16.04.20
Griffin’s theatre is closed, our office is shut, and—most alarmingly—under the cloud of COVID-19 panic, the Arts and Entertainment industry in this country is being quietly dismantled by our government.
If you’re reading this, you care about the arts. Please, make some noise for us by emailing your local government offical.
Below you’ll find a handy template that you can use to email your local MP or Senator, the Arts Minister, or even the Prime Minister! Below the template, we’ve also provided a list of emails for the MPs who voted against assistance for the Arts. You can find email addresses for your local MP and/or Senator here.
Thanks and lots of love,
The Griffs
Template
For MPs: Dear Mr or Ms…
For Senators: Dear Senator…
For Ministers: Dear Minister…
My name is [Insert name here],
As your constituent of [Insert electorate/state here], a patron of Griffin Theatre Company and a supporter of the wider arts community, I am writing to express my deep concern over a number of troubling developments.
In the week leading up to Thursday 16 April:
– The federal government refused the $650 million targeted support package requested as a matter of life and death by the LPA—assigning, instead, $27 million.
– The government voted against extending JobKeeper to cover the majority of arts workers, whose contract-to-contract work life renders them ineligible for it.
– 49 small companies have had their funding removed by the Australia Council for the Arts.
– Screen quotas have been suspended on local drama, documentary, and children’s TV—meaning broadcasters have zero obligation to hire Australian creatives or produce work.
This is a thriving sector comprised of some 650,000 writers, actors, camera people, set builders, tailors, road crew, box office staff, lighting technicians, gaffers, set designers and web programmers – an industry that provides over $111.7bn contribution to the economy, and 6.5% of Australia’s GDP. But this isn’t just about the loss of a sector, this is about endangering people’s lives. This is about the difference between survival and extinction for arts workers and businesses in Australia.
I am writing to ask how you will solve this problem.
Yours faithfully,
[Insert name here]
List of MPs who Voted Against Assistance for the Arts
Katie Allen MP
Kevin Andrews MP
Bridget Archer MP
Darren Chester MP
Mark Coulton MP
Damian Drum MP
Jason Falinski MP
Paul Fletcher MP (Arts Minister)
Nicolle Flint MP
Josh Frydenberg MP
Andrew Gee MP
Greg Hunt MP
Julian Leeser MP
Sussan Ley MP
Michael McCormack MP
Melissa McIntosh MP
Fiona Martin MP
Scott Morrison MP (Prime Minister)
Ben Morton MP
Llew O’Brien MP
Christian Porter MP
Stuart Robert MP
Dave Sharma MP
Michael Sukkar MP
Dan Tehan MP
Alan Tudge MP
Bert van Manen MP
Tim Wilson MP
Trent Zimmerman MP
