Debates Day 3 - Thursday 21 October 2010
Parliamentary Record 15
Debates for 11th Assembly 2008 - 2012; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 11th Assembly 2008 - 2012
2010-10-21
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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DEBATES - Thursday 21 October 2010 pasture, better management techniques, and the development of better trucking techniques; the industry has grown from strength to strength. It is certainly the jewel in the crown, not only culturally, as part of our heritage in the Barkly as well. The Territorys pastoral industry carries about 1.9 million head of cattle, and pastoralists currently turn off 550 000 head of cattle a year for domestic slaughter and Asian live export markets. A recent report by the NT department of Primary Industry highlights the potential to grow the industry to about 2.3 million head in 10 years. If we ever reach that target, and the associated job and international trade opportunities, we must continue to invest strategically in key transport routes to get cattle to market. In addition to our investment in the wharf, we are also continuing to upgrade our road network. Budget 2010-11 delivers $24m under the $85m Community, Beef and Mining Roads Improvement Program, with $10m to upgrade the Port Keats road, and a further $14m for the Central Arnhem road. Of course the markets must be there to sell the cattle, and I commend both the Minister for Trade and the minister for Primary Industry for their ongoing work with governments in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. Much of this work is done in conjunction with the NT Cattlemens Association, a collaboration which is achieving real results for pastoralists in accessing new and emerging markets. Australias Indigenous art is renowned around the world. There are an estimated 5000 practising Indigenous artists in the Northern Territory alone. Those 5000 artists represent 75% of all Australias Indigenous visual artists. That is a vast source of potential for the Northern Territory to establish job and economic opportunities in our growth towns and main centres, and to grow international trade opportunities. They are opportunities government wants to harness for Indigenous artists and the Territorys art community in general. The importance and potential of the Territorys art industry is highlighted throughout Territory 2030, particularly in the Society and Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation components. In June, I released the Living Arts Policy - Discussion Paper which, when finished, will set the agenda to meeting the objectives of Territory 2030. The discussion paper poses, amongst others, issues around how to best build and grow the strength of the art industry, and what is central to arts support into the future. It lists five priority areas for development: strong artists; strong art; community capacity; business of art; and showcasing our stories and building audiences. Submissions received during the discussion period are being closely assessed to develop the final living arts policy to help reach the objectives of Territory 2030. If we are to grow our international art market we must assist the many talented Territory artists to build their capacity to produce and sell their work. Objective two of the Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation component of Territory 2030 seeks to establish national Indigenous arts and cultural precincts in the Territory. The precincts could include art centres, museums, culture and language centres and performance and display spaces. They would showcase the Territorys Indigenous arts and culture as well as host displays from other jurisdictions. I am very pleased to report work is under way on the Katherine Regional Cultural Precinct. The Northern Territory government has committed $3.5m towards the construction, and a further $500 000 towards headworks for the precinct. A further $3m is being provided by the Australian government and $220 000 from the Katherine Town Council. The precinct will be a great asset for the community and the Katherine region, and will give artists a new platform to showcase their work to tourists and locals alike. A new precinct has also emerged in Darwin. The Territorys visual art industry contributes about $10m a year to our economy and there is a growing demand in our art industry for quality exhibition space in Darwin. Opened in August, the 330 m ground floor site in the Chan Building has been transformed to showcase non-commercial exhibitions and help raise the profile of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. The 2010 Toga Contemporary Art Award was the first exhibition to make use of this new site. I hope many artists are discovered in years to come as a result of displaying at the Chan Contemporary Art Space. Territory 2030 also aims to increase the Territorys earned income from commercial arts industries. I pay tribute to the federal Labor government, and the Arts minister, Peter Garrett, for their support of Territory artists and our art industry. Thanks to the federal Labor government, 9 June this year marked the start of Australias resale royalty scheme for visual artists. The scheme established the right for visual artists to receive 5% of the sale price when works are resold through the art market for $1000 or more. It applies to living artists and for a period of 70 years after that artist passing. This scheme will support artists and the art industry, creating jobs and economic opportunities in our remote areas and regional centres. As the Northern Territory minister for Arts, it is exciting to see the emergence of international markets for the work of the many talented Indigenous artists from the NT. Of particular note, 6517