Is ‘Revive’ a ‘game changer’ or more of the same? Whose needs are addressed in Australia’s new cultural policy and what will change?

Abstract

This paper addresses the new Australian cultural policy, Revive, released in January 2023 by the Labor Federal Government. The background to the policy development, the policy’s content, and the likely impact of the policy in the longer term, are all explored. This discussion is framed within theoretical understandings of cultural policies, as well as expectations of national cultural policies in other contexts. Consideration is then given to the role partisan politics play in Australia in relation to culture and the arts. In addition, there is an examination of the historical cultural and political framing of Australia in relation to issues around race, culture, and identity, which include referring to the the results of a recent national referendum. Further, the position of the arts sector in a national context is discussed, with particular reference to the funding decline that has afflicted the sector over the past 20 years. Conclusions are then drawn about the place of Revive in contributing to these different conversations.