Coronavirus: Arts grab $250m Covid-19 lifeline

Australia’s arts industry has welcomed the government’s injection of cash, but warned some companies may not survive.

Scott Morrison and singer Guy Sebastian speak to the media in the Sydney. Picture: AAP

Australia’s arts industry leaders have welcomed the federal government’s injection of cash to buoy the country’s struggling arts and entertainment sector, but warned some companies may not survive the crippling effect of the pandemic.

The $250m package will provide grants and loans to the industry over 12 months to ease the impact of COVID-19 and retain employees. Grants of $75,000 to $2m will be accessible for event and production businesses. A $50m screen fund will help film and television companies resume production.

Queensland Theatre artistic ­director Lee Lewis said the end of JobKeeper in September was still a concern for artistic companies.

“Queensland Theatre needs $1.5m to get back on track. If we don’t get that, what does that actually mean for our future as a company? And for companies less established than us, they just might not make it,” she said.

“There is a layer of relief, but at our most decimated point, we’ve got to gear up and compete with each other for these resources.”

QTC artistic director Lee Lewis with playwright Steve Pirie in the empty Bille Brown Theatre in Brisbane on Thursday. Picture: Glenn Hunt

Ms Lewis welcomed the decision to allow the Australia ­Council to distribute the funds, in partnership with a ­government taskforce, but said she wanted more information on the allocation process.

“With all the money available I want to know who decides where it goes. Who is on the panel and what are their values? And how transparent will the processes be? Their decisions will shape the cultural future of Australia.”

Evelyn Richardson, chief executive of industry body Live Performance Australia, described the available grants and loans as a “vital injection of capital funding”.

“We welcome the recognition by government that the arts and entertainment sector has a critical role in the economy and creating jobs and growth,” she said.

“The biggest problem we have now is capital because everyone has burnt their capital so the combination of grants and loans will allow companies to get back up and running and start employing people again.”

Announcing the package on Thursday, Scott Morrison said the funding would help retain skilled employees in the sector and get much-loved artistic productions back in front of audiences.

“The only thing that gets those jobs stood up again is the production starting again, and so whether it’s Harry Potter down in Melbourne or … any of these sorts of big productions, we will see, you know, tens, hundreds of thousands of people (back in jobs), ” he said.

“This is not just about providing ongoing support. It’s about getting the show back up and running. Those jobs will come back into business when the shows start again and we need to keep the show together when it comes to the people who make that up.”

Standing alongside the Prime Minister during the announcement, singer Guy Sebastian ­described the funding package as a lifeline to the arts sector.

“I really do believe if we didn’t have this, there would be so many highly  skilled people that would go to other places and other sectors and we would lose them and it would be so incredibly hard to rebuild this wonderful arts culture that we have here,” Sebastian said.

Shortly after his appearance, he was hit with social media backlash, as Twitter users claimed he did not represent struggling artists who needed government support.

Labor’s arts spokesman, Tony Burke, said the package’s $90m loan program to fund new productions and events meant some companies would miss out.

“There are many businesses who are in no position at all to be able to take on additional debt,” Mr Burke said.