John Butler Calls On Government To Fund Industry ‘Safety Net’

John Butler will receive Support Act's Excellence In Community Support Award next month and has called on the Federal Government to provide financial backing for the industry organisation.

Marking outstanding efforts in the music industry via charitable works, the award serves to highlight the work of industry support organisation Support Act and has previously been accepted by Jimmy Barnes, Russell Morris, John Paul Youn and Glenn Shorrock amongst others.

Support Act was formed in 1997 and the organisation seeks to provide the most practical support to musicians experiencing crisis, ranging from sudden unemployment, medical emergencies or financial difficulty arising from bereavement. Support Act also provides ongoing assistance and referrals behind the scenes to help musos that are down and out to get their life back on track.

Butler - whose best known chartible work is through industry grant program The Seed - told theMusic.com.au that the industry needs the safety net.

“People who contribute to culture like musicians and artists make a massive contribution. When they do hit times of struggle and are in need I feel we need to acknowledge those years of contribution to our society and our lives and help them out,” he said. “To be self-sustained in the arts industry is tricky and there's no back-up when things are not good anymore. It's also just recognising that the contribution artists make to our lives in so many ways that we can't even begin to calculate.

“It's saying thanks for everything they've done, whether it was doing sound for Cold Chisel in the early days or supporting the whole Sydney Orchestra in a logistics team… It doesn't necessarily have to be Jimmy Barnes or John Butler or Missy Higgins, it could be all those people who are the backbone of this industry. And when someone goes out of they way to go 'Hey thank you, you've hit hard times and we're going to help you out,' to me, that's inspiring. It's what life's about.”

Support Act operates as registered non-profit organisation by contributions from various industry bodies such as ARIA, APRA|AMCOS and PPCA. Volunteers from the music industry staff the everyday operations of the organization but Butler believes the organisation should have a wider scope of contributions – particularly the Government.

“It would be great if there was a federal or government body that recognised some contributions to society and music and art is a massive contribution to our culture. A small contribution from every ticket sold to contribute to Australian culture to support those who have made Australian culture? That doesn't seem so outlandish to me.

“Why should the federal government not think about putting a small portion of the trillions of dollars we make from resources and everything else to the true footprint we'll leave behind?” Butler asked. “Which is not about how good our iron ore is but how good AC/DC was and how good Midnight Oil are and how Jet and Wolfmother rocked the world for even a brief moment in time. That's the contribution that we as Australians leave behind. That's the mark we leave.”

Any financial help from Support Act is granted on an applicant by applicant basis and is available to anyone who has worked at least ten years in a range of music related careers, ranging from performers and songwriters to journalists and tech crew.

The Music In The House luncheon and fundraiser for Support Act is on Tuesday 13 November at NSW Parliament House, Sydney from noon. MP Nathan Rees will host the event while Men At Work's Colin Hay will provide a keynote address. Attendance is open to the public and tickets are $150 per head – including pre-lunch drinks, a three course meal and an acoustic performance from John Butler.

Bookings can be made online, tickets will not be available on the day.

The John Butler Trio will also be performing at the Peats Ridge and Woodford Folk festivals this year.

Interview by Alex Wilson