Actors Equity

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (17:13): Friday evening I will be attending the 75^th anniversary celebrations of Actors Equity in Australia. It is due to Equity (as it is colloquially known) and its members that we have a flourishing performing arts sector and that performers are not treated with exploitation but with respect. It is due to Equity and its members, and their colleagues across art forms, that the cultural, social and economic contributions of artists to Australian society are recognised and celebrated.

Equity and its members have also played a significant part in ensuring that Australian content in theatre, film and television tells our stories—the stories of a successful, fundamentally harmonious and diverse multicultural country—to our people and to the world. Equity is the union that has worked to improve wages and conditions for performers here in Australia since 1939. The union has, over many campaigns, secured for its members rehearsal pay, touring allowances and residual payments, among other profession-specific payments, as well as overtime, annual leave, superannuation and related benefits that other occupations take for granted.

I have a long and proud association with Equity. It was during my years with The Advertiser that my union, the Australian Journalists Association, merged in 1992 with Actors Equity and the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees Association to form the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance—the Alliance—and today it also includes the Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association.

Equity has come a long way since 1940, when it successfully represented performers in the de Basil Ballets Russes, whose young dancers paid management for work and whose supernumeraries were not paid at all. In 1970, Equity stood with The Australian Ballet members on strike over pay and conditions—the first ever strike by the company. The dancers marched through Canberra holding placards in a move to gain maximum exposure and awareness of their cause. In the wake of this action, an agreement was reached which resulted in the introduction of awards in place of the old musical comedy contracts previously used.

Equity's history covers the development of imported artists quotas, upgraded theatre awards and conditions, equal pay for performers, Australian content regulations, the creation of The Australian Ballet, Australian opera and state theatre and dance companies, improved health and safety, residual agreements, the regulation of employment of child performers, ATO recognition of the professionalism of artists and performers, campaigns for increased cultural and linguistic diversity in theatre and dance, job protection for performers, and numerous other achievements.

Former premier Don Dunstan, who acted in radio plays during his university days and who was a great supporter of the arts across many media, was secretary of Equity in the 1950s and later awarded life membership. Mr Dunstan was a great supporter of the Biennial Adelaide Festival of the Arts, and with the help of Phillip Adams set up the SA Film Corporation. Writing soon after Mr Dunstan's death, arts journalist Tim Lloyd wrote in The Advertiser:

Don Dunstan will always be associated with the renaissance that…swept through the arts. He convinced the community that the arts were, indeed, fundamental.

Actors Equity—now the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance—has fought the good fight for 75 years, and I am proud to be part of that history. Actors Equity in South Australia has many members who, across the decades, have included Harry Van-der Sluice, a comedian and vaudevillian better known as Roy Rene, whose character, Mo McCackie, will return to welcome people to the 75^th Equity celebrations in Adelaide on Friday night. One of Equity's first members, he is immortalised in a bronze statue in Hindley Street.

Other members include Don Barker, who is best known for iconic Australian TV cop shows Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police, as well as the movies Gallipoli and Rabbit Proof Fence, and Bridget Walters, a State Theatre Company veteran, who has performed in such productions as Macbeth, Noises Off, Uncle Vanya and The Cripple of Inishmaan, as well as movies, including Bad Boy Bubby.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: And ads for tourism.

Ms WORTLEY: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Other members also include comic stage actor Paul Blackwell, who also made an impact on the big screen in The Quiet Room and Red Dog; Patrick Frost, another State Theatre Company stalwart, also known for McLeod's Daughters, The Light Horsemen, and The Shiralee; and Xavier Samuel, a graduate of Flinders University, who has found recent international success in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and who recently returned to Adelaide to perform in the State Theatre Company's production of The Seagull. There are many more who will be there on Friday evening celebrating Equity's 75^th anniversary. I will endeavour to speak about those great South Australians on another occasion.

I would like to highlight some of the Australian actors and Equity members who have made comments regarding the 75^th anniversary. Claudia Karvan, from The Secret Life of Us and The Time of Our Lives, said:

I joined Equity in 1986 because we actors can be a disparate group and there is strength in numbers. Happy Birthday Equity. Thanks for all the advice over the years and for giving actors a voice and helping safeguard our industry in order for it to prosper.

Georgie Parker from All Saints said:

I remember when I started out as an actor at 18, that it was a glorious thing to not only be employed, but to have the opportunity to be able to audition for a role. After jumping through hoops and ticking the 'can ride a horse' box, you finally had a script, wardrobe fittings, rehearsals. You were 'in'. On my first job, the senior actors were talking animatedly about Actors Equity, the work they did, the meetings that were on and, having a sense of no matter what occurred, Equity would be there. I remember vividly the hard-won battles of daily rates, striking over the basic wage for actors, endlessly campaigning for theatres to keep their doors open. All through the power and vigilance of Equity. It's been an honour to be a member for going on three decades. It's gone by in a blink of an eye.

Rob Mills from Australian Idol and Wicked said:

Happy 75^th [anniversary] to Equity. Because of your work and support, we in Australia have a wonderful, thriving, performing arts industry. Without you, I would have no-one to thank for opening their arms to me as a newcomer into the theatre industry six years ago. I am now a very proud Equity Deputy in my 4^th All-Australian theatre show.

Rodger Corser from Rush and Underbelly said:

I first benefited from Equity before I had even become a member. My first professional role was gained without personal representation, so I turned to Equity for advice. I joined soon after and remember feeling a proud sense of belonging and community amongst peers, which I still feel today.

Maggie Dence from Neighbours said:

I was so proud to join Equity—it really felt like joining a theatrical community and a tight, committed one at that! I cannot imagine not being a member…the entertainment industry has to be one of the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse—the union is there to work against that happening and I, for one, am very grateful!

Jay Laga'aia from Home and Away said:

I joined Equity in 1993, not because I had to but because everyone that I worked with and admired were members. Equity for me is like having family members to fight my battles, but [they are] also there to support my circumstances.

Of course, Jay is also from Xena: Warrior Princess and Water Rats. There are comments from Tony Sheldon from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on the West End and Broadway, Judi Farr from Kingswood Country, Shane Jacobsen from Kenny and The Bourne Legacy, and many more.

In fact, as the secretary of the media alliance, I recall a cast meeting in the Adelaide Hills that I attended with Hugo Weaving as the Equity delegate and, of course, cast meetings also at McLeod's Daughters. Again, I would just like to say that Friday evening should be a wonderful celebration for 75 years of Equity in Australia and I look forward to joining in those celebrations.