Guy Sebastian fights back against Federal Government, said he was 'used as a prop' for Arts Funding Package

Last year, Guy Sebastian infamously stood with Scott Morrison as he announced a new $250 million arts fund, which was supposed to support the arts and entertainment industries during the main force of the pandemic. As of October last year, no businesses in the music industry had received the support package. Hence it was heavily criticised by key industry figures, both for its poor rollout and inadequate size. Guy Sebastian was criticised heavily by the music industry for his presence during the press conference and initially defended his appearance.

Today, in a conversation with the Herald Sun, former Australian Idol champion, Voice Host, and cult pop icon Guy Sebastien has reflected on the incident, and has felt "embarrassed" about being used throughout the announcement. In the piece, he stated, “genuinely thought something would happen”, upon further realising he was used “as a prop for the government”.

“I’ve asked for updates, everything they gave me was about the RISE grant and things have been allocated to Support Act. But no one seems to have followed through on their words or had any plans for insurance for people putting on musicals or concerts. It’s not working, obviously," he told the Herald Sun.

“I’m not speaking from an uneducated platform. I’ve directly watched the musicians in my band be in a position now where there’s no Government help, no JobKeeper, no finance. What are they going to do?”

You can read the full story via the Herald Sun here.

Image via Matt Blyth

Words by PARRY TRITSINIOTIS

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