The cancellation of cultural events in Melbourne after the city entered another lockdown has renewed calls for the federal government to establish a national COVID-19 insurance scheme for the arts sector.
Last week, Victoria announced a snap lockdown in Melbourne in a bid to contain rising cases of the Indian variant of COVID-19, leading to the closure of cultural venues such as libraries, galleries, and theatres and the cancellation of arts events such as exhibits and performances.
And the lack of availability of insurance to cover COVID-19-related incidents has left the arts sector more exposed to losses from cancellations caused by lockdowns.
Shadow arts minister Tony Burke said that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s failure to establish a national COVID-19 insurance scheme for the arts, entertainment, and events industry “could leave Victorian businesses on the brink of collapse.”
“A slew of major events, festivals and gigs – including the inaugural RISING Festival and the One Fine Day Wedding Fair – have been cancelled over the next seven days as Victoria goes back into lockdown,” Burke said in a statement last week. “There are good public health reasons for those cancellations. But the failure of the Morrison government to establish an insurance program – similar to the Temporary Interruption Fund which applies to the film industry – has put these businesses in a diabolical position.”
Burke added that since commercial insurance “is no longer available for COVID-19 for events,” the investments that have been put into these events will be lost – leading some businesses to assess whether or not they can survive.
“We want people to have the confidence to organise and invest in major events in Australia,” said Burke. “But how can they if they are unable to insure against lockdowns and COVID-related cancellations? The Morrison government’s refusal to establish a national COVID-19 insurance scheme means that a number of businesses that are completely viable outside the pandemic now face an uncertain future.”
