SPEECH NOTES FOR THE PRIME MINISTER,
THlE HON. E. G. WHITLAM, QC, MP,
FOR THE OPENING OF THE FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL,
NORTH RYDE, N. S. W., 22 AUGUST 1975
1. 1 give full credit to John Gorton for recognising the
needs of the Australian film and television industry.
We agree on the need to develop an industry of world
standard. We agree that a flourishing film and TV
industry is possible only with a pool of expert trained
technicians and craftsmen, of creative producers, directors
and scriptwriters. That is what this school is providingalong
with lectures, seminars, workshops and information
on all aspects of film and TV production for those involved
in the industry.
2. It is seven years since a school such as this was f4 rst
proposed at a UNESCO seminar on film and TV training
at the University of N. S. W. I am proud that my Government
was able to follow up these initiatives and establish
the Film and Television School as an independent statutory
authority in 1973. The School has the same status as a
college of higher education. Eight months ago you invited
me to open the first full-time three-year course of -the
School. 1 regret that I was not able to be with you on
that occasion, but I know that the first courses have
successfully begun. It is a very select group -only 24
stu~ dents a year it's smaller than the Cabinet -but
those men and women have been carefully chosen and will be
trained to the highest standards of excellence, of professionalism.
3. Professor Toeplitz and your Council have recognised the
essential truth that the Australian film and TV industry
can only survive and prosper by producing works of
international quality. There is no room for mediocrity.
Here you have the very finest equipment and technical
facilities; by 1980 you will have a permanent new
building at Macquarie University. But none of these things
will be of" much value if the standards of professional
training are inferior. The success of this School
depends, not only on cultivating a technically stimulating
atmosphere, but on attaining and insisting upon rigorous
professional standards in all your work. Technical
competence in film production is only apparent by its
absence; its presence is taken for granted. Too often in
Australian productions in the past we have been aware of
a certain clumsiness, a certain roughness at the edges.
It is difficult to pin down but we can recognise it.
True excellence of style and technique must be taught and
learnt the hard way. In film and TV productions it involves
collaboration by many different people with many different
skills. Here in this school you will have the benefit
of working together and getting used to the discipline of
working together. That is an essential part of the training
this School provides. ./ 2
4. Films and television are the authentic art forms of
the 20th century the most popular, and therefore also
the most representative art forms, and those most
closely attuned to the thoughts and feelings of the
people. The problem is that they involve technical
resources and expenditures beyond the reach of individuals
or even of substantial private companies. Writing and
painting and composing were solitary arts and could be
practised in penury, but films and television require
heavy investment and advanced technology. In the days
when the technology was relatively simple and investments
were modest Australia could afford a successful, and
indeed flourishing, film industry. Overseas markets
were limited, but the overheads were such that costs
could be recouped and profits made from local exhibition.
This is no longer the case. For years we heard demands
and appeals for a viable film industry in Australia.
These hopes were not fulfilled because Governments were
never prepared to accept any responsibility for film
production. It is only now that Governments are playing
their part by subsidising film production and supporting
their own production agencies. We now recognise that in
a small or medium-sized country maintaining film
production is like running an orchestra or an art gallery;
it has little chance of succeeding without Government
support. I am not suggesting that a profitable private
industry is impossible. I am suggesting that without
Government support a profitable industry is difficult
tc establish and unlikely to succeed. moreover, it is only
with Government support that films can be produced for
a minority audience. There is less pressure on film
makers to4-c onform to cosmopolitan and frequently debased
standards of popular taste. There is more scope for a
distinctively Australian style.
We can all take satisfaction for the success of many
recent Australian films. We have seen a healthy expansion
of the Australian film industry in recent years. This has
been due in large part to the involvement of governments.
The Australian Government, as you know, has established,
the Australian FiLm Commission as a statutory authority
to Promocte a healthy Australian film industry. The
Commission will incorporate Film Australian ( the Government's
film production unit) and the Australian Film Development
CorporatiLon -another offspring of the Gorton Government.
The Corporation this year committed about $ 1.5 million
to Australian film projects.
6. The Labor Party is committed to a high level of Australian
content in television production. We have established
the Australia Council as an independent authority with its
Film, Radio and Television Board to supervise Australian
Government assistance to film and -television projects. And
now we have a fully-fledged Film and Television School to
produce the qualified men and women that the industry will need.
I am delighted to be with you to perform this opening
ceremony. I congratulate the director, Professor Toeplitz
and the council and staff of the School on the excellent start
it has made. I am confident that it will make an indispensable
contribution to the development of film and -television
in Australia.