Dear Treasurer,
In light of the new stay at home orders and the holistic restrictions they impose on the performing arts and cultural sector, we ask that you include an added financial support to casual, contract and gig workers in the arts and cultural sector while restrictions are in place.
During the first wave of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown, it was artists, performers and cultural sector workers who fell through the cracks of almost every stimulus package. We thank you for the $50 million committed to the sector during this lockdown but also would like to bring to your attention the main people missed in this package: the workers. We acknowledge gratefully that this package played a huge part in sustaining pivotal organisations such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra but they left out the people in the middle: the band who performs at a different club each month, the casual instrumentalists who go from gig to gig and the lighting technician, who only knows where they'll be working next month as their latest job finishes up.
Treasurer, on behalf of the Students of the Conservatorium of Music who have suddenly lost another fortnight of work without any pay, with no support and are now off of JobKeeper or Seeker – we ask that you set up long overdue support measures for these workers. We ask that you:
extend the COVID-19 Disaster Payment to specifically target arts and cultural workers through supporting casual workers directly and not just the businesses that employ them.
lower the newly announced minimum threshold for small business grants from $75,000 to $48,400, the average income for professional performing artists, so that we, as musicians and sole-traders, aren't left to fall through the cracks yet again.
offer rent deferrals or mortgage payment assistance to those who have lost thousands of dollars over the coming fortnight and face more losses if the stay-at-home orders are extended.
lobby the Federal Government to reinstate JobKeeper and full coronavirus supplements to Centrelink payments – as they did in Victoria – in NSW until this 'lockdown' has ended and musicians can perform to sold out concert halls again.
With the proper support, the arts and cultural sector – an industry that the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research found contributes over $111 billion to the Australian economy of 6.4% of the nation's GDP – can be properly supported from the bottom-up.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Carter
Treasurer
Conservatorium Students' Association
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