The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) congratulates the Labor party on its election to government, and is looking forward to working with the new Arts Minister to develop a strategic approach to literature, the book industry, and reading, as part of a broader national cultural policy.
ASA CEO, Olivia Lanchester, said, ‘We offer our congratulations to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor Government on their election win, and welcome Labor’s commitment to a national cultural policy. We’ll be advocating for Australian literature to occupy a key position within that policy. Strategic government investment in our writers and illustrators, and in a reading nation, will pay educational, economic, cultural and social dividends.
‘Alongside our policy priorities specific to authors and illustrators, as part of the Books Create Alliance, which also comprises the Australian Publishers Association, the Australian Booksellers Association, and the Australian Libraries and Information Association, we released a set of whole-of-industry priorities for the book sector.
‘Our key recommendations included the development of a national plan for literature, direct investment for writers, particularly First Nations creators, and a reform of the Australian lending rights schemes (PLR/ELR) to include digital formats.
‘We supported the announcement of Labor’s arts policy by Tony Burke, which highlighted a whole-of-government approach to cultural policy and acknowledged that with libraries moving to ebooks, we have to update our settings for modern technology.
‘The ASA has been campaigning for the expansion of the criteria of the Australian lending rights schemes to include digital formats for a number of years, including meeting with Labor MPs to discuss Digital Lending Rights last year, and we look forward to continuing a productive dialogue on this issue.
‘There is no denying the vital contribution our authors and illustrators make to the cultural, economic and social fabric of our nation, and our broader reputation overseas. We are excited by the opportunity to grow our sector, to allow the book industry to reach its full potential, and to nurture the talent of the future.’
ELECTION 2022: Vote for books and reading
Australians have been called to the ballot box. Books Create Australia has prepared an agenda of the outcomes and policy changes that we think will benefit Australia’s writers, publishers, booksellers, libraries, and readers.
The most important outcome is that Australia remains a nation of readers. Reading is a habit that pays personal, educational, civic, and economic dividends to both the individual reader and the country – and our leaders play a vital role in growing and supporting a reading nation.
Government must take a strategic approach to the development of literature, the book industry and reading. Australia Council funding for literature has fallen by 40% in the past decade; it is indicative of a need for a more coordinated approach to policy.
We need a national plan, a pipeline for new Australian stories, sustainable careers for our writers. We need to take Australian stories to the world through a modern Australian book industry, and we believe that Australian content in schools is vital.
In the lead-up to the election, the partners in Books Create Australia will be taking these messages to their members, to other stakeholders, and to candidates.
Seven recommendations for Government
- Develop a national plan for books and reading.
- Fund an ongoing national reading campaign.
- Increase grant funds for new writing, new talent and First Nations’ stories.
- Reform Lending Rights, including boosting funding.
- Fund a whole-of-industry digitised supply chain and data solution.
- Help take Australian voices to the world and support the development of global markets.
- Mandate Australian content in schools and provide more support for school libraries.
You can download our Election 2022 recommendations as a two-page flyer, detailing how the Federal Government might best support books and writing.
Books Create Australia is a joint initiative of the Australian Libraries and Information Association, Australian Publishers Association, Australian Society for Authors and Australian Bookseller Association.
