CANBERRA’s iconic Parliament House served as a fitting backdrop as the federal parliamentary committee examining Canberra’s national institutions released its report today.

Chair of the Committee, Ben Morton MP, said the Committee found that national institutions play an invaluable role in preserving and promoting Australia’s history, culture, arts, science and democracy.

“Canberra’s national institutions are a treasure and are worthy of our continued support and patronage”, Mr Morton said.

“But they need to do more to recognise their shared value to the nation as a cohesive group, rather than as individual entities. A shared narrative should directly connect national institutions with Australia’s story, and should underpin all the work they do.”

Outlining some of the report’s 20 recommendations, Mr Morton said that the Committee was keen to see various measures taken to enhance national institutions’ engagement with the public. These include encouraging new migrants to visit national institutions, reviewing and improving access to educational programs for the more than 165,000 school students who visit Canberra each year, and promoting the science education offered by some institutions. 

“The Committee particularly welcomed Australians’ genuine interest in being informed about their democracy through visiting and accessing Canberra’s national institutions”, Mr Morton said. “We have therefore recommended reviewing, enhancing and better aligning the work of institutions in this area, as well as offering more parliamentary and electoral education programs to the general public.”

Mr Morton highlighted the Committee’s recommendation to relocate and expand the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), effectively creating a new national institution focused on the history, culture and heritage of Australia’s first peoples. ”A major national institution focused on positive and comprehensive recognition of Australia’s rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture  is long overdue”, Mr Morton said. 

“An expanded AIATSIS, located within the Parliamentary Zone, would include public exhibition facilities to tell this important Australian story in a bigger way, to more people. It would also be home to a national resting place for repatriated ancestral remains that cannot immediately return to Country.”

The Committee also recommended that the Government develop a business case for the establishment of a natural history museum in Canberra.

Among other recommendations in the report, the Committee identified measures to strengthen national institutions’ governance, including through better collaboration, and to help ease pressures on their budgets and resources. These include recommendations that the Australian Government work with Canberra’s national institutions to:

• establish a formal consultative structure for Canberra’s national institutions, to work on aligning their planning, policy, marketing, and sharing resources;
• develop shared collection storage and public exhibition spaces for Canberra’s national institutions;
• develop a whole of government strategy to ensure that analogue audio-visual items held by national institutions are digitised, before it is too late; and
• consider measures to offset the impact of financial and staffing pressures on small agencies, including Canberra’s national institutions.

“This was a large and complex inquiry, and an important one”, Mr Morton said. “I hope the Committee’s report will contribute to making Canberra’s national institutions even more effective in their work to preserve, and tell, Australia’s national story.”

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts today presented its report on the Australian music industry. The committee has made 16 recommendations to ensure the future growth and sustainability of this sector.

Chair, Luke Howarth MP, stated that "investment in the support and promotion of Australian artists and other industry careers is essential to the retention of talent and, ultimately, the sustainability and growth of the Australian music industry.

"The music industry has experienced significant disruption as a result of technological advances and the rapid digitisation of the distribution of music; however, the industry’s recent return to growth and decrease in the number of consumers downloading music illegally is evidence of the industry’s successful adaption to the digital disruption," Mr Howarth said.

Key recommendations include:

• removing the pricing cap on licence fees for the radio broadcast of sound recordings;
• investing in supporting artists to tour in Australia, both in major cities and regional areas;
• investing in the Live Music Office, to continue its work advising and supporting state and local governments to develop regulation that encourages and celebrates live music;
• changing the application and monitoring of Australian music content quotas for commercial radio;
• investing in Sounds Australia’s music exports program;
• prioritising and supporting Australian music at government activities and events;
• developing mutually beneficial visa arrangements with the United States of America to allow artists from both countries to more easily showcase and tour;
• encouraging states and territories to improve access to music education for public primary and secondary school students;
• investing in initiatives aimed at training and supporting Australian artists and industry professionals to grow and develop their businesses;
• investing in grants and industry partnerships that support artists in the creation of new music and new recordings; and
• investing in Support Act to enable it to expand its services and deliver crisis support for artists and others working in the Australian music industry.

The report can be accessed from the Committee’s website.

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TODAY, the Intelligence and Security Committee has tabled two reports reviewing legislation that seeks to assist intelligence and law enforcement agencies to better deal with challenges posed by encrypted communications, and a separate counter-terrorism bill providing for the temporary exclusion of certain persons from Australia.

Assistance and Access Act

The report on the Review of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 notes that the Assistance and Access Act has attracted significant domestic and international interest since the introduction of the then Bill in mid-2018 and its passage in late-2018. The Committee understands the interest as the Act introduced significant new powers on technical matters that have global implications.

The Committee notes in its report that the Assistance and Access Act will be reviewed by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and this Committee in the next Parliament, under its statutory review function.

Temporary Exclusion Orders Bill

In its Advisory Report on the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Bill 2019, the Committee supports the intention of the Bill to provide the Government with greater control over the return of Australian foreign fighters — and their families and associates — to Australia. The Committee supports passage of the Bill, subject to the implementation of 18 recommendations for safeguards and accountability measures to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the scheme.

Committee Chair, Andrew Hastie MP said the Committee takes its responsibility to review national security legislation seriously.

“The Committee has a strong track record of recommending amendments that enhance the effectiveness of Australia’s intelligence and security legislation.” Mr Hastie said.

“The two reports tabled today build on this significant record.”

Both reports are available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/pjcis.

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REVOLUTIONARY developments in mass transit technology need to be met with the development of a revolutionary automated transit ecosystem, according to a new report.

House of Representatives Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee Chair John Alexander said if done well, the automation and electrification of mass transit has the potential to make Australian cities and regions cleaner, greener, more accessible and more liveable.

"Achieving this outcome will demand vision and leadership from government," Mr Alexander said.

"We need to make the timely provision of the supporting infrastructure for the transition to the fuels of the future."

The report, titled Innovating Transport across Australia, makes 17 recommendations addressing a range of issues around automated transport and alternative energy sources. These recommendations include establishing the Office of National Chief Engineer, developing a new automated transport ecosystem and developing a national hydrogen strategy.

"Ideally, our transport networks will consist of integrated multi-modal networks—systems operating across a variety of transport modes, connected by information exchanges with seamless ticketing," Mr Alexander said.

A copy of the report can be obtained from the Committee’s website or from the secretariat on (02) 6277 2352.

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