The 1990s and 2000s are routinely identified as an era of deregulation, globalisation and neoliberalism as successive Australian governments have progressively "open up" the Australian economy to international competition, ending industry assistance, eliminating remaining tariffs and encouraging exports. The neo-liberal decade of economic growth due to the mining boom in Quarry Australia coupled to an authoritarian nationalism with its tacit white supremacism, hostility to cultural difference and xenophobia ended with the global financial crisis in 2008.
This process of internationalisation was seen as restricting Australia's national culture in that it was in danger of becoming an add on that existed the margins of the global art culture. Australia's visual culture was not seen as particularly distinctive in global art market terms. The national publishing industry was also impacted given the increasing dominance of multinational conglomerates and that meant fewer photo book opportunities for contemporary photography given the overseas publications being privileged over Australian ones. It also meant increasing exposure to the art movement flowing strongly through the old art centers of cities such as London, New York, and Paris; cities that for centuries, have been the engine rooms of modern art.
Photography is a niche market in the various art biennales of contemporary art held around the world, especially for the humble photography that is ‘specific, small-scale and modest’ in contrast to the spectacular works at the top end of the global art market and in televisual media.