Media release: Humiliating backdown by Campbell

21 December 2006
Today’s decision to approve the Bald Hills wind farm project is a humiliating backdown for Environment Minister Ian Campbell.

Media release: Missing the target and missing in action

20 December 2006
The Howard Government’s ‘annus horribilis’ on climate change was compounded today with the admission that Australia won’t meet its Kyoto target.

Article: Young, Creative and A Bit Rich, Arts Hub Australia

19 December 2006
Last week’s striking research from Queensland’s University of Technology revealing the growing number of young creative types populating Australia’s rich lists confirms the wealth of talent in our nation’s arts community.

Media release: Wave of Respect - One year on

15 December 2006
This weekend marks the one year anniversary of Wave of Respect – a statement in response to the events at Cronulla and Maroubra last year, calling on all members of the community to actively work to stop any form of violence.

Media release: Announcement of new Australia Council Chief Executive Officer

14 December 2006
Labor welcomes the appointment of Kathy Keele as Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Council.

Media release: From coast to coast, climate change is happening now

13 December 2006
The very real consequences of climate change are being felt right now, from Far North Queensland to the south west of Western Australia.

Media release: North Queensland to bear the brunt of climate change

12 December 2006

Transcript: Doorstop, Maroubra

10 December 2006
Subjects: Labor leadership, front bench reshuffle, shadow environment minister appointment

Joint media release: Howard stymies UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples

29 November 2006

Media release: Groundhog Day for the production industry

09 November 2006
The Australian Film Commission’s national survey of feature film and TV drama production 2005/06 once again confirms the subdued performance of Australia’s film and television industry.

Media release: Sidestepping accountability

01 November 2006

Media release: If Lennon can do it, why can't Howard

18 October 2006
The historic decision by the Tasmanian Government to recognise the severe hardships suffered by the Stolen Generations is in stark contrast to the Howard Government’s do-nothing approach to reconciliation.

Joint media release: Moral leadership needed on Indigenous UN declaration

12 October 2006
Labor calls on the Howard Government to show moral leadership and adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples later this year in Geneva.

Media release: Artists sleepless over sedition

10 October 2006
Despite an absence of government voices Labor members welcomed the opportunity to finally address in Parliament the ALRC report, Fighting Words - A review of Sedition Laws in Australia; a report which once again hangs the Attorney-General out to dry.

Media release: Will the Minister please take his seat at the cultural table

22 September 2006
The Cultural Ministers’ Council meeting in Wellington, New Zealand is one of the last opportunities for the retiring Arts Minister to address a number of critical issues facing the arts sector.

Media release: A deadly night at the Opera House

22 September 2006

I warmly congratulate all the winners at the 12th Annual Deadly Awards, held last night at the Sydney Opera House. The ‘Deadlys’ celebrate the success of talented Indigenous Australians in the areas of the arts, sport and community.

Joint media release: Government must commit to microcredit

04 September 2006
Today in private Members’ business I moved a motion, seconded by Shadow Minister for Overseas Aid and Pacific Island Affairs Bob Sercombe, in the House calling on the Howard Government to increase the proportion of aid money allocated to Microcredit programs.

Media release: Wave Hill - History and Reconciliation - Where is the Government?

18 August 2006
On the 40th Anniversary of the noted Wave Hill ‘walk-off’ led by Vincent Lingiari it is disappointing that the Minister for the Environment and Heritage has yet failed to include the site on the National Heritage List, considering the Northern Territory Government has taken that step for Territory heritage recognition.

Media release: Labor welcomes Indigenous art inquiry

15 August 2006
Labor welcomes the motion passed in the Senate today for an inquiry into the Indigenous art sector. This inquiry has been a long time coming.

Media release: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award

14 August 2006
Labor congratulates Ngoia Napaltjarri Pollard, the recipient of this year’s Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award for her painting Swamps West of Nyirripi.

Media release: Resignation of Jennifer Bott from the Australia Council

14 August 2006
Jennifer Bott’s early resignation from the Australia Council, together with the recent emphasis on financial and structural reform, means the new appointment must be someone with a proven record in the Arts.

Media release: Orica – export application for HCB waste

10 August 2006
Orica’s application to export the huge volumes of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) waste for destruction in Germany will bring relief to the many residents of Kingsford Smith who have lived with this highly toxic substance being stored near their homes for many years.

Media release: Minister needs to reconsider AbaF decision

08 August 2006

Opinion piece: What would a contemporary comprehensive federal arts policy look like? Arts Hub

02 August 2006
The last time Labor made an exhaustive effort to answer this question the result was 'Creative Nation'.

Media release: An arts policy for the times

31 July 2006
Today I release a comprehensive discussion paper on arts policy which provides the framework for an innovative and sustainable approach to the Arts and follows a wide-ranging consultation and submission process.

Transcript: Interview with Gillian Bradford, ABC Radio AM

25 July 2006
Subjects: nuclear industry, uranium mining, ALP national conference, three mine policy

Joint media release: Time for action on Indigenous life expectancy

24 July 2006
The Prime Minister should use his speech at tomorrow's Reconciliation Australia event in Melbourne to announce a timetable for reducing the gap in life expectancy, Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Chris Evans and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation Peter Garrett said today.

Joint media release: Howard fails to take the next step

16 July 2006

Media release: Is this the last dance?

14 July 2006
The resignation yesterday of dance giant Graeme Murphy and his partner Janet Vernon from their positions at the Sydney Dance Company is the clearest sign yet of the significant financial strains dance companies are under.

Media release: Cupid’s arrow misses its mark

13 July 2006
Minister Kemp’s foray into the art of wedding planning has been a failure as this week’s report published by the Archive Forum, Australian Historical Association, Australian Society of Archivists and Friends of the National Film and Sound Archive, clearly shows.

Media release: Indigenous art inquiry at long last

05 July 2006
At long last Arts Minister Kemp has announced that the government will set up a parliamentary inquiry into the Indigenous art industry. This decision is welcome, but long overdue.

Media release: Orica plant in Botany

23 June 2006
The airing of a story on 60 Minutes on 18 June which addressed a number of long running environmental and public health issues as a result of past practices at the Orica plant in Botany once again highlights the need for Orica to strictly adhere to conditions set out in the Clean Up Notice issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

Media release: Appointment of James Strong AO as Chair of the Australia Council

02 June 2006
Labor welcomes the appointment of prominent businessman James Strong to the position of Chair of the Australia Council. Mr Strong has extensive links within the Arts sector ...

Media release: It's about respect

31 May 2006
Labor welcomes the call by John Hartigan, News Ltd Chair and CEO, for ‘respect’ to be the governing principle of Reconciliation.

Media release: Sedition dead in the water

29 May 2006
Australia’s artistic community will be relieved by the announcement today from the Australian Law Reform Commission that sedition “should be removed from the federal statute book”.

Media release: Retiring Minister resists action

25 May 2006
Arts Minister Kemp has again let down Indigenous artists, bedevilled by rampant copying, bootlegging and unethical dealing, by refusing to commit to a full and proper inquiry into the sustainability of the Indigenous art sector.

Transcript: Interview with Ronan Sharkey, triple j, HACK

23 May 2006
Subjects: nuclear energy, radioactive waste, renewable energy, Labor policy, coalition policy

Transcript: Transcript of interview with Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National Breakfast

23 May 2006
Subjects: uranium mining, nuclear energy, radioactive waste, greenhouse gas emissions,

Article: The 2006 Budget and the Arts – much ado about nothing? Arts Hub

17 May 2006

Media release: Costello ignores the real problems

12 May 2006
Mr Costello’s 11th Budget was a missed opportunity to provide genuine relief for families in Kingsford Smith who have been hit hard by petrol price spikes, rising mortgage repayments and one-sided unfair dismissal laws.

Media release: David Gonski AO resignation

12 May 2006
Labor extends its best wishes to David Gonski following his resignation as Australia Council Chair. Mr Gonski has made a significant contribution to the Arts in this country.

Media release: Resale royalty cop-out

10 May 2006
The visual arts community has been seriously let down by the Howard Government’s decision in this year’s Budget to rule out a resale royalty scheme.

Media release: Film industry the big loser

10 May 2006
All the window dressing in the world will not disguise the fact that the cupboard remains bare for the film industry and small to medium theatre companies in this year's record spending budget.

Media release: Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens

08 May 2006

Media release: Downer bans Aussie film

08 May 2006
Alexander Downer’s self appointment as Indonesia film censor and arbiter of freedom of speech has been confirmed in answers to a number of questions on notice I submitted concerning the cancellation of funding for the screening of Australian film documentaries at the Jakarta International Film Festival.

Media release: All talk and still no action

05 May 2006
Today’s report in The Australian of Arts Minister Kemp’s visit to central Australia will seriously disappoint the Indigenous arts community who are yet to see any positive initiative from the Minister to tackle the on-going crisis faced by Indigenous artists who continue to be ripped off by unscrupulous art dealers.

Article: Local movie-makers require serious support, The Australian

03 May 2006
The Australian film industry needs a sustainable system of funding, writes Peter Garrett.

Media release: It's loud and clear - we don't want development on Malabar Headland

18 April 2006

Media release: Finally some sense on Malabar Headland

13 April 2006
The statement published on Tuesday in the Southern Courier from the Special Minister of State Gary Nairn that Malabar Headland is not going to be sold for “some sort of development” is highly significant.

Media release: Further protection for Malabar Headland – but not from the Federal Government

06 April 2006
I welcome the decision by the NSW Government to approve an amendment to the Randwick Local Environmental Plan which will prevent tourist accommodation as permissible land use on the Anzac Rifle Range.