Nicholas Building
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:22): My question is to the Minister for Creative Industries. The iconic Art Deco Nicholas Building in the CBD is home to over 200 artists and small creative businesses. Working in these tiny studios you might find independent jewellers, tailors, art galleries, tattoo artists, amongst many other gems. Affordable rents mean it is a space unlike anywhere else anywhere in the country; it is uniquely Melbourne. But it is now also under threat. The building is up for sale, and huge rent increases have already forced many tenants out. The local council and tenants association have approached the state government for assistance a number of times, but their pleas have so far gone unanswered. Will the state government intervene to save the iconic Nicholas Building?
Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Creative Industries) (14:23): I thank the member for her question. I know it is something that she is genuinely interested in, and I have met with the leader of her party and her team in the past about this. I have got to say there is a range of creative workers right through Victoria that we support through our creative infrastructure program. We support creative hubs all around Victoria. We had a $6 million infrastructure program in the last budget to support creative workers’ accommodation needs. Our concern is about favouring one over the broader Victorian community of creative workers, so our interest is in ensuring that all creative workers have a home, not just those in the Nicholas Building. I understand the Nicholas Building has new owners – I am not even sure if the building has been actually sold or if it is in the process of being sold. I understand that there are market forces at play. Our job as the Victorian government is to provide enough capacity for all creative workers around Victoria, from the little Myrtleford town hall where we partnered with the local council to provide opportunities for theatre productions and for musicians to practise and perform, right through to ACMI, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, where we provide creative spaces for games developers. We do this work; we just do not do it for one landowner, we do it across the board.
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:25): Minister, this is a building that the government puts on tourist brochures for Melbourne, and communities like this take decades to build up – they do not just happen overnight. But if nothing is done, this creative community will be lost to Melbourne forever, and what an incredible shame that would be. I am aware that there are a number of options that have been presented to the government. They include the state government buying the building or working with the city council and tenants to look at the other creative solutions that they have come up with. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop this building being sold and turned into a soulless commercial space – we do not want to lose it from our city. Will the minister join me in a visit to the Nicholas Building in person to meet with tenants to hear for himself just how important this unique community is?
Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Creative Industries) (14:26): I thank the member for Melbourne for her question. The member may not be aware that I have been to the Nicholas Building, and I did have a look around, but of course I am happy to meet with Nicholas Building tenants, whether that be in the office or on site. We will have to make arrangements according to the diary. But can I just give the member a couple of examples. I am not saying this because the Nicholas Building tenants are not important – of course they are important – but there are thousands and thousands of creative workers around Victoria. I went to the Goods Shed in Castlemaine in the Speaker’s electorate. We provided capital upgrades for that facility. There is the Footscray Community Arts Centre, Montsalvat in Eltham and the Emporium Creative Hub in Bendigo – $6 million in the last budget. We will do more, but I am happy to meet with the tenants of the Nicholas Building.