Victorian arts funding: No black hole, just a slow-burning star

The Shadow Arts Minister claims there's a $13.5 million cut to arts funding but the industry says arts funding for big projects is on track.
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The Playhouse at GPAC. Photographer: Trevor Mein.

Heidi Victoria, Victoria’s Shadow Minister for Arts and Culture, has accused the Andrews Government of ‘axing’ $13.5 million from the arts budget over the next three years.

‘[Premier] Daniel Andrews claims to support the arts in Victoria, but when you scratch the surface and look carefully at the budget, it is clear that with Daniel Andrews it’s all talk, and no action,’ Victoria said. ‘There is a $13.5 million cut to the arts in this budget, with programs being axed from next year.’

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts