Paul Fletcher, the Minister for Communications, Cyber-safety and the Arts, is sometimes accused of being more comfortable with technical and telecommunications issues than the ambiguities of creative excellence. So his speech to the Screen Forever conference was a strategic move for an audience which is short on numbers but long on headlines when the threats to culture raise their ugly heads.
Ian Robertson, industry lawyer and President of Film Victoria’s Board, did the farewell honours as Screen Forever moves to Queensland next year, pointed out the scale and solidity of the state government’s support for the sector, and then introduced Fletcher. Like Matthew Deaner, he is genuinely supportive of the new(ish) Minister.
