email:admin@newc.org.

au
Phone/Fax:67727210.

Arts NSW
Level 5
323 Castlereagh Street
SYDNEY, NSW 2000
PO Box A226,
SYDNEY SOUTH, NSW 1235
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Arts NSW discussion paper, Framing
the Future: developing an arts and cultural policy for NSW. Our submission is
attached.
The submission is written from the perspective of the New England Writers Centre
as a body concerned with the promotion of writers and writing in Northern New South
Wales. This specifically regional focus has informed both our criticisms of the
discussion paper and our suggested improvements.
In writing, we have also tried to present a broader regional cultural perspective. While
our primary concern is with writers and writing, these activities are part of a broader
set of arts and cultural activities that share many common problems.
We would be happy to answer any queries that you might have or to meet with you
should you consider that desirable. If you do have any queries please contact me on
(02) 67 752415 or, alternatively, Jim Belshaw on 0431 611 249. Jim undertook the
research on which our response is based.

Chair
New England Writers Centre
6 January 2014

Funded by Arts NSW, Armidale Dumaresq Council; Armidale Public Library; Community
Mutual Group; CAL - Copyright Agency Limited; Young People, Arts NSW - for Youth Online;
Digital Colour Australia; The small steps foundation; the Macquarie Group Foundation.

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New England Writers Centre Response to the Arts NSW

Discussion Paper on the Development of an Arts and
Cultural Policy for NSW
This paper sets out the response of the New England Writers Centre to the Arts
NSW discussion paper, Framing the Future: developing an arts and cultural policy for
NSW.
As a broad general comment, we found some difficulty in determining the relevance
of the paper to the Centres role in the promotion of writers and writing in Northern
New South Wales and indeed, more broadly, to the development of arts and cultural
activities within Northern New South Wales. Similar issues arose in the context of the
various action plans referred to in the discussion paper, plans that are meant to be
integrated in some way with an arts and cultural policy.
Part of the problem lies in the division within the strategies between Sydney and
NSW, combined with a top down approach that seeks to interlink Sydney and the rest
of the state in the form of a cobweb with the different strands centered on Sydney.
One consequence is insufficient recognition of diversity within NSW and the way this
affects the on-ground patterns of life, including interactions between areas outside
Sydney. To pursue the cobweb analogy, there are many smaller overlapping webs
within NSW that exist independently of any interconnection with Sydney and may
indeed be in competition with Sydney.
The brief comments that follow amplify this point. We have tried to structure them to
be helpful to the general intent of the strategy, while also pointing to the deficiencies
as we see them in the current approach.

Scope
The discussion paper (p7) defines the scope of the policy in terms of the professional
core arts plus cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is defined in terms of the work of
museums, galleries, libraries and archives to preserve and provide access to the
tangible and intangible heritage of Australias culture.
We support this approach. However, the discussion paper does not really address
the cultural heritage issue beyond discussion of the role of the state cultural
institutions. This is a significant weakness. At state level, the role of NSW Archives
as a cultural institution is ignored. At local and regional level, the paper ignores the
network of archives, museums and local historical societies that preserve and
promote local and regional culture and identity and also form a key part of the local
tourism infrastructure.
From a writing perspective, it is not a coincidence that family, local and regional
historical pieces constitute a significant portion of local writing.
The paper also fails to address the role of the universities and especially those
outside Sydney in the promotion of arts and culture broadly defined. Newcastle,
Charles Sturt, Southern Cross and the University of New England all play important
roles in the communities they serve.

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Case Studies
Located on the old Armidale Teachers College campus, the New England Heritage
Centre and Regional Archives is a major resource that draws researchers and
visitors from well beyond the immediate region. The collection includes family,
business and official records from across Northern New South Wales, as well as a
large photo collection and other memorabilia. The collection is nationally significant
because of the people and organisations included. In addition, the Dixon Library at
the University of New England holds a special collection of New England local and
regional histories.
At Newcastle, the University archives has also been building its collection of records
relating especially to Newcastle and the Lower Hunter. Again, this constitutes a
significant resource. In terms of local historical societies, the Richmond River
Historical Society (founded 1936) has major collections of regional importance to
Northern NSW, as does Graftons Clarence River Historical Society.
Last year, the NSW Government released OCHRE, a plan for Aboriginal Affairs:
education, employment & accountability. This included the trial of Aboriginal
Language and Culture Nests for five Aboriginal language groups:
Gamilaraay, Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung, Paarkintji/Barkindji and Wiradjuri.
It is not a coincidence that four of the five language groups are connected with
Northern New South Wales. Starting with the pioneering work of archaeologist Isabel
McBryde in the 1960s, researchers and linguists from the University of New England,
then later the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education (now Southern Cross)
and the University of Newcastle, played key roles in documenting Aboriginal history,
language and culture, in so doing helping lay the base for the Aboriginal language
revival movement. In carrying out their work, they worked with Aboriginal
communities and with local historical societies. Without their work, the language
revival movement in Northern New South Wales would not have been possible, nor
indeed would key aspects of OCHRE itself.
Suggestion
We suggest that the strategy should include a new theme preserve and promote
local and regional culture and identity to allow for better recognition of and
integration of regional facilities and diversity, including within Sydney itself.

Role of Government
The description of the role of Government (p8-11) is rather dry.
From the viewpoint of organisations such as the New England Writers Centre, the
first critical question is whether Government action directly supports, hinders or is
simply irrelevant to the organisations primary mission. The second critical question is
the contribution that might be made to the broader environment of which the
organisation is a part.
Looking first at the critical change factors identified in the submission and ranking
them by importance:

Digital technologies: This one will be discussed later in a little more detail. At
this point, we note that digital technologies are having a dramatic influence on
the arts and on cultural activities more broadly defined. They create new
opportunities, but also threats including the destruction of traditional

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publishing patterns. For this reason, the NEWC ran five Skype sessions last
year intended to assist writers to operate in the new digital environment.

Economic and funding trends: In essence, budget constraints mean that less
Government money is available to support the arts and cultural activities,
while money which is made available has to be justified in terms of
performance indicators, many of which have a specific economic focus. As a
consequence, arts and cultural organisations are being encouraged to raise
more money themselves, including tapping private philanthropy.
The NEWC understands these trends but, like many local and regional
cultural organisations, is struggling to manage in the changing environment.
Fifty years ago, the main local and regional businesses across Northern New
South Wales were locally owned, creating a pool of money that could be
tapped. This is no longer true. All local and regional cultural organisations are
now seeking income from memberships and donations from a diminishing
pool. We are in competition with each other in a way that was not true in the
past.
The challenge for organisations such as the NEWC is to find new sources of
revenue outside traditional Government or local sources. Importantly, those
sources must provide a degree of constancy to ensure that staff can focus on
the primary mission rather than constantly having to worry about seeking the
cash required to fund day to day activities, including their salaries.
We note that the NEWC is attempting to address this challenge. One criterion
that we have used to judge the discussion paper is the extent to which it may
help organisations such as the NEWC meet the challenge. This is far from
clear.

Competition: The cultural leadership or otherwise of Sydney in global or

national terms is not relevant to organisations like NEWC, nor is money spent
on trying to achieve that objective relevant, except perhaps to the degree that
it reduces funding that might otherwise be available.

Turning now to the identified tools that might be applied by the NSW Government:

Regulatory powers: We have no comment to offer.

Infrastructure: What might this mean outside Sydney?

Collections and programming: This area focuses on the Sydney based

institutions. How do we make the regional and local collections more
accessible, including digitising their collections?

Funding: How do we structure and target the funding that is available so that
it will best support the sustainable development of arts and other cultural
activities in regional NSW?
The NSW 2013-2914 budget provided for expenditure of $311 million to
support the arts, cultural and screens sector1. Of this, $250 million largely
funded major Sydney cultural institutions. The remaining $51 million was
committed to support a wide range of arts and cultural activities across the
state. Approximately $33.7 million of this (66 per cent) was committed to
activities centered in Sydney, leaving around $17.3 million for the rest of the
state including the Illawarra and Hunter.

The financial analysis is based on the NSW budget papers. Data deficiencies mean that the
analysis should be treated as indicative.

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This makes for a very competitive funding environment. It makes government

funding unstable, demands considerable time in preparing submissions by
people who have limited time, is often project based and carries with it
performance indicators that may not be relevant to the organisations primary
mission or may simply be difficult to understand.
This is not a criticism, rather a statement of the problem as we see it.

Capacity development: This one is presently a significant focus across the

NSW Government, in part because of the progressive transfer of Government
functions to NGOs.
Capacity building is important, so there may be scope here for targeted
support.

Relationships, partnerships: This may be useful, depending on the way it

might work.

Strategic programs: Again, this could be helpful depending on the criteria

used.

Suggestion
To make the policy more relevant to the majority of cultural organisations in NSW, we
suggest that a new heading might be added, Facilitation and Support. This might
then provide a focus for discussions looking at ways that the NSW Government might
provide broader support for the majority extending beyond direct financial assistance.

Proposed Vision
We find the proposed vision both difficult to understand and to identify with in any
meaningful way. Does it mean that Sydney and NSW will both as separate identities
become recognised as leaders in arts and culture? What do we mean as leaders?
How will this be measured? Why is it important? How does the overall vision fit with
the specific items identified in the following paragraphs?
The top level statement is very important because it sets a frame for the analysis and
proposals that follow. As presently worded, the top level statement appears to ignore
many aspects of arts and cultural policy.

The Themes
The brief discussion on the proposed vision is followed by a more detailed discussion
broken up into threads linked in some ways to the overarching vision. Given time
limitations, we have chosen in the remainder of our response to highlight certain
issues rather than discuss each thread in detail.

The Importance of Writers and Writing

One of the disappointing features of the discussion paper from our perspective is the
lack of focus on writing and writers.
The NEWC is a writers centre. Reflecting this name, we have a particular focus on
writers as writers, on assisting writers to develop their skills, but also to find ways of
making an income from their creative work, to promote that work in a crowded and
competitive marketplace. We share this focus with other writers centres and the
Australian Society of Authors.

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There is a common view that new technologies and forms of expression have
reduced the importance of writers and writing. As will be discussed later, the opposite
is true. The digital challenge has increased the importance of writing, while also
affecting the income earned from writing.
Writing remains a core skill, one still central to effective communication. Writing takes
us to new worlds, fires our imagination, records our past, helps us integrate past and
present and our own experiences. Writing is also an integral part of other cultural
activities, including film and theatre. As can be seen from the continuing popularity of
creative writing courses and despite all the changes that have taken place, writing
remains a popular occupation.
A love of writing writing usually begins at school: Australian novelist DArcy Niland
developed his love of writing while attending the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred
Heart school in Glen Innes; playright Alex Buzo was inspired by the teaching of Brian
Mattingley while attending The Armidale School in Armidale. For that reason, the
NEWC has maintained an active schools program over many years, giving school
children access to professional writers.
Writing takes many forms with multiple genres, each requiring a different approach.
In some case such as literature or poetry, the writing is central. In other cases, the
writing is the wrapping that makes the book important and enjoyable. Sometimes
described as Australias best local history, John Ferrys prize winning Colonial
Armidale is not just good history, but a remarkably well written and accessible book.
Increasingly, writing involves combinations of media. For example, a young writer
may also be an illustrator, a games designer, a script writer, a performer, all the while
working across multiple platforms.
This diversity poses a considerable challenge to organisations such as the NEWC,
as well as in the design of arts and cultural policy. How do you design policies,
programs and activities to accommodate such varied interests?
Suggestion
We suggest that the draft would be strengthened by a stronger focus on writers and
writing.

Access
One of the themes in the paper is the need to make arts and cultural available to
people for, by and across the whole state. However, the paper does not directly
address the variations in access determined by spatial considerations. This includes
access to cultural activities and facilities external to NSW.
Travel time and cost are critical to access in all parts of NSW. There is limited public
transport in many parts of regional NSW, while air travel is expensive. Access,
depends upon driving time. In simple terms, you can think of it in terms of a series of
concentric circles drawn around a locality, with each circle marking say an hours
travel time.
People focus first on their own locality and then look more broadly. The school
excursion buses that come to Armidale from Glen Innes to access Armidales cultural
facilities including its museum precinct come because the driving time is relatively
short, less than the time from parts of Western Sydney to the CBD. At Tenterfield,

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Armidale and Lismore are equidistant. Brisbane is a bit over three hours away as
compared to Sydneys nine hours.
In the Northern Rivers, Grafton and Lismore are less than two hours from each other,
while Lismore is a bit over two hours driving time from Brisbane. Down south, Albury
is less than three and a half hours driving time from Melbourne, about three and a
half hours from Canberra. By contrast, Albury to Sydney is around six hours.
These simple driving time examples have significant implications. You can see this
clearly in the growth of the Sydney-Canberra corridor, in the growth of South-East
NSW, including in the number of cultural workers. Here people have relatively easy
access to two major centres in Sydney and Canberra, encouraging clustering.
By contrast, there are parts of NSW where access is far more limited. Moree, for
example, is over seven hours driving time from Sydney, almost four hours to
Tamworth or Armidale. Queanbeyan and Moree are both regional centres, but have
very different access to arts and cultural activities.
These types of considerations are reflected in the school outreach work of the NEWC
with its emphasis on bringing writing to country schools.
Suggestion
We suggest that the policy would benefit from more detailed spatial mapping to
illuminate the existing patterns of actual or potential arts or cultural interaction, taking
facilities in other states or territories into account. Subject to the results of that
mapping, we can see advantages on equity and access grounds in including some
weighting in funding towards the areas that are most disadvantaged in distance
terms.

The Importance of Customers

This may seem an odd point to make in the context of a policy document, but who
are the customers to be served by the draft arts and cultural policy? Its not always
clear from the document.
If we take the NEWC as an example, our customers include;

The funding bodies who set the parameters in terms of what can be done with
funding.

Our members and sponsors who have their own needs and objectives.

Actual and prospective writers who might benefit from NEWC activities.

Those interested in or who might become interested in writing and writers,

including Northern writing.

Schools and school students who wish to access the Centre for teaching
reasons.

Our mission includes the promotion of New England writers and writing. Who is our
customer here? It is not New England writers, although they may be beneficiaries.
Rather, it is those who are or might be made interested in New England writing.
Even at this simple level, the NEWC illustrates the complexity of the question of just
who is the customer. The position with the draft policy is far more complex.

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Perhaps reflecting the current clustering approach in Government arrangements, the

policy appears to be actually a subset of the Visitor Economy Plan. This suggests
that the target customers are those who might be drawn to visit and especially to
Sydney.
Obviously this is not a direct linkage; tourists dont read policy statements. However,
to the degree that the policy involves targeted spend intended to attract visitors, they
are the customers. More generally, the policy expresses aspirations that have to be
delivered or achieved by others.
Where the Government pays, it is the customer. In other cases where the
Government is trying to persuade or support, the arts or cultural organisations are the
customer. In the case of capacity building, for example, the Government may wish to
increase capacity and may offer services or funding to help, but the recipient
organisation is the customer.
Similar issues arise with other elements of the policy. For example, the Government
may wish to increase arts for the disabled, thats an aspiration, but how to deliver?
Who is the customer? What is the delivery chain? Why should people cooperate?
As a small organisation whose resources are quite stretched, the NEWC focus is
pragmatic. To the degree that Government pays us, it is the customer. Beyond that, if
Government wishes to involve us in the achievement of broader aspirations, then we
are the customer. How do our interests mesh?
Suggestion
We suggest that the next stage of refinement of the draft policy needs to directly
address the customer question within a broader analysis of stakeholder interests. A
clear and practical nexus needs to be established between aspiration and delivery,
recognising limited Government resources.

The Digital Challenge

The draft strategy talks about the way in which digital technologies are creating new
opportunities for artistic production, engagement and consumption. The discussion is
linked to the creative industries and digital economy action plans.
It is correct that the digital technologies open new opportunities. However, it is a little
more complex than that.
We noted earlier that writing increasingly involves combinations of media. For
example, a young writer may also be an illustrator, a games designer, a script writer,
a performer, all the while working across multiple platforms. To use their term, this is
the world of Geekdom.
There is a considerable gap between the skill sets and associated attitudes in this
world and those of older creative workers. There is also an access issue among
younger age groups who may not have access to the required financial resources,
the necessary broadband or skills, recognising that these are in many ways niche
interests.
Looking more broadly, the new digital technologies are having a considerable impact
on writers and writing across interlinked multiple dimensions. These include:

Reduced sources of income: Traditionally, writers gain supplementary

income by writing for other outlets including travel guides, newspapers or
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magazines. This has become a spoiled marketplace, with a growing

expectation that content will be provided for free.

New distribution channels: The rise of e-publishing and the associated

decline of conventional publishing requires writers to learn new skill sets and
to manage their way through new forms of payment and contractual
arrangements.

Multiple platforms: Most writers now use multiple mediums including print,
e-publishing, blogs, Facebook, web sites and Twitter in varying combinations
and for different purposes. Prospective writers have to learn the best way of
navigating this maze to achieve their specific objectives.

Decline of the library and the book store: Traditionally, libraries and book
stores have been both an outlet and a mechanism for promotion. Book stores
are closing, while many libraries have reduced their holdings of print material.

There is an assumption that the internet makes material more broadly available.
While thats generally true, the opposite is the case for many regional areas in terms
of their own unique material. This material is normally not digitised because of its
niche nature, and is only available through libraries, in personal collections or
sometimes through the second hand marketplace. The practical effect of the
emphasis on digitisation can be homogenisation.
At the same time, the internet does offer considerable opportunities for the promotion
of arts and cultural activities and resources beyond traditional local or regional
boundaries.
Suggestion
Our response here has just sketched some of the issues as we see them. We think
that the policy would benefit from a more detailed exploration of the issues raised by
the digital challenge.

Preserving and Promoting Local and Regional Culture and Identity

As the discussion paper notes, all parts of NSW have their own unique features, their
own stories. This holds at local and broader regional level.
At local level, some smaller centres such as Uralla or Bellingen have become distinct
arts and cultural centres in their own right. Some, Nimbin is an example, occupy a
special place in Australian history. Others occupy special niches, such as Werris
Creek in railway history. The same thing holds at broader regional level.
The gritty experience of Newcastle and the coal fields as expressed in film and
writing is very different from life in the Northern Rivers and associated artistic
expression. Compare Lou the Movie with Tap Dogs, for example. The Armidale poets
are very different from the Glen Innes bush poets.
Within this mix, writers have played a special role in expressing different aspects of
life. Robert Barnards Death of an Old Goat, the book that launched his career as a
thriller writer, is a cruel and somewhat satirical account of life in Armidale
(Drummondale) during the 1950s. Judith Wallace, Judith Wright and Maslyn Williams
provide different but linked experiences of life on the Tablelands growing up or as a
young adult.

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The total publication list of biographies, autobiographies, histories, plays, poems and
novels connected in some way with Northern New South Wales is huge, This
diversity in culture and cultural experience is not well recognized, nor are the
interlinks between areas and the varying forms of expression.
It is not widely recognised, for example, that The Picture Show Man drew its basic
idea from a Tamworth travelling picture show and was shot on the Liverpool Plains
and on the Clarence River. The colours in the film can be compared to the paintings
of Harry Pidgeon, an artist with a special focus on the Liverpool Plains.
If properly tapped, this depth and diversity provides a considerable opportunity for the
development of approaches that better focus on varying local and regional
experiences, making this more broadly accessible.
There is also scope for better cross-regional promotion within NSW.
At present, the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) is presenting Herbert
Badham's Observing the Everyday. Badham was a realist painter of social urban life,
renowned for his scenes of Sydney. The exhibition concentrates on the everyday in
Sydney mainly during the 1930s, combining Badham with other paintings from the
NERAM collection on the same theme. This is a large high quality exhibition that has
the potential to attract visitors from a wide area including Sydney. Sadly, NERAM has
neither the money for wider promotion, nor for the catalogue that would give visitors
the tangible memory of their visit.
Suggestion
We suggest that the policy might contain a theme centred on preserving and
promoting local and regional culture and identity, along with actions to facilitate crossregional promotion, thus increasing the size of available market.

The Aboriginal Experience

Both the discussion paper and the associated action plans rightly place considerable
emphasis on Aboriginal cultural issues.
The Northern Tablelands and the surrounding river valleys to the north, south, east
and west are home to a number of major language groups. The Tablelands itself is
the dividing line between the coastal and inland riverine traditions, a meeting place of
nations. All this makes for a complicated pattern of relationships.
From our experience, Aboriginal people as a whole are interested in the culture and
history of their own mob. The younger Nganyaywana activists, for example, are
interested in rediscovering their past, in walking the old tracks; that past becomes an
element in their current reinterpretation of broader Aboriginal cultures, melding past,
present and future.
Our experience also suggests that there is considerable interest in the broader
Australian community in Aboriginal culture and history. To a degree, that interest is
twisted by the focus on events since 1788, on questions of deprivation,
dispossession and black-white relations. While important, these are only part of the
Aboriginal story. Northern NSW and NSW more broadly also suffer from
submergence as a consequence of the overwhelming emphasis placed upon Central
and Northern Australia in areas such as art or music, depriving local and regional
creative people of cultural oxygen.

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As indicated earlier in the context of the role played by universities in documenting

and preserving Aboriginal culture, Northern NSW is fortunate in having major local
collections, as well as a considerable body of published writing on different aspects
of Aboriginal history and life. Northern New South Wales also has its own Aboriginal
writers and performers who work from a local perspective. In music, for example, L J
Hill with songs such as Pretty Bird Tree or Namoi Mud is very much a regional artist.
In writing, many of Ruby Langford Ginibis books trace her return to Bundjalung
country. She added Ginibi to her name as a Bundjalung honorific.
Neither the historical resources nor indeed the artists and writers (Ginibi is an
exception) are especially well known. The story lines, the relationships, are not told.
Aboriginal people themselves struggle to access their own history. Visitors to local
attractions find very little information on the broader regional patterns of Aboriginal
life. This reduces the richness of the cultural experience. It also reduces the potential
marketplace for both tourism and cultural workers broadly defined.
Suggestion
We suggest that the Aboriginal component of the policy should place greater
emphasis on the possibilities offered by local and regional experiences and
resources. We also consider that more opportunity might be taken of the possibilities
offered by the on-line environment in making information available.

The Role of Multiplier Agencies

To a substantial degree, the policys success will depend upon the involvement of
multiplier agencies such as the NEWC. We suggest, therefore, that their role should
be explicitly discussed in the policy.

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