Australia’s film industry owes a debt to Gough Whitlam

Publisher: The Conversation (AU)

Abstract:

Filmmakers and audiences – indeed Australian arts and screen culture more broadly – owe a deep debt of gratitude to Gough Whitlam and the government he led.

Although the foundations had been laid by Whitlam’s predecessors John Gorton and Billy McMahon, the Australian film revival of the 1970s only really took shape after Whitlam became Prime Minister in 1972. Whitlam’s government established the Australian Film and Television School (AFTRS) in 1973; included a Film and Television Board as one of the initial specialist panels in the new Australia Council for the Arts; and replaced Gorton’s film support agency, the Australian Film Development Corporation (AFDC), with the Australian Film Commission (AFC) in 1975.

https://theconversation.com/australias-film-industry-owes-a-debt-to-gough-whitlam-33240

Source: Manual