Australia - A Creative Economy?

The notion of the 'creative industries' has gained some purchase in contemporary policy and industry debate in OECD countries and several others, across both the east and west. The term has been in play in Australia since the late 1990s, and there have been some gains around policy thinking and programme roll-out, as well as industry strategy. This paper does not rehearse in any detail the creative industries 'problematic' or the present state of play. Rather, it looks somewhat over the horizon, to the broadening of the debate into one about the conditions for a 'creative economy,' and a few of the key issues presenting for Australia if it is to think itself as such an economy and society. This is essentially the goal of the new Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, of which I am the Director-designate.