Page 3036 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 September 2014
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If we have the government schools, the independent schools, the Catholic schools and the chaplain employing agency all saying the same thing then I think it is absolutely incumbent on me to put that argument to the commonwealth to make sure that the Catholics and the independents who currently employ secular workers—the bulk of the secular workers actually sit within the Catholic and independent schools—should be afforded their choice to continue what they want.
Arts—funding
MS BERRY: My question is to the Minister for the Arts. Minister, could you update the Assembly on the ACT government’s funding to the arts and cultural life of the territory through the ACT arts fund?
MS BURCH: I thank Ms Berry for her interest in the arts. The ACT arts fund is one of the main ways that the ACT government provides direct support to the arts. Through the fund we provide more than $5 million to support the artistic aspirations of our community. The fund supports high-quality work across a broad range of art forms and practices, including funds for key arts organisations and the ACT book of the year.
There are 20 key arts organisations that support circus, dance, literature, music, theatre, visual arts and community cultural development and access. There are eight program organisations that support film, music, visual arts and a festival focusing on young and emerging artists.
Out-of-round funding supports 10 to 15 artists per year to undertake important national or international professional development. From time to time, the fund also supports a range of important government initiatives, including the Asialink international arts residency program, the Arts Law Centre of Australia for legal support to ACT artists, and the Fringe Festival.
In addition, the project fund supports more than 40 applications each year and is highly regarded by the community as our local artists seek to pursue their artistic aspirations. It supports ACT artists, groups and organisations to undertake one-off arts activities that enhance their professional development and provide opportunities for members of the community to participate in the arts.
Today I was pleased to announce the latest round of project fund recipients. This ensures that the ACT community has access to a broad range of arts activities and facilities across Canberra. This is done through the work of staff across the ACT’s arts organisations and facilities who support independent artists to present strong proposals and pursue innovative and exciting projects. It is also done with the support of the ACT arts community, who volunteer to take part in peer assessment panels to provide independent expert advice on applications to the arts fund.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Berry.
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