Led by the Hon Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the members will work in partnership with Government and the Australia Council for the Arts to aid the implementation of the $250 million JobMaker plan and provide strategic guidance in supporting the recovery efforts sector-wide.

“The Creative Economy Taskforce will play a critical role supporting the return of Australia’s vibrant, much loved arts scene following the impacts of COVID-19,” Minister Fletcher said.

MCA Director, Liz Ann McGregor, has been appointed  Chair of the Taskforce and Creative Partnerships Australia board member, John Barrington, will be the Deputy Chair.  They will be joined by music industry champion, Dan Rosen, who is also a member of the Creative Partnerships board, and Creative Partnerships’ CEO, Fiona Menzies.

On joining the Taskforce, Fiona Menzies said, “I’m delighted to be part of this group, advising on how to get the arts back in business.  While this has been an incredibly challenging year, the sector won’t be able to snap back to what it was like pre-pandemic, so we will be looking at supporting the sector through what will be a number of equally challenging years ahead as restrictions are unwound and audiences re-engage with live arts.  It’s a very diverse sector and the road to recovery will be more difficult for some than for others, and this will need to be a focus of the Taskforce.”

The Taskforce members are:

• Mr John Barrington AM, former Chair of the Perth Festival and experienced company director (Western Australia)
• Ms Greta Bradman, operatic and concert artist, ABC Classic presenter (Victoria/South Australia)
• Mr Adrian Collette AM, Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Council for the Arts (New South Wales)
• Mr Li Cunxin AO, Queensland Ballet’s Artistic Director and former Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet (Queensland)
• Ms Rachel Healy, Joint Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival (South Australia)
• Mr Ian Kew, Chair of the Darwin Festival and the Darwin Major Business Group (Northern Territory)
• Ms Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (New South Wales)
• Ms Fiona Menzies, Chief Executive Officer, Creative Partnerships Australia (Victoria)
• Ms Alison Page, entrepreneur, artist and film and television producer (Descendant of the Walbanga and Wadi Wadi people of the Yuin nation, New South Wales)
• Mr Paul Piticco, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Secret Sounds Group, promoter of Splendour in the Grass music festival (Queensland).
• Mr Dan Rosen, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Recording Industry Association (New South Wales)
• Mr Chris Saines CNZM, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (Queensland)

As part of the JobMaker plan, the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund has been created to provide $75 million of funding to support the arts and entertainment sector in 2020-21. The guidelines have been released, with applications opening on 31 August 2020. Other initiatives, including the Governments $50 million Temporary Interruption Fund (TIF), administered by Screen Australia, is also available to support the sector.

To find out more about the Creative Economy Taskforce, head to the Office of the Arts website.