Page 2712 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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Talking about the government’s role as a landlord, I will move on to the government’s plans for the Fitters Workshop, which has certainly been in the news. I am very pleased to see a substantial amount of money set aside for the relocation of Megalo to the kind of facilities that they deserve. Megalo are a vibrant, productive organisation; I am sure they will make a considerable contribution to the creative amenity of the Kingston foreshore. I believe that there must be a win-win solution out there for the Fitters Workshop, Megalo, the music community and in fact the whole ACT community—one that gives Megalo the space it needs and also lets musicians use the unique acoustic space in the Fitters Workshop.
We have so few really used heritage buildings that it would be really great if we could see this one used in effectively its current configuration rather than being extensively adapted to another use. It has been very distressing to see Canberra’s small arts community split over this issue when, once the musical issues and the unique acoustic was discovered, the government could have stepped in and addressed the problems instead of waiting for them to come to the head they seem to have come to now.
I note that the government is now reviewing the master plan for the Kingston foreshore cultural precinct, given the decision last year to retain the former transport depot adjacent to the Fitters Workshop. Yet it seems that it has not decided to revise the use of the Fitters Workshop and whether it is being put to its optimal use through this planning. I second the estimates committee recommendation to finish this process before prejudging it by building at the Fitters Workshop.
I remind members present that this possible loss of a prized music venue is hot on the heels of the demolition of McGregor Hall less than 12 months ago. The government has made no move to address the hole that that demolition has left in Canberra’s music or dance performance scenes. I will take this opportunity to remind members of the fact that Canberra has a dearth of mid-sized performance venues that are accessible and affordable to a wide variety of organisations and artists. There is a real lack of dedicated and permanent dance rehearsal and performance spaces and venues where organisations are able to supply alcohol and access kitchens.
It was heartening to hear the Chief Minister say on talkback radio last week that the challenge for the government now is to find a venue of substantially equal quality as the Fitters Workshop for parties excluded by the Megalo relocation. But that is a sentiment which is, unfortunately, not reflected in this budget. The previous Chief Minister repeatedly suggested that the Albert Hall would make a good replacement for music groups to use for performance. However, through a question on notice in the estimates process I discovered that the government will be spending $3.2 million on refurbishing the Albert Hall, which is great, but sadly none of this funding is for the improvement of the acoustics at the hall, rendering it imperfect for many of the music groups who find themselves short of venues. This means that the government is spending $7.1 million on the two venues, but neither of these is appropriate for choral or classical groups’ needs.
While I welcome the funding for the scoping study on arts hubs, it seems like a poor and tardy reflection of the recommendations of the Loxton report, to which the government has not yet responded, unfortunately. It is also a real possibility that the
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