Mr McMULLAN (9:48 AM) —My concern today is that poor Indigenous communities and families are being denied access to tens of thousands of dollars to which they are properly entitled by the continuing failure of the Howard government to take action which they acknowledge they should take. Over the years many of us have campaigned for the introduction into Australia of a scheme of resale royalties for visual artists. This would mean that artists would share in the increased value of the art they have created. But the government will not act.

In recent years the government have received a recommendation that they should introduce such a scheme. But the Howard government have failed to act. It is a great disappointment that once again the government’s legislative wish list for this session does not include this important proposal. In the last term the government commissioned a report by Rupert Myer into the visual arts, and this issue was on his agenda. No Australian would be more aware of the interests of those who purchase art than Rupert Myer. Having assessed the evidence, Rupert Myer recommended in a very good report the introduction of such a scheme. But still the government will not act. They are putting out discussion papers but they will not act.

In principle the case is clear, but clear examples have not been easy to establish. In recent times two stark examples have been illustrated—first, the case of the late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. His work Emu Corroboree sold in July for $411,750. This was his very first painting for the Pupunya Tula movement. When first sold, its great significance as a precursor of Australia’s greatest contemporary art movement was not appreciated. Therefore, I am advised that it originally sold for $100. Now it has resold for over $411,000 and his family and estate get no benefit from that increased value.

Similarly, reports suggest that the Rover Thomas painting Barramundi Dreaming is expected to sell later this month for more than $1 million. It was originally purchased for just $1,500. The people who bought that art in the first place did nothing wrong, and in selling it now they are doing nothing wrong—they bought at the market price and they are selling at the market price. The failure is of the Howard government not to join the majority of other developed countries in the world and have a resale royalty scheme so that not just Indigenous artists—it is not just Indigenous artists; they are just the starkest examples—but all Australian visual artists can share in the increased value that their art creates. Other artists get that benefit through copyright. We need that sort of benefit for visual artists. These two stark examples show that tens of thousands of dollars of earned income could have flowed to these families. We complain about a culture of dependency, but when they earn money we do not create the framework for them to get the benefit. (Time expired)