Make It Australian National Day of Action

30 August, 2017

CALL TO ACTION: On 18 September 2017, the AWG, ADG, SPA and MEAA invite all members to join with other writers, directors, actors, producers, cinematographers, sound, post, composers and all professionals involved in creating content in Australia to attend a National Day of Action where we will launch our cross-guild campaign to protect Australian content and production and preserve Australian stories for Australian audiences on all screens.

Industry leaders will speak on the importance of preserving Australian and children’s content quotas on television and extending local content obligations to online content providers.

'As many of you will know, the right to tell our own stories from our own perspective and in our own voice is not something that just happened, it’s a battle that was fought by the Guild and the industry in the Make It Australian campaign of the 1970s. The battle was won, but the war to keep it Australian has never ended and it’s now entering a new, critical phase. Commercial TV broadcasters want to walk away from any requirement to create children’s content and are lobbying the government to abolish local content quotas. New players like Netflix, YouTube, Stan, ISPs and Telcos are making billions of dollars from the Australian market with no obligation to create local, original content for the Australian audiences it exploits.If we let this happen there will be no more scripted drama, no kids’ TV and our screens will be flooded with foreign content and reality shows. We will lose our jobs, our unique Australian voice and our culture and because of the Free Trade Agreement, once it is gone, it is lost forever.The time has come to fight again!'- AWG President, Jan Sardi

This is a call to arms. We need to act now. Our enemies are rich and powerful but together, our voices are louder.

EVENT DETAILS:

Sydney 6pm, Event Cinemas George Street

Melbourne 3pm, ACMI

Brisbane 6pm, William Galloway Auditorium, QCU

Adelaide 5pm, Media Resource Centre

Perth 4pm, Luna Cinemas, Oxford Street, Leederville

Hobart 5.30pm, Fullers Bookshop

RSVP: here

For more information see www.makeitaustralian.com or email anna@awg.com.au