The Howard Government was quick to talk up its commitment to the Australian film and television industry in the House of Representatives today. The reality is that the Howard Government is guilty of having created a crisis in the industry after cutting more than $100 million in funding in just five years between 1996 and 2001.
The Government’s cuts included $30 million from the Australian Film Commission, $10 million from the Australian Film Finance Corporation, and $60 million from the Commercial Television Production Fund.
It was only in the lead-up to the 2001 election that it restored funding to levels previously allocated under the Keating Labor Government’s Creative Nation program.
The Howard Government acknowledged its mistake then.
This year the film industry is once again at a crisis point, with the production of Australia feature films having plunged by one-third in 2002/2003.
And yet the Howard Government will not insist that Australia retains its ability to support and regulate our local film and television industry, both now and in the future under an Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA).
The Howard Government must realise that making any cultural concessions would finally bring the curtain down on Australia’s film industry. Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush believes it will be the beginning of the end for our local film and television industry:
Labor calls on the Howard Government to insist upon an exclusion clause to protect Australian culture in the AUSFTA negotiations.
Media contact: Adina Cirson – (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
