Prime Minister Scott Morrison was joined by musician Guy Sebastian to announce the new 'JobMaker' funding plan that will see a $250 million dollar funding boost for the arts sector.
"Our JobMaker plan is getting their show back on the road, to get their workers back in jobs," Morrison said.
The funding will be broken down in four groups.
There will be $75 million worth of grants to organise new festivals, concerts and tours, $90 million for concessional loans to aid new local productions, $50 million to give resources to local film and television producers to begin filming again and $35 million to government funded organisations like theatre, dance, circus and music bodies.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young took to Twitter welcoming any funding to the arts but said the $250 million isn’t enough.
She wrote on Twitter, “But to be honest, it falls well short of what is needed to save jobs. Morrison found $700m for his Home Reno scheme, but Arts, the industry hardest hit gets less than half of that. What the?!”
Guy Sebastian was seen standing alongside Mr Morrison while he made his announcement - a move that proved contentious.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson welcomed Sebastian’s inclusion in the announcement.
She said on Twitter, “Thank you @GuySebastian for being such a positive advocate for the Australian arts and entertainment industry. You’ve made a real difference. Your collective voice matters.”
Sebastian also received praise for helping to secure the funding by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
In a tweet they wrote, “Thanks to @GuySebastian for stepping up and helping to secure millions of dollars of assistance for the arts and music industry in Australia.”
But others weren’t so pleased by his addition in the press conference.
Twitter user Belinda Jones wrote on Twitter, “It's not good enough, demand better.”
There are 645,000 arts workers in Australia. If the Jobmaker funding of $250 million was divided equally among the arts sector it would amount to $387.59 per worker.
Others have been more understanding, suggesting people “calm down their farm” over Sebastian.
