The Senate inquiry into the economic and cultural value of Australian content on broadcast TV, streaming services and radio is motivated partly by fears the government could ditch local content quotas without parliament’s approval.
If elected, Labor has promised to convene a taskforce to "conclude" the government's Australian and Children's Screen Content Review.
"The Minister should acknowledge and encourage our home-grown creatives too. The Australians working on local stories and projects, generating IP, creating jobs and running small businesses as they tell our stories; stories that must be told," write Shadow Minister for the Arts and Industrial Relations Tony Burke and Shadow Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland.
The Australian screen industry is experiencing a boom, with Australia being seen as an affordable and safe place to film. This presents a distinct opportunity, not just for the Australian economy, but for modernising an industry ripe for change that can better meet the needs of contemporary audiences moving forward, writes actor, producer and writer Oakley Kwon.
The legislative changes to the federal tax incentives have passed through both houses of Parliament, with amendments that keep the minimum qualifying Australian expenditure (QAPE) threshold at $500,000 for both the Producer and PDV offset.
Australian film projects made in collaboration with India have the potential to deliver on issues the industry is “constantly talking about", according to Australian India Film Council chair Anupam Sharma.
The Australian Labor Party has unveiled its cultural policy ahead of the election this Saturday, promising increased cooperation between federal, state, and local levels of government when it comes to the arts sector, as well as an "arms-length" approach to funding.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has welcomed the weekend's election result while emphasising the importance of creating opportunities and certainty for the sector going forward