen industry and further enrich the cultural lives of Australians.

The ABC enhances Australian culture and strengthens society through its sharing of live events that promote all aspects of Indigenous culture, celebrate cultural diversity and honour national events. In 2019–20, this included:

• Live coverage of the Australian of the Year Awards on 25 January. Three key events were broadcast on ABC TV and livestreamed on on 26 January: the WugulOra morning ceremony at Barangaroo, which acknowledges Australia’s shared history and the traditional custodians of the land; the Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony in Canberra; and the Australia Day Live concert from Circular Quay. During the day, ABC Radio Sydney also teamed up with Koori Radio for their first co-production to cover the Yabun Festival, one of Australia's largest Indigenous Festivals, which takes place in Sydney each year and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

• The ABC is proud to be the official media partner of the Garma Festival, Australia’s largest Indigenous-led, Indigenous-programmed cultural exchange. In August 2019, the ABC broadcast live from the festival ensuring conversations and celebrations travelled beyond the sacred Yolngu site.

• The ABC delivered a range of content for the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019. This included Indigenous language videos produced as part of the New Year’s Eve television broadcast; six articles written by young Indigenous language speakers, with illustrations by Indigenous artist Charlotte Ellingham and published on ABC Life; the Little Yarns series on ABC Kids listen, voiced entirely by First Nations peoples and featuring music and artwork by Aboriginal composers and artists; and language- related content on Life Matters and Big Ideas.

• In July 2019, ABC Classic broadcast Deborah Cheetham’s opera Eumeralla – A war requiem for peace, sung entirely in the ancient dialects of the Gunditjmara people and performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

• In November 2019, ABC Radio Sydney celebrated Ausmusic month and the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages with Sing Out Sydney. Twenty-one choirs from across New South Wales performed at the Sydney Recital Hall, sharing stories and songs from diverse communities around Sydney and the state. The concert concluded with all 560 choristers performing Christine Anu’s Kulba Yaday in Kalaw Kawaw Ya language from the north-western island of the Torres Strait.

• The ABC’s 2019 New Year’s Eve coverage reached 3.6 million Australians. Filmed on the Boardwalk of the Sydney Opera House, it included a fireworks spectacular and live concert featuring Australian artists. The ABC’s first ever New Year’s Eve broadcast appeal raised over $2 million for the Red Cross’ Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

The Inquiry’s TOR ask submitters to comment on the direct and indirect economic benefits and employment opportunities of creative and cultural industries, and how to recognise, measure and grow them. The economic benefits (or value) provided by Australia’s creative and cultural industries can be estimated in different ways, including by looking at measures of economic value-add or employment. The indirect or “flow-on” economic benefits to other parts of the economy and society are also important.

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The creative and cultural sectors contribute significantly to the Australian economy. For example, previous research by the Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research estimated that cultural and creative activity contributed $111.7 billion to Australia’s economy in 2016–17.6

Another way to measure economic impact is to focus on employment. Given the breadth of “cultural and creative industries” across different parts of the economy and data limitations, it is not necessarily straightforward to identify robust figures for the number of people employed overall and how this has changed over time. In one past study, creative employment was calculated at almost 600,000 people, or 5.6% of the Australian workforce.7

The ABC is at the heart of Australia’s creative and cultural industries. It plays an important role as an engine of creative development, employment and innovation for these sectors. Overall the ABC employs almost 3000 content makers across 56 locations in Australia. It also commissions, produces and distributes content and services which are consumed by audiences. Beyond these direct economic employment and output impacts, the ABC’s activities also generate flow-on economic benefits in several ways, examples of which are outlined below.

3.1.1 Relationships and partnerships with third parties The ABC interacts with a range of businesses, organisations and institutions in the creative and cultural industries who in turn form a critical part of the ABC’s supply chain, either on a regular basis or as part of unique projects. In some cases, these relationships may be more formal partnerships (section 3.2 discusses further). Linkages between the ABC, businesses and other creative and cultural institutions help support economic activity and employment in the creative and cultural industries more broadly. While there are several examples the ABC could offer on this issue, the screen and music industries offer pertinent examples of where its activities provide critical support to other business activities.

• The ABC invests directly in Australian screen production by employing screen practitioners, providing training and cadetship opportunities, commissioning content with the independent production sector, and acquiring Australian content. Over the last five years alone, the ABC has spent $489 million on commissioning content with the Australian production sector across all genres, with a total production budget of $991 million. This investment is crucial at a time when Australian stories, and the Australian screen industry, are increasingly being drowned out by huge volumes of international content.8

• The ABC supports the music industry directly through employment, licencing and publishing. The ABC pays royalties to the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), supporting local artists, and select artists can also be signed and have their music published and publicly released through the commercial ABC Music business, an . It has been estimated that, overall, the ABC contributed more than $1 billion to the Australian economy in 2016-17, and more than a third of the ABC’s total economic contribution went towards supporting the broader media production landscape e.g. production companies and suppliers. For every three FTE jobs within the ABC, the ABC helps to support an estimated two additional jobs in the broader economy (2500 jobs overall), including more than 500 in production companies, more than 400 in the broadcast sector, and close to 300 in the professional services.9 3.1.2 Local and regional economic benefits Regional Australia forms a critical part of ABC’s content offering, and direct benefits accrue when a production takes place in regional Australia. Much of the content commissioned by the ABC has its bulk of production and expenditure outside the metropolitan areas of Sydney and Melbourne. Over the last three years, the ABC has leveraged $180 million of production activity into stories and production reflecting regional locales and/or themes, and 280 hours of content for Australian audiences representing regional Australia.

6 Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research (2018), Cultural and creative activity in Australia 2008-09 to 2016-17, Working Paper, October 2018. 7 Cunningham, S. & McCutcheon, M. (2018), The Creative Economy in Australia: Cultural production, creative services and income. 8 The content library of contains thousands of titles, but only 1.6% of them are Australian. Of these, almost 60% of Netflix’s Australian catalogue is licensed from the ABC. The level of Australian content on is higher, at 11.1%, but its overall catalogue is smaller. See Ramon Lobatoand Alexa Scarlata. “Australian content in SVOD catalogues: availability and discoverability: 2018 edition”, 14 October 2018, http://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2018/10/apo-nid196611-1121701.pdf. 9 ABC Corporate Plan 2018-19, p. 18.

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Regional Australia also benefits indirectly when featured in ABC content. An example of this is the economic benefit generated by triple j’s annual One Night Stand event. Each year, this event gives regional communities the chance to enjoy a free, all-ages concert featuring some of Australia’s biggest music acts, and encourages Australians – in particular young people – to travel to, explore and support some of the country’s more remote regional areas. This not only raises the profile of these towns, but also delivers local economic benefits. The most recent event in Lucindale, South Australia, attracted 20,000 people to a town with a population of 500. This followed record crowds which attended the event in St Helens, Tasmania in 2018. The Mt Isa event in 2017 was estimated to have generated a $3 million economic boost to the local economy.10

The Inquiry’s TOR ask submitters to consider the non-economic benefits that enhance community, social wellbeing and promote Australia’s national identity, andhow to recognise, measure and grow them. In this context, non- economic benefits can also be thought of as “broader social benefits” which are generated from the existence and activities of Australia’s creative and cultural industries. While these benefits can be more difficult to identify and measure in dollar terms than economic benefits, they are no less valuable.

This section provides examples of how the ABC’s activities help create broader social value. Some of these activities are mentioned in the Charter, such as broadcasting programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and educational programs, while other social value comes from content relating to regional Australia media, news and current affairs and the arts.

3.2.1 Audience value The primary source of value from public broadcasting is the value experienced by its television, radio and online audiences. Research suggests that more than two-thirds of Australians watch, read or listen to the ABC each week through its range of digital and broadcast services. 77% of Australians regard the ABC to be distinctively Australian and contributing to Australia’s national identity. Further, 78% value the ABC and its services to the community, 74% consider the ABC encourages and promotes Australian performing arts such as music and drama, and 70% agree that the ABC supports Australian music.11 3.2.2 Partnerships in the Arts sector The ABC has a number of partnerships with key stakeholders in the Arts sector, including those which: provide support and relevant skills and training for Australia’s next generation of artists and arts scholars; involve cost sharing/hosting arrangements in support of a range of arts festivals and awards, and involve partnerships with more than 180 arts institutions and events, including Australia’s leading museums and performing arts centres, writers’, film, music and comedy festivals, and regional community events, all of which provide important opportunities to develop and showcase our national artists.

3.2.3 Support for creative screen formats, talent and the production industry Within the broader creative and cultural industries, the ABC has sought to support local screenwriters, producers, actors and up-and-coming talent. As noted in section 3.1, above, this support has a clear economic dimension in terms of the investment and financing the ABC contributes to help make high-quality local screen productions. In fulfilling its role under the Charter, the ABC has also helped to provide a pathway and platform for talent behind and in front of the camera across a range of genres within creative and cultural industries. A research report by RBB Economics (2018) found that the ABC’s early investments in content and talent (such as producers, broadcasters, journalists) have been followed by further success on commercial platforms.12 3.2.4 Support for emerging musicians, composers and local orchestras In line with its Charter obligation “to encourage and promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia”, the ABC offers support to local Australian musical artists, composers and local orchestras by providing a

10 ABC News, One Night Stand: Mount Isa's hosting of triple j music festival another touring success, 24 April 2017; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-24/one-night-stand-music-festival-in-mount-isa-a-touring-success/8466936?nw=0 11 ABC's Corporate Tracking Study. 12 RBB Economics (2018), "The ABC and the Australian media sector: A report supporting the ABC’s submission to the inquiry into the competitive neutrality of the national broadcasters", pp. 91-92.

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platform on which they can be discovered and receive exposure to audiences across Australia and internationally. By offering this exposure, promoting live events, interviewing artists and offering reviews and analysis of work, the ABC enables artists to reach wider audiences than would otherwise be the case. RBB Economics (2018) found that the ABC’s early investment and exposure of local Australian musicians has been followed by further success on commercial platforms.13 Quantitative analysis found strong evidence that the ABC’s flagship radio station, triple j, played a substantially different set of songs compared to those most played on all radio stations (predominantly the commercial radio stations). 3.2.5 Contributing to Australia’s national identity and enhancing Australia’s culture Australian storytelling, whether through the screen, music, written word or other creative outlets, and shared national experiences, are crucial to the nation and to our national identity. It is through our unique stories that we can explore, understand, challenge and shape who we are as a nation. The ABC plays (section 2.3 above) a crucial role in creating, sharing and promoting Australian music, screen content, performances, artists, authors, Indigenous culture, festivals, events and national celebrations, thereby contributing to the national identity. The ABC also (section 2.4 above) enhances Australian culture and strengthens society through its sharing of live events that promote all aspects of Indigenous culture, celebrate cultural diversity and honour national events.

The Inquiry’s TOR direct the Committee (and submitters) to consider how to recognise, measure and grow the economic and non-economic benefits of the creative and cultural industries and institutions.

A baseline for identifying and measuring these benefits is to ensure that, as far as possible, there is independent, regular and consistent measurement and classification. Tracking, data collection and reporting by agencies such as the ABS provide critical information that allows the contribution of these industries to be measured, including over time and across different jurisdictions. The Committee may wish to inquire further on these issues to see if improvements can be made to current practices. While ad hoc studies have been important for highlighting the role of these sectors in the Australian economy and the contribution they make to Australian society, there may be opportunities for more consistent reporting and benchmarking on their contribution.

The ABC seeks to recognise and measure the benefits it delivers in several ways. First and foremost, it undertakes regular, high-quality audience surveys such as its Corporate Tracking Study, a nationally representative survey (with strict quotas for age, gender and location). The annual results of this survey are published each year in the ABC Annual Report. At times, the ABC has also engaged consultants to undertake research on the impact of its activities or specific initiatives.

In terms of growing the economic and broader social benefits, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for many sectors of the economy, including the creative and cultural industries (section 4). The ABC notes the Australian Government’s June 2020 announcement of a $250 million COVID-19 Creative Economy Support Package, and additional support outlined in the 2020-21 Budget.14 The Government also recently announced changes to the producer offset, which is expected to increase the financial viability of Australian screen productions. Sustaining a diverse, thriving creative and culturalsector and the benefits that ensue relies on adequate and well-targeted Government support and recognition. Screen Australia and the Australia Council for the Arts, along with a range of other institutions and funding initiatives, are a key part of this.

As the national public broadcaster, the ABC is another key policy mechanism that governments have used to promote and sustain the Australian creative and cultural sector. Ensuring there is stable and adequate funding for national public broadcasters into the future remains a critical, direct and proven policy tool for growing and supporting these industries.

13 RBB Economics (2018), pp. 22-23; pp. 93-94, Appendix D (p. 159). 14 https://www.arts.gov.au/covid-19-update

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The impact of COVID-19 has been felt by the creative and cultural sector keenly. In April 2020, the ABS reported that in the week commencing 30th March only 47% of arts and recreation businesses were trading, compared to 90% across the majority of Australia’s Industries.15 COVID-19 has decimated live performance, cultural and community events and festivals, restricted audiences for galleries and museums, and delayed and cancelled screen productions. This has had a flow-on effect on the long-term viability of the sector’s institutions and organisations, the livelihoods of creative and cultural workers and business owners, and down-stream to supporting businesses.

At the ABC, COVID-19 disrupted 70 productions which the ABC had commissioned from a total of 50 independent producers. The negative impact on the production pipeline is expected to be felt across 2021 and 2022. The $50 million Screen Australia Temporary Interruption Fund (part of the Government's $250 million COVID-19 Creative Economy Support Package), designed to kick-start local screen production, supported eight ABC projects with production based in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Early in the pandemic, the ABC moved quickly to provide support for Australian artists and creatives, and provided audiences with much-needed stimulating, entertaining and thought-provoking content.

On screen, the ABC commissioned Retrograde and At Home Alone Together. These programs were filmed in lockdown conditions and engaged Australian creatives at a time when most production activity had ceased. On ABC iview, 200 hours of additional on-demand Australian content was released.

In April, the ABC launched the Fresh Start Initiative, a $5 million development fund, to provide urgent and critical support to Australian independent producers and creatives. This included the Arts Digital Fund for innovative new arts content and Australian Music Fund to support independent artists and musicians across all ABC music networks. The ABC received over 4000 submissions and the fund has supported more than 200 Australian productions and new content ideas. There are more than 30 specialist projects spanning areas such as podcasts, arts, science, and religion. Almost 60 Australian music projects are receiving development funding and support. triple j, Double J and triple j Unearthed announced a special edition of Ausmusic T-shirt Day, held on 17 April, to encourage listeners to buy and wear a new T-shirt from their favourite Australian artist, helping to support artists by purchasing their merchandise.

While the music industry was in lockdown, the ABC TV commissioned two seasons of The Sound, featuring artists from all walks of the Australian music industry, with more than two-thirds of each episode focused on showcasing new songs.

While many events have been unable to go ahead in 2020, local radio stations have continued to support the arts throughout this year, proactively working with partners to reimagine events to be delivered virtually via ABC local radio, digital and social channels without live audiences. There have been over 30 events since March, such as with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Western Australian Music, Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival, and the CAN Elders project.

ABC Classic is keeping the music going as Australia’s Concert Hall, working with Australian musicians to bring audiences concerts and livestreams and a list of online music events, and ABC music networks worked with the Australian music industry on the Sound of Silence initiative, which is supporting local artists and music industry workers during the shutdown of live music performances.

With the lights out in theatres and concert halls due to COVID-19, the ABC launched a collection on ABC iview of Australian arts content across theatre, opera, ballet and classical music. The launch of more than 30 performances represented the biggest catalogue from Australian arts companies ever offered on-demand to its viewers. The ABC also launched the ABC Book Club on Facebook and a monthly book club on The Bookshelf, bringing together a panel of readers to discuss the books they’re reading, recommending or have always wanted to get to.

In May, the ABC TOP 5 media residency scheme was expanded to artists and arts scholars for the first time. The inaugural ABC TOP 5 Arts, in partnership with the University of Melbourne and Australia Council for the Arts,

15 ABS Business Impacts of COVID-19 Week Commencing 30 March 2020.

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supports early-career graduate PhD arts scholars and graduate arts practitioners across the visual arts, performance, design, architecture and screen.

In June, RN’s Big Weekend of Books celebrated authors, readers and writing, including conversations with some of the best writers from around the world, such as Hilary Mantel, Elizabeth Gilbert and Christos Tsiolkas. The weekend- long event was produced in response to the cancellation of major literary festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technology continues to multiply the ways in which audiences can access information and entertainment. This has created an opportunity for Australia’s creative and cultural industries to reach wider audiences. In addition, high- quality digital applications are increasingly an expectation of audiences.

The ABC recognises this opportunity, and through its suite of websites and apps, Australian audiences can engage with the ABC’s creative and cultural content and services when and where it suits them. The ABC iview and ABC Listen apps provide access to ABC video and audio live-streaming and on-demand programs.

A range of other sites and apps are dedicated to specific audiences and interests, such as the triple j and triple j Unearthed sites and apps for music and content. The ABC also makes extensive use of social media and other third- party platforms to reach and engage with audiences.

The ABC is known for being an innovator in developing new products and services as technology and media consumption habits change. Recent highlights that contribute to Australia’s creative and cultural industries include:

• Improving the triple j and ABC Listen apps to make it easier for audiences to access and move across audio streams and video.

• Launching ABC Australia iview, an app for iOS and Android devices, that opens up more ABC content for audiences around the world.

• Raising the standards for inclusive content with the 30-episode drama The Heights, which achieved gender parity across the cast and crew, gave 30% of the cast their first screen credit, and drew two-thirds of the core ensemble from diverse backgrounds. The ABC released its Five-Year Plan in June 2020. In it, the ABC commits to evolving its services to meet the needs and expectations of contemporary audiences. This includes placing a greater focus on being easier to access and experience on digital platforms and devices, and providing an individually personalised service, such that each member of the Australian public can access the content that is most relevant to them. This will enhance audience access and opportunity to Australia’s creative and cultural sector.

At a broader sector level, it will be important for the content created by Australia’s creative and cultural industries to remain easily discoverable in a media environment that is increasingly becoming crowded with international content and streaming services. In particular, the prominence of Australian content is an important issue in any on- demand environment. This area deserves considerable further study and, as the ABC proposed in its submission to the Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens Options Paper (2020), the Government should consider an in-depth review to determine the best way to ensure that Australian audiences can readily discover Australian content.

The shift online for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic may also present future opportunities. In its policy response to COVID-19, the OECD noted that many cultural and creative organisations moved content online to keep audiences engaged and to satisfy the demand for cultural content, opening the door to many future innovations. To capitalise on them, there is a need to address the digital skills shortages within the sector and improve digital access beyond large metropolitan areas.16

16 https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/culture-shock-covid-19-and-the-cultural-and-creative-sectors-08da9e0e/

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The ABC remains a valuable part of the Australian creative and cultural sector and relies on its industries and institutions to deliver on the ABC Charter’s responsibilities to encourage and promote the musical, dramatic, and other performing arts in Australia and to contribute to a sense of national identity. Funding for the ABC remains a key mechanism for supportingand growing the creative and cultural industries.

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