The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Inquiry into the Indigenous visual arts sector

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today announced an Australian Parliamentary inquiry into the Indigenous visual arts and craft sector to examine and make recommendations on strategies and mechanisms to strengthen the sector.

“Since April, I have been canvassing the views of key players in the Indigenous arts sector and they have identified the need for a parliamentary inquiry to fully examine the state of the industry,” Senator Kemp said.

“In response, the Government is instigating a formal Parliamentary inquiry into the sector to identify ways to build a more sustainable Indigenous arts industry.”

The inquiry will be run by the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Legislation Committee.

“The Government is very proud of the achievements of our Indigenous visual arts industry,” Senator Kemp said.

“It is an industry that has grown to be very successful in a relatively short period of time and the Government is concerned to ensure that the industry is supported to be sustainable into the future.

“The Government has asked the committee to report on current and likely future infrastructure needs, and identify strategies and mechanisms the industry could adopt to improve its capabilities and maintain the momentum it has found in recent years.

“The inquiry will also look to make recommendations to better address unscrupulous and unethical conduct that occurs in the sector.” Senator Kemp said.

The inquiry will examine the industry in detail and will identify future opportunities, such as developing international markets, and report on financial, cultural and artistic sustainability for the sector.

The committee will report to Parliament at the commencement of parliamentary sittings in February 2007.

The full terms of reference for the inquiry are attached.

Inquiry into the Indigenous visual arts and craft sector — Terms of Reference

The Committee should inquire into and report on:

1. the current size and scale of Australia’s Indigenous visual arts and craft sector;
2. the economic, social and cultural benefits of the sector;
3. the overall financial, cultural and artistic sustainability of the sector;
4. the current and likely future priority infrastructure needs of the sector;
5. opportunities for strategies and mechanisms that the sector could adopt to improve its practices, capacity and sustainability, including to deal with unscrupulous or unethical conduct;
6. opportunities for existing government support programs for Indigenous visual arts and crafts to be more effectively targeted to improve the sector’s capacity and future sustainability; and
7. future opportunities for further growth of Australia’s Indigenous visual arts and craft sector, including through further developing international markets.

15 August 2006

Media contact: Michael Christo 03 9650 7274 or 0409 040276