2022 Federal Election: our policy priorities

27.04.22

With the federal election taking place on Saturday 21 May, the Australian Society of Authors, the peak national body for authors and illustrators, is advocating for all parties across the political spectrum to develop policy commitments that better support the careers of writers and illustrators. We are writing to all major parties with our list of policy priorities as set out below. 

“Support for our authors and illustrators is vital. They create the books and stories that entertain, fuel the arts, educate our kids, foster big thinking, and tell our story to the world. It is hard to think of many things more critical to a democracy than books, journals, textbooks: the publication of our best and brightest writers, artists, thinkers, researchers and storytellers,” says ASA CEO, Olivia Lanchester. 

The ASA calls on all political parties and federal candidates to support the following: 

We need a national plan for books and reading. In our view, the absence of such a framework has seen investment in literature languish and increased pressure on authors to self-fund their work. In the last decade, investment in literature through the Australia Council has declined by 40 per cent. 

• Urgently review literature funding with the aim of creating a national plan which identifies medium and long-term priorities, and guides increased, targeted and coordinated funding at federal and state levels, to unlock the potential of the literature sector.

As part of a national plan for books and reading, we must prioritise direct investment in our writers. 

• Develop a Commonwealth Fellowships and Grants program which includes a focus on First Nations storytelling and writing from outer-metropolitan, regional and remote areas designed to fuel the talent pipeline and build the creative economy of the future.
• Ensure public funding for projects that engage authors is contingent on the payment of authors and illustrators at or above ASA recommended rates of pay, or MEAA Freelancer recommended rates of pay.

• Invest in First Nations-led organisations to develop, publish and promote the work of First Nations writers, artists, illustrators and editors.

Lending rights payments represent the most reliable and significant government investment in authors but, currently, lending rights payments to authors and illustrators are limited to print books. Changing technology and COVID has seen an enormous shift towards e-borrowing, and an increase in libraries’ digital collections, making an update of the Australian lending rights schemes critical. Expanding the eligibility criteria for lending rights to include digital formats is universally supported by all stakeholders: authors, illustrators, publishers, libraries.

• Modernise the Public Lending Right Act to allow authors to be compensated for digital versions of their books held in public and educational libraries.  
• Increase the lending rights budget to reflect the reality of library holdings. To allow for digital books to be included in the PLR /ELR schemes and to allow for forecast growth in digital collections, increase the annual lending rights budget by 20% ($4.4 million).

It is vital to consider copyright reform, particularly new exceptions and limitations, in an incremental and sensible way to achieve modernity but not further harm creators’ abilities to earn a living. This is crucial given that the average annual income of authors in Australia from their creative practice is less than $13,000. 

• Maintain a meaningful legal framework under which creative and innovative careers are made possible.

There is a disparity in bargaining power between publishing companies and individual authors. Australia lags behind many countries in enshrining protections for authors in copyright legislation. In Australia, authors negotiate for all economic return for their work solely by contract. Given that authors typically have low bargaining power, do not know the market value of their books (the prediction problem), suffer an asymmetry of information and almost never get to renegotiate the terms once signed, relying on contract is not sufficient to address the distribution of revenue fairly.

• Review legislation to include principles requiring proportionate remuneration, specific licensing, comprehensive royalty statements and reversion of rights if the literary or artistic copyright work is not being exploited. 

Ensure the sustainability of service organisations that support writers and illustrators and the festivals and journals that promote and nurture writers’ and illustrators’ career development and provide critical cultural activity in regions across the country. 

The final report from the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Australia’s Creative and Cultural Industries and Institutions included 22 bipartisan recommendations, underpinned by a recognition of the fundamental importance of the arts in our society.

We particularly endorse the following recommendations:

• develop a national cultural plan to assess the medium-and long-term needs of the arts sector
• review the PLR/ELR schemes to ensure that authors are appropriately compensated for loss of sales when their books are made available to the community via public and educational libraries
• introduce a minimum threshold of Australian-authored literary texts in the Australian Curriculum
• investigate the delivery of an ‘Art Starter’ portal containing information for those engaged in the creative economy, at all stages of their careers
• additional funding to the Australian Bureau of Statistics to produce the Cultural and Creative Satellite Accounts annually, gather and publish data on levels and type of employment, trends, revenue, geographic trends across the creative and cultural industries
• Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers Meeting consider adding a fourth cross-curriculum priority: ‘the Arts’. The Committee recommends that this priority be in addition to (and not a replacement for) the arts as a key learning area
• through the Office for the Arts and Australia Council for the Arts, establish a new ‘Local Artistic Champions Program’ (akin to the existing Local Sporting Champions Program) to enable emerging Australian student artists, musicians, authors, playwrights, filmmakers, digital artists and game developers to apply for grants to support attendance at competitions, exhibitions, skills development courses relevant to their craft.

 

The above policy priorities will help to support not only authors and illustrators but, in turn, grow the network of jobs created by these primary producers, including for editors, designers, publishers, booksellers, libraries, festivals, and all the myriad of jobs created by stage and screen adaptations of books. 

Our book industry is one of the nation’s largest creative industries and contributes more than $2 billion per annum to the economy. The industry employs up to 40,000 Australians across the supply chain and boasts more than 1,000 businesses across the nation. Australian writing is read globally, and our stories are in demand in Australia and overseas. The export potential for Australian books is growing.

Importantly, strategic investment in books and reading drives broader policy outcomes in:

• mental health; reading alleviates stress and loneliness, 
• education; reading drives better literacy and numeracy, 
• export of Australian culture; books help build Australia’s reputation on the world stage and drive ‘book tourism’, 
• social cohesion; books by Australian authors and illustrators help us develop our national identity and pride in, and understanding of, our diverse culture.

“We know reading is essential, foundational to our nation’s wellbeing,” says Olivia Lanchester. “Books develop empathy, help us understand the past and shape the future. Reading predicts educational outcomes, shapes our nation’s identity and informs our creative ecosystem. But while reading enjoys high participation rates, and Australians deeply value Australian authors, investment in writers has declined and authors are struggling to earn a basic living. For all they deliver to us - and we need only reflect on the last couple of years to appreciate the comfort and stimulation of books - our creators deserve better than constant financial insecurity.”

“With support from whichever party wins the election, the opportunity to grow our literary sector and boost the creative economy is exciting.”  

Books Create Australia 

The ASA is part of the Books Create Alliance, which also comprises the Australian Publishers Association, the Australian Booksellers Association, and the Australian Libraries and Information Association. 

Books Create has released a set of whole-of-industry priorities for the book sector. The ASA strongly endorses this list of priorities which is also being shared with election candidates. You can read it here. 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Marketing and Communications Manager - Lucy Hayward 

Email: comms@asauthors.org | Phone: 02 9211 1004