MORRISON’S FAILURE LEAVES ARTS AND EVENTS BUSINESSES EXPOSED

Scott Morrison’s failure to establish a national COVID-19 insurance scheme for the arts, entertainment and events industry could leave Victorian businesses on the brink of collapse.

A slew of major events, festivals and gigs – including the inaugural RISING Festival and the One Fine Day Wedding Fair – have been cancelled over the next seven days as Victoria goes back into lockdown.

There are good public health reasons for those cancellations.

But the failure of the Morrison Government to establish an insurance program – similar to the Temporary Interruption Fund which applies to the film industry – has put these businesses in a diabolical position.

Commercial insurance is no longer available for COVID-19 for events.

That means all the investments that have been put into these events will be lost. Some businesses will now be assessing whether or not they can survive.

We want people to have the confidence to organise and invest in major events in Australia. But how can they if they are unable to insure against lockdowns and COVID-related cancellations?

Many arts and events workers were never eligible for JobKeeper. This time around, none of them are - because the Government has ended it. Without an insurance scheme, there is little federal support on offer.

The Morrison Government’s refusal to establish a national COVID-19 insurance scheme means that a number of businesses that are completely viable outside the pandemic now face an uncertain future.

THURSDAY, 27 MAY 2021