新总统对工会的未来感到兴奋

新萄京娱乐的联邦主席 迈克尔犹豫 talks about his life as a performer and the path that has led him to his new role.

When a young 迈克尔犹豫 gave away university to pursue a career as an actor, 他的父母很不高兴.

巴尔克学了两年艺术法 degree at the Queensland University of Technology when he decided he wanted to follow his dream of performing full-time. He waited half a year before plucking up the courage to tell his parents.

二十年后, the gamble has paid off and his parents have become reconciled with his career choice, which also led Balk down the path of activism in his union culminating with his recent election as 新萄京娱乐’s new Federal President.

两个男孩中的一个, Balk says he learnt music and acting as a child in a supportive household on a cattle property on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, but it was an uncle who worked in the screen industry who encouraged him into the industry as a young adult.

Although he has experienced the common ups and downs of the life of a freelance performer, 巴尔克对自己的选择并不后悔. He says he has always seized opportunities when they have presented themselves.

“在艺术领域，你必须是机会主义者，”他说.

“When the wind blows in a particular direction unless you’re attached to a project, 这可能是明智的，你应该填满你的帆，沿着那条路走下去. 我想这就是我努力工作的原因. 我一直很愿意走阻力最小的路.”

第一个突破

His first break was working on a Hollywood produced war-action film being shot on the Gold Coast called 大突袭. 他演了几个小角色, 这段经历也让他近距离看到了一部电影是如何制作的.

而他喜欢在舞台上工作, 住在布里斯班的巴尔克大部分时间都是在镜头前度过的.

For the past decade, he has mostly worked in children’s television on the popular series Dirtgirlworld这部电影继续在大约100个国家上映，还有一部衍生剧， 买脏电视.

Balk’s involvement in in 新萄京娱乐 traces back to his earliest days as a performer, and again he credits his film-maker uncle Philip Hearnshaw for instilling union values in him.

“My uncle, 谁在这个故事的世界里工作和生活, thought that I had the talent and probably the constitution to stick it as an arts worker.

“当我离开家的时候，他给我的第一件东西就是, 是一本他推荐我读的书吗, 其中一本是股票手册.

“And part of that conversation led to if you want to do this professionally, 你希望别人认真对待你, 你需要成为你的专业组织的成员.

“那就是媒体，新萄京娱乐 … In hindsight, joining the union was the best decision I ever made as an arts worker.”

It was not long before Balk had to call on the union to help him in pay and contract disputes.

从那时起，他几乎不自觉地活跃在工会中.

他首先加入了昆士兰分会委员会, 然后当选为昆士兰州股权主席, 这让他在国家表演者委员会获得了一个席位.

In 2020, he was appointed Queensland representative on the national 新萄京娱乐 Board to replace his good friend Jason Klarwein, 谁被选为联邦公平总统.

When Simon Collins decided to retire after eight years as the union’s Federal President, 巴尔克再次被鼓励去竞选这个职位.

他称赞了几位昆士兰的表演者, 包括已故的卡罗尔·伯恩斯，她曾指导他成为一名工会活动家.

“这是有趣的, 回顾我的工会运动轨迹, 当时我没有注意到这是一个轨迹. 一切都很自然.

“But yes, 我可能是被我的几个同事或同志指定的, 并且可能被推向了一个特定的方向, but I had no idea at the time … and I don't feel like it's been that long, or that much distance covered between me being a delegate in Queensland as a young performer, to now.”

雄心勃勃的未来

Balk takes over as Federal President at a time when the union has articulated an ambitious and expansive future.

But he says it is also important for him to maintain continuity of the stability built during Collins’ time as Federal President.

He is excited about the union’s future potential and involving its 16,000 members in achieving that.

“拥有强大的成员, 以及越来越多的成员, we’re going to start to be able to tackle things we’ve never even dreamed of.

“I’m very confident that there is a direct link of impact between the work we do and what happens in our communities. So as storytellers, I think we can start to be a bit more bold in the strategies we take.

“Because what we do in our workplaces, it actually affects and impacts our community. 如果我们做对了，它会产生积极的影响.

“We’ve got a strong leadership team, we’ve got a growing union membership. And with clear strategy and good execution, anything is possible in the next five years.”

最近退休的新萄京娱乐联邦主席西蒙·柯林斯.

在不久的将来, the union is grappling with how to deal with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, 巴尔克说这将影响到媒体的每一个角落, 娱乐及艺术产业. He suggests AI is not necessarily “a death sentence” for the creative industries.

“人工智能是一个挑战，因为我们还没有完全理解它. 没人知道，这是一个新世界.

“这个联盟对人工智能非常有活力, we are working across our sections and with other stakeholders in industry to get a good understanding of what AI is, 它是如何被使用的, 如何使用它, 如果我们没有意识到，什么会影响我们.

“So while it’s a challenge, it’s not going to blindside us, we’re on the front foot.”

还在担任联邦总统的早期, Balk is keen to get around Australia and meet as many members as he can across all sections. 他也不会回避鼓励非会员加入工会.

“我经常被问到的问题是: 工会为我做了什么?

“好吧，我可以列出100件工会为你做的事情. 但这并不是媒体最强大的部分，新萄京娱乐. The most powerful part of what we do as an organisation is what the members can do for … our industries, 对于我们的社区.

“这就是我成为会员的最终原因. 这是为了影响改变，影响我生活的世界.

“如果有人对加入持观望态度, 要知道我们的成员越多, 我们的力量就越大, 我们的影响力就越大.”

He is keen to break down any remaining barriers between different sections of the union so that members can work together for change, 不管他们的实际工作是什么.

他说:“我们都在讲故事。.

“没有什么比一个讲得好的故事更有力量.”