There was a bit of a thread on social media at the peak of COVID: 'What was the last gig you went to before the lockdowns?' Well, mine was a sold-out performance at the Enmore Theatre by Julia Jacklin, with her excellent bass player, my son Harry—and what a performance! But two days later the tour was over and they were coming home to be housebound. By contrast, I went to my first COVID gig a few weeks ago, at the Lansdowne—again, to see my son play—but this time it was a much more intimate audience, and, while it was wonderful to be able to see him, with singer Ruben Neeson, it was one of those moments that brought home to me again the profound effect this virus is having—on some groups more than others. Musicians, actors, visual artists, filmmakers, set designers, set makers, costume makers, circus performers, scriptwriters, lighting teams and buskers saw their income evaporate overnight when the COVID pandemic restrictions came into force. They are among the hardest hit but they are not the only ones. We're starting to see music return to small venues like the Avalon in Katoomba and The Church Bar in Windsor, among others, and performances with smaller numbers at bigger venues like The Joan and the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub at Springwood, but it's going to be a long time before we can call it a vibrant music or theatre scene locally.

While I don't doubt the personal interests of those opposite in the arts, I don't think this government really understands the breadth of the support that's needed to sustain our creatives through thi