Aussie icon, Guy Sebastian says he was used as a “prop” by the Federal Government for their $250 million arts funding package last year.
Like Australia’s vaccine rollout, the arts funding rollout has been criticised by many in the industry, now including Guy Sebastian.
“I was used as a prop by the Government to stand there and deliver an arts package but who is it helping?” Sebastian told the Herald Sun yesterday.
“I stood there because I genuinely thought something would happen. I’d rung all my muso friends, asked for their suggestions, and I relayed them on that Zoom call to the Prime Minister.”
Following his presence at ScoMo’s press conference announcing the program in June last year, Sebastian has received intense backlash from many music industry members.
Sebastian initially defended his appearance at the press conference as “a voice for the people directly affected,” who could provide perspective of the pandemic’s impacts on the music industry.
Venues shut. Gigs cancelled. Rehearsals paused. Classes closed.
Our arts sector has been hurting since the start of this pandemic and has received nothing but an empty promise from Scott Morrison.https://t.co/k5QhAHI61C
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) July 22, 2021
However, in October last year, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Federal government for allocating less than a fifth of the package – prompting Sebastian to push the PM for answers.
“[N]o one seems to have followed through on their words or had any plans for insurance for people putting on musicals or concerts. It’s not working, obviously,” Sebastian told the Herald Sun, revealing that he’d already asked for updates.
Sebastian also said that he disagrees with how the program has been rolled out, and that the government has failed in its responsibility to ensure those in the sector are being helped.
“I’m not speaking from an uneducated platform. I’ve directly watched the musicians in my band be in a position now where there’s no Government help, no JobKeeper, no finance. What are they going to do?”
However, while some have sympathised with Sebastian’s supposed ‘come-to-Jesus moment’, Sebastian has also been criticised for failing to see the obvious – that ScoMo was looking to fix his terrible optics.
Guy Sebastian claims there was no way to tell Scott Morrison was in it only for a photo op
— Chaser Interns (@ChaserInterns) July 22, 2021
Things only got worse this week when Shadow Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, revealed earlier this week that the Federal Government had only rolled out half of the funding it initially promised for the arts and entertainment sector.
“Thirteen months ago Scott Morrison and Paul Fletcher enlisted celebrities for a photo opportunity to announce the RISE grants to help get arts and entertainment organisations through the pandemic,” Burke said.
“Now – more than a year on – Minister Fletcher has confirmed only $100 million of the promised $200 million has actually been spent.”
It seems the Morrison government is having a hard time doing its job this year, after ScoMo finally apologised for Australia’s appalling vaccination rollout – only a day after he repeatedly declined to say sorry for the government’s missteps during an interview with a radio host in Melbourne.
“I’m certainly sorry we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we hoped for at the beginning of this year,” ScoMo told reporters in Canberra while announcing that pharmacies, backed by a commonwealth indemnity, would administer AstraZeneca vaccinations from August.
With too many people taking Scott Morrison’s apology as sincere – try reading it like this:
“I’m sorry that we (the other people, not me) haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we (the other people, not me) had hoped for at the beginning of this year – of course I am.”
— Kerry Jaggers (@kezincanberra) July 22, 2021
“Of course I am [sorry]. But what’s important is that we’re totally focused on ensuring that we’ve been turning this around. I take responsibility for the vaccination program [and] I also take responsibility for the challenges we’ve had.”
With COVID infections rising as almost half of Australia locks down, Morrison used several media interviews on Thursday to encourage people to get vaccinated.
In a live interview with Triple J’s Hack yesterday, ScoMo admitted he was unhappy with the state of the vaccine rollout – clearly, his empathy coach is paying off.
“No, I’m not – I’m not happy with where we are at right now,” the prime minister said.
