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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-09 Daily Xml
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Question Time

ADELAIDE FRINGE

Ms FOX (Bright) (14:12): My question is to the Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts. What is the—

Members interjecting:

Ms FOX: Not you—you wish! What is the latest news on the Adelaide Fringe, which begins next week on 18 February?

Mr Pisoni: If you were in cabinet, you'd know this answer!

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Pisoni: Discussed it in cabinet!

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Unley will be quiet!

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:12): Unfortunately, registrations for Fringe events are closed, so that kind of leaves the opposition out this year, but there is always next year. I thank the member for Bright for her question, and I acknowledge her great interest in the arts.

I am pleased to inform everybody in this place, and in the community, that the Adelaide Fringe 2011 is once again outdoing itself on many fronts. This year, a record 759 events have been registered, which is 7 per cent more than last year's festival. Ticket sales for 2011 are also very healthy. As of 8 February (that is, yesterday), 64,662 tickets have already been sold and the Fringe, of course, is yet to start. The new Fringe box office in Rundle Mall has been a major success for this year's festival, more than doubling the number of gift vouchers that were sold in 2010.

The 2011 printed program guide is a glossy magazine and this year features improved disability access information, foldout maps and an enhanced venue selection, with listings for each venue and associated events. One of the great things about the Fringe, of course, is there is so much on. One of the difficulties about the Fringe is trying to navigate your way through the available material, and the Fringe program this year helps to do that.

In addition, this year the Fringe continues to offer information through its iPhone app. Last year, it initiated this and was one of the first arts organisations to launch an iPhone application, and this has grown this year as well. In 2009, the iPhone app was downloaded a total of 1,500 times. By the end of January this year, the iPhone app has been downloaded 5,000 times (so triple, and the Fringe has yet to start) which means it is well on the way to breaking the total of 7,000 downloads achieved for the 2010 event.

In this year's program, there are some significant areas of growth that are of interest. They include comedy, with 202 events (up from 171 last year, an increase of 18 per cent), and music with 158 (up from 120, an increase of 32 per cent). SA Lotteries will again be funding Fringe artists' visits to selected hospitals, and I am grateful to them for that. The Fringe is engaging an improvisation group, On The Fly, which will visit the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital in early March.

Research has shown that the arts within health environments can provide pain relief, alleviate levels of stress and depression, can shorten the length of stay and promote a greater sense of wellbeing amongst patients and staff.

The Adelaide Fringe promoters and presenters development initiative, Honey Pot, has a record 90 presenters and directors registered for this year, compared to 70 last year. So, as a stand-alone initiative, Honey Pot has really come into its own this year. Opportunities can flow from international promoters and presenters witnessing and hopefully buying the quality work on offer at the Fringe. It is not just about providing entertainment to the citizens of Adelaide and attracting others to our state to be part of the Fringe but it is also an opportunity for artists to showcase their wares before international buyers of arts product.

The Fringe, of course, is well supported by the government and is complemented by a host of corporate sponsors, and I would like to particularly pay tribute to some of those. The principal partner, BankSA, is a key contributor to the success of the Fringe, as are major partners the Adelaide City Council, the Advertiser, Nova 91.9 and Channel 10. The key partners, associate partners, guardian partners and Fringe friends are all essential to the success of the Fringe, and I sincerely thank them for their continuing support.

I also thank and congratulate in advance the entire Fringe team, including the hundreds of staff and many volunteers, led by Fringe Director and Chief Executive Greg Clarke, and of course the Fringe board, led by Judy Potter. I know it will be a fantastic Fringe this year.

The Fringe does begin nine days from now on 18 February with the Fringe Parade, which will be fabulous this year, followed by Wonderland, a mega concert of 16 bands, two DJs on two stages, all at Rymill Park. That will continue through until 13 March. I encourage everybody here to go and see the Fringe. There is a very good magazine available for you to make your selections from. If you need any assistance, come and see me.

The SPEAKER: I remind the media (the television cameras up in the gallery) that they are supposed to be only filming people who are on their feet. I notice the cameras are moving around a bit today. I think the media are starting to take too many liberties and we may have to look at what is happening in this building. Please keep that in mind.

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