Research published today by The Australia Institute shows strong support for government support for the arts and entertainment sector in the Eden-Monaro electorate, which will have a by-election on 4 July.

Key findings:

• Almost 1,000 people work in arts and entertainment in Eden-Monaro, the highest of any regional NSW electorate.
• 58% of Eden-Monaro voters support government assistance to the arts and entertainment sector, while 21% oppose.
• 57.7% of undecided voters support a government package, with just 17.3% opposed.

“Eden-Monaro has more people working in arts and entertainment than any other regional NSW electorate,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.

“Eden-Monaro even has more people working in these creative industries than the electorate of Richmond on the NSW north coast that includes Byron Bay.

“The many music and arts festivals in Eden-Monaro also provide support for the local tourism industry, which is struggling in the wake of the fires and pandemic.

“Given the importance of arts and entertainment to Eden-Monaro and the challenges posed by fires and the pandemic, it is not surprising that voters are keen for governments support to the sector.

“From an economic perspective, government assistance should be directed to labour-intensive sectors like arts and entertainment in order to support the most jobs,” Mr Campbell said.

“As a musician, the impact of the pandemic has been devastating,” said ARIA-nominated singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden, who lives in the Eden-Monaro electorate.

“We released an album the day everything got cancelled in the music industry – so that’s been a bumpy ride.

“Hopefully, a well-though out government support package will be announced soon and if the upcoming by-election can hasten that, so much the better,” Ms Lumsden said.