2021-08-11
The Greens will move in the Senate for the Morrison Government to establish a Federal Insurance Guarantee for the live performance and events industry.
Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“Our live performance and events sector has taken another hit with half the country back in lockdown or living with restrictions more than a year into this Covid pandemic.
“Our artists, musicians and their crews are being devastated by another season of events, festivals, concerts, exhibitions and live performances being cancelled and the insurance industry just isn’t there to help them.
“There has been a clear market failure and the government must step in and underwrite an insurance scheme.
“A Federal Insurance Guarantee will plug this massive hole in the insurance market and help get our shows back on the road well into the future.
“The Live Performance Sector isn’t asking for a hand-out, it is asking for a product that simply isn’t available right now so that they can plan gigs, festivals and events with confidence they won’t keep taking massive financial hits with ongoing restrictions and lockdowns.
“The PM is now accepts the importance of lockdowns and restrictions in the Covid health response. However the buck passing of the consequences of lockdowns and restrictions, like cancellation of festivals and events, onto the states no longer stacks up when it’s a policy his government supports and endorses. Tours also traverse state borders, it is quite obvious a national approach to helping the industry is needed.
“It’s an incredibly dire situation for the arts and entertainment industry which was the first and hardest hit by covid restrictions in March 2020, waited months for government support and will be the last to recover.
“This situation is not unique to Australia and yet the Morrison Government sits on its hands while governments in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and other countries underwrite insurance schemes for their live music and entertainment sectors.
“Artists, musicians and creatives are losing their jobs, performing artists are heading overseas to find work, our vibrant arts and culture scene is dying not thriving and the economic value it generates is being lost – the industry deserves better from the Morrison Government. The Greens will move to give the live performance industry some certainty in these incredibly uncertain times and we urge the government to support the move.”