Ms Hoare asked the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, upon notice, on 19 March 2003:

(1) Does the Minister's Department administer any Commonwealth funded programs for which community organisations, businesses or individuals in the electoral division of Charlton can apply for funding; if so, what are the programs.

(2) Does the Minister's Department advertise these funding opportunities; if so, (a) what print or other media outlets have been used for the advertising of each of these programs, (b) were these paid advertisements, and if so, (c) what was the cost of each advertisement.

(3) With respect to each of the Commonwealth funded programs referred to in part (1), (a) what is its purpose and (b) who is responsible for allocating funds.

(4) With respect to each of the Commonwealth funded programs referred to in part (1), how many (a) community organisations, (b) businesses or (c) individuals in the electoral division of Charlton received funding in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, and (iv) 2002.

(5) What is the name and address of each recipient.

Mr McGauran (Minister for Science) —The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts offers the residents of the electorate of Charlton a wide range of benefits across both its cultural and information and communications program streams. These various programs are described in this answer so that they correspond with the structure of the department.

ARTS AND SPORT

Touring Programs

(1) Yes

Playing Australia

Festivals Australia

Contemporary Music Touring Program

(2) Yes

(a) Each program has two grant rounds per year. A paid block advertisement is placed in all major metropolitan dailies, including The Weekend Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald. These advertisements, under the heading of `Cultural Touring Grants' appear either in the early general news section or the arts pages, usually in late May and late October, after the announcement of successful applicants for the previous round.

Festivals Australia rounds are also advertised in more than 60 regional newspapers, 21 of them in New South Wales, including the Newcastle Herald and the Maitland Mercury. This program is also advertised in the NSW & ACT, Special Events Directory. Advertisements are also placed in a number of local government publications on an ad hoc basis.

Additional advertisements for the Contemporary Music Touring Program are placed in a selection of `street press' and music industry journals.

Information on all programs is accessible off the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts website. State and Territory arts ministries, and Regional Arts Organisations, provide information on the programs via their own publications and/or via website links.

(b) Newspaper advertising is paid advertising. Some local government publication advertising is free, as is website information.

(c) These are approximate figures for national advertising, and include GST.

Major newspapers

Cultural Touring Programs

$26,757 per annum

Regional newspapers

Festivals Australia

$15,554 per annum

Street press/music industry publications

Contemporary Music Touring Program only

$3,196 (2002/03)

(3) (a) Playing Australia is the Commonwealth Government's National Performing Arts Touring Program. It is designed to assist the touring of performing arts across State and Territory boundaries where this is currently not commercially viable and there is a demonstrated public demand.

Festivals Australia is a funding program designed to assist the presentation of arts and cultural activities at Australian regional and community festivals. The emphasis is on supporting projects, which add to the quality and diversity of the arts and cultural programming of a festival.

The Contemporary Music Touring Program aims to develop viable touring opportunities within Australia for Australian musicians, and to increase audience access to live Australian contemporary music, particularly in rural and regional Australia.

(b) Expert technical committees, broadly representative of the sector, make recommendations after assessing applications in each round. These are forwarded to the Minister for the Arts and Sport for consideration and approval.

(4) One local government organisation received funding under the Festivals Australia Program in 2000.

(5) Toronto Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc

PO Box 382

TORONTO NSW 2283

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Networking the Nation

(1) Yes - community organisations could apply for funding through the Commonwealth Networking the Nation (NTN) program. However, individuals and for-profit businesses were not eligible NTN applicants.

(2) Yes

(a) The Department advertises NTN programs through both paid and non-paid advertisements made through media outlets and standard departmental sources, eg the website and Information Kits.

(b) With the exception of editorials where promotional information was provided to media outlets, advertisements were paid for by the Department.

(c) In view of the wide variety of regional and national newspapers used for advertising the NTN Programs, and because the Programs have been running for many years (11 funding rounds have been held), I am not prepared to answer, as considerable time and resources would be required to provide the answer to this element of the question.

(3) (a) The objective of Networking the Nation is to assist the economic and social development of regional, rural and remote Australia by funding projects which:

enhance telecommunications infrastructure and services in regional, rural and remote areas;

increase access to, and promote use of, services available through telecommunications networks in regional, rural and remote areas; or

reduce disparities in access to such services and facilities between Australians in regional, rural or remote areas and those in urban areas.

`Regional, rural and remote areas' are any areas located outside the capital city of each State or Territory.

(b) The NTN Board approves funding, which is then released in instalments through funding Deeds administered between recipients and the NTN Secretariat in Canberra.

(4) No NTN projects benefited only the electoral division of Charlton.

(a) Five NTN projects were managed by organisations based in the electoral division of Charlton. All of these projects benefited the broader Hunter region, including the electoral division of Charlton.

(i) 3

(ii) 4

(iii) 3

(iv) 3

(b) NA

(c) NA

(5) Hunter Telemedicine project

Hunter Area Health Service

Lookout Road

NEW LAMBTON NSW 2305

Hunter Tourism E-Commerce project

Hunter Regional Tourism Organisation

Level 1

45 Hunter Street

NEWCASTLE NSW 2300

Hunter Internet Access Exchange project

Hunter Internet Access Exchange

Unit 2

80 Grinsell Street

KOTARA NSW 2289

Hunter Region Online project

Newcastle & Hunter Business Chamber

475 Hunter Street

NEWCASTLE NSW 2302

Networking the Hunter IT Coordinator project

Hunter Economic Development Corporation

Level 3

251 Wharf Road

NEWCASTLE NSW 2300.