Govt spends $3m to deal with deteriorating heads

Given the malign influence of George Brandis on the arts, it is a pleasure to report a good news story from his department.
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Image: John Curtin making a speech in London. 

The Attorney-General’s Department has just announced that it will spend $3m on preserving the audio-visual records held on magnetic tape by the National Archives of Australia. While magnetic tape is pretty resistant to decay, they can only be played back on tape heads, which are wearing out and increasingly difficult to replace. The issue is highlighted in the Deadline 2025 – collections at risk report created by the National Film and Sound Archive. 

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.