Draft National Urban Policy Consultation

Reason

ANA’s middle Australia research, mentioned above, was a national focus group study of people living in outer suburbs and regional areas. This shows that arts and culture are important not only in cities, but also in the regions.

However, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows that Australians in capital cities are more likely than those in other regions to attend and participate in cultural and creative activities. This was true before and during COVID-19. See Cultural and creative activities (2021–22 data), Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events, Australia (2017–18 data) and Participation in Selected Cultural Activities (2017–18 data). One Australian study  estimated that compared to inner city areas, costs of mainstream cultural consumption were 22% higher in  regional centres, 85% higher in country towns and 565% higher in remote towns.Jason Potts and Trent McDonald, “Why the Bloody Hell Live There? – First Estimates of a Cultural Consumption Price Index by Australian Region” (Analysis and Policy Observatory, April 1, 2011), 24, https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2011-03/apo-nid24447.pdf. See also an article explaining the study: Stuart Cunningham and Jason Potts, “The Price of Our Great Digital Divide,” The Australian, May 13, 2011, sec. Politics, https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/the-priceof-our-great-digital-divide/news-story/dbf6bf3002c1ee56d981605dbb60ce2d.

Collaboration between levels of government and coordination between urban and regional policies can help ensure all Australians enjoy the  benefits of urban policy, including from arts and culture.

Reason

Australians from every walk of life participate in and benefit from arts, culture and creativity. Australia’s first Wellbeing Framework highlights ABS data that 82% of adults and 94% of children attended at least one live arts and culture activity in 2017–18.4 These are the latest pre-COVID-19 figures. Figures from 2020 to 2022, found attendance had slipped to 64% during COVID-19. Based on Commonwealth of Australia, “Measuring What Matters: Australia’s First Wellbeing Framework,” 2023, https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023- 07/measuring-what-matters-statement020230721_0.pdf.

Creative Australia’s 2022 National Arts Participation Survey found that 97% of Australians engaged with the arts in some way and that 84% acknowledged the positive impacts of arts and creativity.Creative Australia, “Creating Value: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey,” September 19, 2023, 10, https://creative.gov.au/advocacy-and-research/creating-value/.

Reason

As the most recent Infrastructure Audit shows, planning arts and cultural infrastructure is an essential part of infrastructure planning.Infrastructure Australia, “An Assessment of Australia’s Future Infrastructure Needs: The Australian Infrastructure Audit 2019” (Australia: Australian Government, 2019), 442, https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019- 08/Australian%20Infrastructure%20Audit%202019.pdf. The Audit  found that benefits of arts and cultural ‘include contributing to quality of life, social cohesion, to our own individual and collective identities of Australia and what it means to be Australian, particularly in providing connections to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.’

Reason

Through our focus group research, middle Australians highlighted local access, social cohesion and inclusion when discussing arts and culture:

• Middle Australians between 19 and 29 years of age (p 37)
  highlighted the importance of arts and cultural icons in
  building a collective identity with one’s local community
• Middle Australians between 35 and 60 years of age (p 35) placed great value on participating in many different types of arts and cultural activities, often at a local, community level
• Middle Australians between 58 and 75 years of age (p 37) considered arts and culture to be highly valuable and therefore a priority for  investment in the context of community cohesion.

Reason

Measuring What Matters is Australia’s national wellbeing framework that will track our progress towards a more healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous Australia, including measures relating to arts and culture. It provides the core national framework for measuring wellbeing impacts.