The Australian live performance industry has escalated its calls for the federal government to introduce an “emergency industry support package” to help creatives, workers and organisations stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis.
Last Friday, after numerous gigs, festivals and stage shows were cancelled throughout the week, Scott Morrison recommended all non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people be called off.
In a statement on Sunday, Live Performance Australia (LPA) chief executive Evelyn Richardson said the industry needed more clarity around the implementation of the recommendation, and its timeframe. The industry body predicts that across three months, half a billion dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs will be lost.
“This is an unprecedented crisis and will have a catastrophic impact on jobs and revenues as shows and festivals across the country are cancelled. What we need now is a timeframe so companies can plan for closure,” Richardson said.
“The brutal reality is that many performing arts companies do not have the financial reserves to ride out a period of enforced closure. Knowing now if we are planning for a one, two or three-month closure period is vital.”
On Monday, Richardson said without an arts-specific government stimulus package, “the industry won’t survive”.
“It’s really important that the government supports our companies to survive and to keep employing people – and for the ones we can’t save temporarily, we need the government to provide social security and payment mechanisms to help them move through this period.”
In the most recent cancellation news, major Melbourne arts venues the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne and Museums Victoria each announced they were closing temporarily, effective immediately from Monday. Two major productions – Come from Away and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – have also suspended performances; Bluesfest, Melbourne comedy festival, Vivid Sydney, Download festival and Dark Mofo have been cancelled, and Sydney writers’ festival and the Festival of Dangerous Ideas have both suspended ticket sales.
On Monday, a state of emergency was declared in Victoria and the ACT, whose governments are now able to enforce the federal government’s recommendation. New South Wales was already able to enforce the 500-person limit without a state of emergency.
The minister for communications, cyber safety and the arts, Paul Fletcher, will be convening an arts roundtable on Tuesday, via teleconference, to discuss the impacts of coronavirus on the arts industry. The aim of the meeting is “to better understand the implications” of the virus, his office explained, and “to discuss assistance available, including the government’s recently announced cash flow assistance for businesses”.
Live Performance Australia, who will be at that meeting, hope the Australian government will follow the lead of Germany and the UK, whose arts industries will be receiving specific support.
“Performers, production and technical crews, venue and hospitality staff are being hurt right now and government support is required to get them through this extremely difficult time,” Richardson said. “Our industry needs support now, and it will also need a recovery plan for the months ahead when we reactivate.”
There are questions ricocheting through the industry, as individuals seek more clarity on exactly what is happening and what it means for them. Should they cancel smaller gigs and events too? Will insurance cover revenue loss? How far ahead should they be planning? And if work is funded by a government grant and a deadline is approaching, what happens?
Clive Miller, the CEO of Support Act – a charity delivering crisis relief services to workers in the industry – told Guardian Australia they have already seen an increase in people calling the wellbeing helpline for mental health services. Many are contacting the organisation about financial support too.
“There’s a lot of anxiety in the industry at the moment,” Miller said. “People are grappling with the fact that their livelihoods have suddenly just disappeared. People who felt that they had secure income in place for the coming month, who had tour plans or were already on tours; all of the people who work behind the scenes – the crew, the managers, the publicists, the venue staff – everybody is pretty much in a state of shock at the moment just wondering how they’re going to survive.”
Miller said Support Act are hoping the Australian government “step up here and provide support to the industry”, including cash support for Support Act itself. “But most importantly, they need to expedite people’s ability to access the Newstart allowance. Currently that takes around three months.
“It can’t be understated how much people are hurting,” he added.
A website also launched on Saturday afternoon calling for individuals in the Australian performing arts industry to log how they had been impacted by coronavirus. By Monday morning, I Lost My Gig had attracted close to 2,000 submissions from users logging an estimated total of $47m in losses from confirmed cancelled gigs, an estimated 190,000 of jobs impacted and around 20,000 events and opportunities lost.
The website is a joint initiative of the Australian Music Industry Network (Amin) and the Australian Festivals Association. Speaking to Guardian Australia, Amin chair Emily Collins said that numbers are being calculated based on submissions only, and are “definitely not comprehensive”.
“It’s not a perfect system, we’re fully aware of that – but the most important thing is we’re getting a sense of the number of people impacted,” she said, noting that it’s not just creative professionals, but tech staff, bartenders and catering workers too.
“We’ve asked people to tell us their stories took, and it’s harrowing,” she said. “There’s a lot of fear. People are worried about their families and their wellbeing – we’re getting some pretty distressed messages from people who don’t know what to do. That’s why we’re pushing from some kind of support, and we’re also looking for people to share creative responses too.”
• The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline is 1800 959 500. It is staffed by professional counsellors who offer mental health expertise and is available to anyone working in Australia’s music or performing arts industries.
