A Place to Create

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Arts. Can the minister provide an update to the house on South Australia's 10-year cultural policy, A Place to Create?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (15:06): I thank the member for Waite for this really important question and for her very keen interest in, and advocacy for, arts right around the state, particularly in her electorate. The Premier and I launched A Place to Create, our 10-year cultural policy, on 31 March this year. It really was the first of its kind and is aimed at strengthening arts, culture and creativity in South Australia. A Place to Create imagines a future where South Australia is renowned for its cultural life that enriches the whole state. The policy outlines a vision for thriving arts organisations, cultural institutions and creative businesses all operating within a dynamic and interconnected ecosystem. It places a renewed emphasis on access to and participation in our cultural life.

We developed this cultural policy after really extensive consultation, not only with the arts, culture and creative sector but also with the wider community and right across government. The three pillars of the policy are around strengthening our communities, enlivening our places and connecting us through arts, culture and creativity. The policy is underlined by three key strategies that are about making sure that we have arts, culture and creativity available for everyone, that we have thriving artists and creatives, and that we have robust arts organisations, creative businesses and cultural institutions.

We are delivering on the ambitions of A Place to Create through short-term delivery plans. They are being updated on a regular basis, and the first one of these I released with the Premier when we released the policy. It's from 2025 to 2027 and sits alongside the policy. Following its release, I am very pleased to say that the policy and the delivery plan have been really well received by the sector. We have received statements of support from many peak bodies and sector representatives, and we have certainly wasted no time in getting started in implementing our delivery plan.

Some of the highlights from our 2025 to 2027 delivery plan include increasing funding that is available to applicants for our arts and cultural grants round, and a renewed commitment with Creative Australia's Creative Workplaces to deliver a framework of policies that promote fair, safe and respectful workplaces. That includes us providing funding of $70,000 a year over two years, through the delivery plan, for that work. We are partnering with Creative Workplaces to respond to 10 of the Artists at Work Taskforce recommendations as well. That is going to make sure that the key recommendations raised by our task force are addressed at both a state and a national level, delivering wideranging and lasting change for the sector.

We have also provided a grant to Australian Dance Theatre, which is Australia's oldest continuing contemporary dance company. It started right here in South Australia and is celebrating its 60^th year this year. ADT has been able to engage in a national tour of Marrow, which was completed in August. We have been able to fund performances in Port Lincoln and Adelaide through A Place to Create funding. We have had ADT perform to 422 audience members and engage with 771 participants across schools and community workshops.

I know those community and school workshops have really engaged with community members, particularly in our regions. There have been 115 regional South Australian students, teachers and community members participate in those learning opportunities offered by arguably one of the best dance companies we have here in Australia, based right here in South Australia. They had six sessions across Whyalla and Port Lincoln, and we had performances, of course, at Port Lincoln, including from the region as well—18 students from regions.

We also are undertaking an audit of our creative spaces and doing a whole lot of work in our delivery plan.