Queensland is urging the federal government to support small and medium arts organisations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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Federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher is still working on a scheme to help the ailing arts industry, but is keeping mum on how it will look.
Queensland's Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch says she wrote to Mr Fletcher on Tuesday, urging him to make sure any proposal is "geared toward supporting small-to-medium arts organisations".
"The exclusion of so many artists and arts workers from JobKeeper is an issue that the federal government needs to address," Ms Enoch said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The chief health officer is providing expert medical advice as to ... when live performances can recommence, and on my advice Arts Queensland has been working with the arts sector for each stage of the Palaszczuk Government's Roadmap to Recovery."
ACT arts minister Gordon Ramsay is hopeful Canberra's museums and galleries, as well as musicians and entertainers, will benefit from the package being prepared by Mr Fletcher.
Mr Ramsay wrote to Mr Fletcher in late March, highlighting two vital and urgent areas of Commonwealth responsibility.
"These are an immediate economic stimulus for the arts, particularly focused on individual, freelance and contractor artists rather than on organisations," he wrote.
"And a specific and flexible approach by the Commonwealth to income support/welfare payments that pays attention to the unusual employment circumstances of the creative sector."
A spokeswoman for Mr Fletcher said the minister had been speaking with the sector, to understand the hurdles to restarting.
"Many practical suggestions have been made to the government by sector leaders," the spokeswoman said.
Under the three-step framework for easing limitations, the final stage allows for gatherings of up to 100 people. However, there's no clarity for when larger crowds can congregate.
Labor's arts spokesman Tony Burke said the sector needs to know when and how it can return.
"Will it be that they're expected to have every second row?" he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
"Or will it be that they can fill the place if people are wearing masks and there's plenty of sanitiser? What would the staged process look like?"
In the early stages of the pandemic, the coalition pointed the industry to its wage subsidy plan, but many workers don't meet the requirements to qualify for the $1500 fortnightly JobKeeper payments.
The government has announced $27 million worth of support targeted at regional and indigenous artists.
Australian Associated Press
