The film and television producer's lifeblood is the advertiser-supported broadcast television industry. Cinema, video rentals and pay television also play an important part. But many things affect the industry: the state of the economy; the number of competing channels; the presence or lack of skilled producers and other people to work in the field; and government intervention - tax concessions, production funds, regulations and the like. With the 1996 federal election finally over this last element takes on special significance.

And the film and television industry's situation within the broader spectrum of "culture and the arts", recognised in Minister Michael Lee's new joint Department of Communications and the Arts, means it's destined to play a central role in our lives and in politics. As film and television are the highest profile outlets for creative expression in terms of audience numbers reached it's natural for this particular industry to be dear to the hearts and minds of politicians - just as it is to the advertising industry. Both wish to reach the maximum audience for the minimum dollars, and to change the way you behave - whether selling detergent or the party line. And both interests can also directly and indirectly affect what we see on the large and small screen.

So we have the announcement of another massive film studio project at Essendon in Melbourne to "balance" the 1995 declaration of the Foxtel studios and film theme park at the Sydney Showground. This is on top of earlier grants of a three year, $60 million Commercial Television Production Fund and a four year, $13 million fund for Sydney-based SBS Independent. The government's yearly spend on the ABC, SBS and, indirectly, on Foxtel through Telstra's half share, adds up to nearly one billion dollars of support.

Labor's "$400 million arts super city" circus at Essendon conveniently took up the entire front page of the Melbourne Age and many column inches in other papers pushing aside the Liberal's arts policy statement of the same day. The Liberal's policy - now also firmly committed to maintaining arts funding - has concessions for the industry and, taken together, places screen culture and the arts generally on every party's shopping list.

Life for many in Australia's creative community - artists, performers, musicians, writers, film and television makers and others - is difficult in our relatively small local market - something both parties recognise by their intention to intervene on its behalf. But which stance will best benefit the industry and its audience in the turbulent waters of a rapidly changing media environment is in our hands - when viewers finally become voters.