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Susan Moylan-Coombs to chair Screen Queensland Equity and Diversity Taskforce

Top row L-R are Katrina Irawati Graham, Stephanie Dower, Anupam Sharma, and Liz Ballantyne. Bottom row L-R are Ken Crouch, Susan Moylan-Coombs, Shirley Pierce and Richard Jameson.

Susan Moylan-Coombs will chair Screen Queensland’s inaugural Equity and Diversity Taskforce, designed to develop three-year diversity plan for film, series, and games in the state.

The founder and director of social impact organisation, The Gaimaragal Group, Moylan-Coombs will lead a group made up of Gameloft art director Liz Ballantyne; Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch; producer and disability advocate Stephanie Dower; screenwriter and Women in Film and Television (WIFT) board member Katrina Irawati Graham; Wirrim Media producer Richard Jameson; writer Shirley Pierce; and director and Australia India Film Council chair Anupam Sharma.

Nominations were invited in June this year for the taskforce, which has been formed to guide Screen Queensland in setting strategic goals and measurable performance targets for increasing representation in the state’s screen sector.

The group will also review the accessibility and inclusivity of funding guidelines and recommend other training and workshops to ensure that the experiences of specific groups are represented in Screen Queensland policies, initiatives and programs.

Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich said the selected members would allow Screen Queensland to take the lead in driving affirmative action to deliver measurable short and long-term goals to keep the state’s industry moving forward.

“Creating this Taskforce is about more than growing the diverse screen space in our state – it is about ensuring diversity is an inseparable component of a strong and sustainable local sector,” she said. 

“Representation and gender parity on screen and behind-the-scenes are headlining hot topics in our industry worldwide, and savvy and increasingly globalised audiences demand more diverse, empowering content from producers.

“The Screen Queensland team is excited to welcome the Taskforce and start benefitting from their industry expertise and unique perspectives, that will shape exciting things to come.”