4Jj) AUS RL IA
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA TUESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 1981
SPEECH AT THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF
AUSTRALIA'S FIRST FEATURE FILI4
Film is perhaps the only new art form for which the twentieth
century can take most of the credit, and the fact that Australians
were involved in cinema in such a significant way so early
is something which we can indeed be-proud of. The clips
which we have just seen of ' the 1906 version of Ned Kelly,
and of three more recent films as well, tell a fascinating
story of the initiative and creativity of Australians, and
there is no doubt that Australian film makers deserve the
recognition and respect which are now being paid to their
work worldwide.
In the early days of cinema, one critic said that this new
art had within its grasp innumerable symbols for emotions
that have, previously failed to find expression, and went on
to say that the film-maker would have enormous riches at
his command when he found some new symbol for expressing
thought. There-is little doubt that new symbols for expressing
both thought and emotion have been found through cinema, little
doubt either that new symbols are still being developed,
indeed it is perfectly plain that the potential of cinema
as a medium for communication and artistic expression are
being very impressively explored.
The Australian community has responded with real enthusiasm
to the success of Australian films in recent years, and while
many people will take some time to grasp the reality that
Australian films are as good as any intechnical and artistic
terms, everybody welcomes the increased portrayal of various
aspects of the Australian way of life through Australian films.
Australia has one of the oldest-film industries in the.
world, for the first Australian newsreel, showing scenes
of the 1896 Melbourne Cup, was made and shown only a year
after the -Lumiere brothers gave the first public s( reoning
of films in Paris.
The Story of the Kelly Gang is credited as the first feature
film made in Australia, although it was not until later that
the film was recognised as a pioneering feat. The " feature / 2
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film" must rate as one of the half-dozen key inventions in the
entire history of cincema, and this invention, which the Tait
bothers made in this country seventy five years ago, has
become the foundation of the film industry worldwide. The
Tait brothers showed a great deal of astuteness and commercial
insight in producing that film, and many of you here would no
doubt like to match the return on capital which they achieved,
for I understand that the film returned 25,000 pounds for an
outlay of about 1,000 pounds. It is tragic that we only have
three and a half minutes of this historic film which would
originally have taken about one and half hours to screen.
And I would like to take the opportunity to give the strongest
encouragement to the last " Last Film Search" which represents
a concerted effort to discover and conserve what remains of
Australia's early film history. This search, which is being
undertaken by the National Library of Australia aims to gather
early Australian films into the National Film Archive.
The stock on which films were made up until 1957 is unstable,
and much of it is now nearing the end of its life, so the
search project, which was launched in October with the
sponsorship of a number of organisations, is an urgent one,
and I understand that hundreds of reels have already been found.
At present, however, only 5% of Australia's silent films have
been found and preserved. Every effort needs to be made to increase
that percentage in the few years still available before the
old film stock disintegrates, and a complete print of the Kelly
story would be a find of immense significance.
The Kelly film. in 1906 was a pacesetter. It was followed by
Robbery Under Arms in 1907, and in the period between 1906 and.
1913 some 90 films were made, many of them bushranging dramas
and theatrical melodramas. 153 films were made during the years
of the First World War, and the decade following 1918 saw the
production of 96 films including such classics as The Sentimental
Bloke, On Our Selection and A Girl of the Bush. -I understand
that these particular films will feature in a nationwide film
festival, legernds on the screen which will be exhibitied
throughout Australia in January, and that will no doubt be a
fascinating festival.
In the late 1920' s, a number of factors, especially the advent:
of ' talkies",' with their higher costs, and the strength of
Hollywood eroded the Australian feature film industry. But
Australians never relinquished their claims on the feature
film, and there remained a substantial reservoir of film making
expertise in other areas. To a* considerable extent this was
a product of the requirement that commercials on Australian
television shoud be essentially Australian in procbaction.
The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal still maintains this
requirement, and a result, between two and three thousand
commercials are now being produced annually in Australia, and
this provides valuable work and experience in film making.
The local content provisions for television introduced in 1960
have worked in the same direction. / 3
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The success of these policies is evident from the fact that today's
Australian content is running at some 55% in peak time, compared
with about 40% in 1976/ 77, and about 70% of expenditure on
programmes by T. V. stations is on Australian material.
The 1970s were obviously a period of tremendous development
and advance for Australian films, and the extent to which
film lovers in other countries are wanting to see Australian
films is a tribute to the people in the local industry who
have worked so hard and with such imagination and dedication.
While it is the creativity of film makers which has achieved
the revival of the Australian film industry, nobody would
deny that government support has been critical to the developpent
which has occurred, and as I said some years ago, the Government
will continue to encourage film and television, in partnership
with the industry, the ultimate aim being self-sufficiency.
In 1970, the Commonwealth Government established the Australian
Film Development Corporation to foster development of feature
films. This corporation was subsequently absorbed by the
Australian Film Commission, which has developed or invested
in a large number of major'-feature films including,
" Picnic at Hanging Rock", " Caddie", " Newsfront", " Storm Boy",
" Breaker Morant", and " Gallipoli", and indeedupto
of investment funds in feature film production over the
last 12 years were provided by government film bodies, with
more than $ 10 million being provided by the Commonwealth.
An experimental film fund was also set up in 1970 under the
Australia Council to develop new talent. Plans were underway
in the same year for the establishment of a national film
and television school, and its first graduates included
Phillip Noyce and Gillian Armstrong, who were later to direct
" Newsfront", and " My Brilliant Career", respectively.
From the point of view of government assistance, and investment
in the industry, the most significant development in the past
year has been the amendment of the Income Tax Assessment
Act to assist film production. In broad terms, the Act now
provides for 150% of expenditure on el'igible films to be
allowed as deduction against income in the year in which the
film is first used to produce assessable income, and an
exemption from taxation of all receipts from the film up to
an amount equal to 50% of an investor's original capital
expenditure. The concession ks, as John Howard has said, not only extremely
generous, but is unparalleled in taxation laws, and as you
know, he will be reviewing its workings with the executiveof the
Film and Television Production Association in due course.
I understand that the industry has settled down now the new
arrangements are in place, and we all look forward to more and
more good films to prove both the wisdom of. the Government's
decision and the talent of your industry.
The present thriving condition of the film industry with 16
feature films currently being made in Australia and a further
11 films projected to commence production early next year,
is not something we can take for granted. But the combinationa 4
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of enthusiasm, talent and experience which the Australian
Film Industry now possesses provides grounds for optimism
about the future, and I am confident that the industry
will make good use of the opportunities which exist to build
a great and strong film industry in Australia in the next
years. 000---