Proposals for National Initiatives in Music Education

Submission to the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Peter Garrett MP, and other Ministers

Prepared by Richard Letts
October 26, 2011

This paper takes a throughline from early childhood music education to postgraduate training in the formal education systems and in the less clear parallel universe of community based music education.

Convergence Review

Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and Digital Services

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
October 31, 2011

In its third submission to the Convergence Review as it progresses, the Music Council agrees with the ten principles put forward by the government to guide the review, which include an objective of sustaining Australian content on broadcast platforms.

Proposals for a National Cultural Policy

Submission to the Minister for the Arts, the Hon Simon Crean MP

Prepared by Dr Richard Letts
October 21, 2011

This document was written in response to a general invitation to suggest components of a new National Cultural Policy. The Minister for the Arts provided a Discussion Paper which frame some of the government’s priorities. While acknowledging the intrinsic values of the arts, it very much emphasises their instrumental values in achieving outcomes for the economy, social inclusion and cohesion and others and by this means, involving the whole of government in supporting the arts.

Productivity Commission Draft Research Report on the Early Childhood Development Workforce

Submission to the Productivity Commission

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
September 7, 2011

This submission responds to the Productivity Commission’s recent report on its inquiry into the Early Childhood Development Workforce.

Negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement between Australia and India

Submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
September 6, 2011

In this submission, the Music Council reiterates its position that culture should be excluded from free trade agreements, where it is vulnerable to be traded off to cultural disadvantage in favour of non-cultural benefits. The MCA makes extensive reference to Australia’s commitments under the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to which it is a signatory.

National Classification System Review

Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
June 21 2011

In this submission, the Music Council states that it considers the current mix of mechanisms that comprise the national classification scheme as it relates to music have worked effectively for industry, government and the general public. The Music Council is keen to see such amendments to the current system as may be deemed appropriate and necessary continue to deliver accessible and easily understood content advice to consumers that enables them to exercise choice consistent with their individual standards, not act as a de facto censorship regime, facilitate Australians’ access to the widest range possible of material from here and abroad and underpin the flourishing of the arts in Australia.

Review of Private Sector Support for the Arts

Submission to the Office of the Arts, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

Prepared by Lynn Gailey and Dr Richard Letts AM
July 15, 2011

The Discussion Paper for the Reviews states that it is to be ‘an important element in the development and implementation of a national cultural policy’. The MCA response notes this broader context and notes the need, in that case, to consider the place of private sector support in the totality of income sources for the arts.

Convergence Review Framing Paper

Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
June 15 2011

The Convergence Review is proceeding in a number of steps. The Framing Paper put forward a number of principles and invited comment. For instance, Principle 1 is that Australians should have access to a variety of voices, views and information.

The New Narrative for Classical Music

This paper was written to implement one of the recommendations of the MCA’s Classical Music Summit of July 2010. At the time of posting, it is not directed at any particular government or other entity. Rather, its purpose is to guide advocacy by the classical music sector into the immediate future.

Higher Education Base Funding Review

Submission to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Virtually all of Australia’s public tertiary music institutions are in financial deficit. In Australia, the academic disciplines are assigned to one of eight ‘funding clusters’ depending upon the supposed cost of delivering their instruction programs. Music is assigned to Cluster 5, along with Allied Health, Clinical Psychology, Languages and the other arts. This does not take into account the costs incurred by music programs that are not borne by the other disciplines: providing individual lessons and a great deal of small group instruction, the presentation of a public performing program with associated facilities, production and administration costs, the instruction in and use of music technologies and so on.

Higher Education Base Funding Review. Supplementary Submission: The Music Education of Primary School Teachers by University Faculties of Education

Submission to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

One of the issues raised by the Review is that of equity of access. The issue of equity of access to a tertiary music education begins in the preschool years and is especially problematical in primary school. Primary schools serving the affluent are likely to have effective music programs and other primary schools are not. There is great inequity and this makes it much less likely that students from low SES background will pass university entrance criteria in music.

Submission to the Review of Funding for Schooling

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Prepared by Richard Letts
March 27, 2011

This brief submission concerns more effective use of the available recurrent funding.

Implementation of the National Curriculum will require that teachers are competent to deliver it to students. Especially at the primary school level, leaders from many disciplines complain that the current workforce is not capable of delivering the present curriculum in their respective areas. The introduction of a new curriculum will only add challenge to teacher competency.

Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network

Submission to the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications

Prepared by Richard Letts with input from the MCA’s Working Group for Strategic Use of the NBN in Music Education (Anna Howell, Steve Dillon, Jane Law, Bradley Merrick, Mandy Stefanakis), Lynn Gailey and Nick O’Byrne
February 25, 2011

This is not so much an advocacy document as a description of possible uses of the NBN for music education at all levels and of the impact of the internet to date on the music sector and the possible additional impact, positive and negative, of the NBN.

Inquiry into the Education and Training Workforce: Early Childhood Development

Submission to the Productivity Commission

Prepared by Dr Peter de Vries and Dr Richard Letts
January 31, 2011

The submission reviews the context for early childhood education (children 0 – 8 years of age) provision. It argues for the value of early childhood education in music and looks at the minute amount of mandatory training in music given to early childhood teachers. It makes ten recommendations with special emphasis on the training of the workforce both in the preservice university education and in professional development for the existing workforce.

Read the Submission

Terms of Reference, the Convergence Review

Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
January 28, 2011

The Music Council comments on the draft terms of reference. The Council gives broad support but notes that four other reviews with bearing on the Convergence Review are underway, as well as number of international trade negotiations. It notes also the relevance of Australian content regulations, a matter of special interest to the Australian music industry. The government has signed to the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions which also implies a number of obligations for Australian culture. The intersections of all of these concerns should be addressed in the Convergence Review.