The Greens Propose Giving Aus Artists ‘Living Wage’ Of $772 Per Week

Australian artists could be given a yearly salary by the government in order to create music and art in a pilot program proposed by The Greens.

Musicians and artists are still reconciling how their livelihoods have been forever damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many choosing to leave the arts industry for more stability and security, as rising challenges like household debt and increasing inflation continue to threaten those practising in the sector.

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As Australia heads towards the federal election, the Greens have announced a slew of policies aimed at bolstering Australian arts and culture industries, and recently announced a policy of a ‘living wage’ for artists consisting of $772.60 per week.

The policy, which is costed at $277.5 million, would initially be available for up to 10,000 applicants and would provide artists with weekly government funding for a year. Greens MP David Shoebridge told the Sydney Morning Herald that the arts sector is a critical economy in Australia, and as it stands provides more jobs than the Australian sports industry.

“Almost 200,000 people work in the arts, that’s four times the number of jobs in the coal mining industry. Imagine a pub without music, galleries without artwork, cinemas without films, bookstores without fiction.” Shoebridge told Sydney Morning Herald.

While the pilot program is dependent on the 2022 Federal Election resulting in a hung parliament, lauded Australian artists have already put their support behind the program, including Mental As Anything musician and Mambo designer Reg Mombassa who says the policy could help ensure writers and artists who contribute to the “cultural life of this nation” are rewarded.

“A modest wage for creative people would be a great way of solving this problem. It would enable many young, emerging or struggling older artists to concentrate on their work rather than having to scramble for part- or full-time jobs in order to survive.” Mombassa told the Sydney Morning Herald.

At a launch event for the policy last Saturday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young stressed the importance of protecting the arts sector after the pandemic.

Thanks so much to comedians Andy Saunders and Alexandra Hudson for being a part of our @greens Artists Wage launch today – each of them were funny, caring and insightful – basically they were bloody good comedians! pic.twitter.com/PGzu9gmRw0

— David Shoebridge (@ShoebridgeMLC) May 7, 2022

“The arts are a core part of Australian culture and contribute so much to our economy. We must do everything we can to make sure our artists can continue creating,” Senator Hanson-Young said. “The arts helped us all get through lockdowns and now it’s time we are there for them.”

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