For nearly 30 years I have been active in my union, the Equity section of MEAA. In that time Ive been part of huge campaigns to improve the lives of members. Paid rehearsals, wages above the poverty line, the creation of a star system through the Imported Artists Policy which has seen so many people have international careers, residual payments, health and safety codes which have drastically reduced the numbers of people killed and seriously injured at work and countless successful lobbying efforts to get support for our industries by governments. 15 years ago I was part of a team which developed the Equity Policy for Working With Children. Over the decades, laws and government policies have been created to protect children from people who work with them in a custodial or care situation. In our industry, almost uniquely, we have people of various ages, including children, who work together but where there is no custodial or care relationship. Until Equity created the Policy for Working With Children, there were no guidelines as to what constitutes appropriate behaviour. There now are. In the matter of Robert Hughes and the children working on Hey Dad!, even the kinds of behaviours which Mr Hughes claimed as innocent would have been clear breaches of the code of conduct under the Equity Policy for Working With Children. Equitys policy wasnt there to protect the children on Hey Dad! and for that we must all accept some responsibility. It is there now and I believe it is as vital and profound a result for performers as any of the achievements by our union.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 23:56:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015