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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (21 May) . . Page.. 497 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

Mr Humphries did indicate in the course of the last election campaign that some of that increase would be lost. However, I suspect, because of some of the decisions that the Chief Minister is taking, that the budget will actually increase; that there will not be a loss. Chief Minister, you will not have any complaint from me if the arts budget is overspent.

Ms Carnell: Everyone else would complain.

MR WOOD: That is a fair point too. This morning I stood up in a debate and pointed to deficiencies in the delivery of some of the social services in this place, so there is an overriding budget imperative. There are competing priorities, and I must acknowledge that.

The book I referred to was launched across the way here in the Playhouse, which is next to the museum. These are significant new venues. I take this opportunity to congratulate all those people who have been responsible for their construction. I think it shows that the architects, the engineers, the project managers, the construction people, the managers, and the proprietors of those firms in Canberra are capable of doing a wonderful job. I think we have two outstanding facilities there. They were part of a very substantial public works program arising out of the casino premium, which I think is pretty substantially completed. Perhaps there is some money to be expended on an Aboriginal heritage centre. There are also works at Tuggeranong, Woden and Hawker as a result of that money.

That works program is complete; but, in fact, it opens up for us a challenge because, after all, they are only buildings. I am confident that the people who work in those buildings, the people who manage them and the performers who move into them will see that they are fully and completely used. But let us remember that they are but buildings. At the same time I want to suggest that over the future period some more capital works in the arts areas ought to be considered. Let me first hasten to tell people, lest some say there has already been a lot of capital expenditure on the arts, that expenditure on the arts nowhere near matches expenditure on sports. It nowhere near matches it even though we have been spending a deal on it recently. That is the case with government expenditure, as it is, sadly, with private sponsorship. People seem to move very strongly into sport sponsorships but, with only a few exceptions, do not do so to the same degree in the arts.

I think that in the future, on our capital works program, we could look at a recital hall at the School of Music. That proposal has been around. It has been tentatively on the list at some stage or other for some time, I am told. We recently funded to the extent of $2m an exhibition gallery at the National Gallery of Australia. We are providing $12m, or something like that, for the Museum of Australia; so we do set a precedent of providing funds to national bodies. When I go to concerts at the Llewellyn Hall I think 90 per cent or more of the people attending are Canberra citizens or people who live near Canberra.

There have been plans around for a long time for a combined arts access facility. I think that will emerge in due course. I understand that there are discussions about that under way now at some level. Let me give a plug to Studio-One. I think it is one of the outstanding print-making facilities in Australia. It does some wonderful work.

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