Time to cut the nonsense
BY now most of you will have heard about the announcements made last Thursday of sweeping public-sector cuts and the formation of several “super” departments.
The decision to abolish the Arts Department in this merger is nothing short of astounding. The new Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is apparently designed to cut bureaucratic red tape. As a fiction writer, this sounds to me like the start of a great horror story where Australian arts and culture are the victim.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to drop the arts from this new super department worries many in the sector, not only due to the potential cultural ramifications to metropolitan and regional centres, but also due to economic benchmarks. From the Government’s own statistics for 2016-17, the arts contributed more than $111 billion to the
Australian economy (6.4 per cent of GDP) and comprised more than 8 per cent of the workforce.
This decision illustrates the importance Morrison’s Government currently places on arts and culture moving forward.
What does this mean for the youth dance organisation whose shows take your breath away, the local arts group that organises your favourite yearly event, or the local gallery where your friend had her paintings shown? The answers are unclear currently, but there are red flags everywhere.
The arts still bear the scars and traumas of the last dark ages of funding cuts under the Turnbull government. The worry is, this decision could result in more funding cuts, defunding of peak arts bodies, pressures on individual artists and small to medium arts organisations, and arts and culture being left out of national federal policy making.
Over the past month RANT has been in Canberra, meeting with the Department of Communications and the Arts about the Regional Arts Fund. I cannot speak highly enough about the hard work, passion and enthusiasm demonstrated by the department’s staff.
In the days leading up to the announcement, the Creative Regions National Summit was hosted at Parliament House. I saw Tasmanian Sinsa Mansell captivate national arts leaders and Arts Minister Paul Fletcher reaffirm “the Australian Government’s enduring support for the sector and our commitment to provide all Australians with access to cultural and creative activities”.
This decision comes as a shock to many and affects everyone who watches Australian films or television, reads Australian authors, visits a gallery or festival, or has friends and family involved with the arts as either participant or practitioner.
I urge everyone to take the advice given by our Federal Arts Minister at the Creative Regions summit about contacting politicians to talk about the arts: “Seize every opportunity to speak to parliamentarians in both chambers, the Senate and the Reps. Speak to them across all parties, to independents — and speak to them about the great work you are doing.”
Take to social media, sign a petition or head to RANT Arts website to download our letter template and let your voice be heard. Nathan Tucker is co-director of RANT, a not-for-profit arts organisation that administers the Regional Arts Fund in Tasmania.