Page 2662 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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Finally, let me say a little about arts funding. First I must acknowledge the government’s funding for stage 2 of the Belconnen Arts Centre. And while the government has been pussy-footing around this for years, it is welcome and no doubt will present the arts centre with many new opportunities. But there was the story last year of the cut of $750,000 from arts funding.
Perhaps ACT Labor’s 2016 election promise of $750,000 in additional ongoing grants funding was a typographical error. In December the minister was shamed into announcing $248,000 would be reinstated in the program and in February, still red faced, he announced another $230,000. He called it additional funding but in reality it is still $300,000 shy of the amount that was slashed before he became minister.
In summary, the government is stagnating the arts. In real and even actual terms it is going backwards. This government does not recognise the contribution the arts make to the economy, to social capital, to health, to wellbeing and to education. This government has no strategy for the arts. This government pays the arts little more than lip-service.
For all its motherhood statements about support for the arts, how important the arts are and how much the minister wants to consult and talk to the arts community, this government’s on-the-ground commitment to the arts counts for little. For all its glossy arts reports, policy statements and out-of-date strategic plans, full of buzz words and bureaucratese, this government has no strategy for growth in the arts sector. It is as simple as that.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for Regulatory Services, Minister for the Arts and Community Events and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (11.41): I am delighted to speak in support of the Appropriation Bill 2017-18 and in particular the measures in the ACT budget for arts and culture in the territory.
The ACT government acknowledges that investment in the arts contributes to building a city that is creative, that is livable and that is vibrant. A strong and vibrant arts and community events sector is essential to the cultural, social and economic fabric of Canberra. And when the arts are diverse, inclusive and accessible we all benefit. The arts produced in our city, in all of their various forms, disciplines and levels of practice, enrich us all as a society. The new funding measures in this budget, in addition to the existing longstanding commitment to the arts, reflect the great value that the government and our community place on our artists.
The package in the 2017-18 budget for the arts fulfils a number of the government’s key election commitments and demonstrates our commitment to Canberra being a vibrant, diverse and inclusive arts capital. We will be delivering funding to ensure our arts facilities meet the needs of our growing community, both now and well into the future, which is why a significant portion of new funding will go towards improvement works at some of our most popular arts facilities, including the much-loved Belconnen Arts Centre which will be receiving $15 million over the next four years to finalise design and construction of stage 2.
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