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Ahead of the NSW election, we’ve published policy statements from all the major parties with their plans for the arts if they’re elected. Here’s a summary of how they compare with each other.
For galleries, museums and libraries
Labor have stated that they will leave the Powerhouse where it is in Ultimo and thus save $1.5 billion. That money won’t stay in the bank long though, as they promise $500 million to fund a new cultural institution in Western Sydney which they believe will ‘give the people of Western Sydney the opportunity to express their unique voice’.
The Liberals on the other hand promise to bring a Museum of Design and Fashion to Ultimo while building ‘Australia’s greatest art gallery’ with the Sydney Modern project to enhance the Art Gallery of NSW. They also point to the funding of a $57 million expansion of the Australian Museum’s exhibition spaces and $9 million for a significant new gallery to house the collection at Bundanon Trust, Arthur Boyd’s gift to the state. Their budget for the Powerhouse puts it at ‘$645 million for the new Museum at Parramatta, an expansion of the Museum Discovery Centre at Castle Hill’.
The Greens are looking beyond Sydney for inspiration, pointing to the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre as an example of ‘an important space in the community; somewhere people can gather, learn and appreciate art in all its forms’. They want to boost ‘investment in art at the regional and local level’ to build up support for artists and organisations in the regions.
For Libraries, current Arts Minister Don Harwin is standing on the government’s record, pointing to their injection of funds into public libraries with an additional $60 million for public libraries over four years. That figure of $60 million is the same as Labor has on the table, so no great win for libraries either way. While the NSW Greens don’t call out libraries specifically they talk about adding exhibition spaces to regional libraries and galleries.
Big promises for theatre
Interestingly Labor makes a particular promise of funding theatre with a $15 million package to support playwrights and theatrical productions including $2 million for Urban Theatre Projects, $1.86 million to revitalise Belvoir Street, and a special one-off boost for Playwriting Australia to ‘foster the work of NSW writers with disabilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, First Nations people, LBQTIQ people and people from rural and regional NSW’.
The latter looks like a generous offer but dividing it between a diverse range of writers could prove difficult. There’s also a drive to create a National Aboriginal Theatre, which will collaborate with the state’s Indigenous people but will also require support from Federal Labor (contingent on them being elected federally).
Labor’s push for transparency on funding
Unsurprisingly, Labor would review the funding decisions of the previous government if they were elected. This is a response to arts sector outrage over funding decisions by the existing government, so Labor are calling for ‘a comprehensive independent review’ of all the decisions.
It’s a commitment the NSW Greens have also made, calling for a ‘parliamentary inquiry into the way in which decisions are made regarding the granting of arts and cultural funding programs’.
More women in the screen industry
The Greens are keen to commit to increasing funding for Screen Australia’s Gender Matters taskforce to support greater participation of women in the screen industry. They were critical of the merger of Screen NSW with Arts NSW saying it has meant that the state’s screen industries ‘lost valuable expertise and staff, with ongoing funding cuts leading to a dearth of talent across the state’.
The government defend their reputation for funding film with over $30 million in incentives for the Made in NSW and Regional Film incentives, which have funded big studio productions such as Peter Rabbit and Marvel superhero films. While the big productions do create jobs they don’t always create more Australian films.
After the election?
Of course, all of these are the promises of parties trying to become governments. There are some impressive millions promised but after the election will they be delivered?
The promise of a National Aboriginal Theatre offers much to the arts sector and Australia but, obviously, requires commitment by a Federal government. While state politicians might seek to distance themselves from the mistakes of their Federal colleagues, the NSW election will be a bellwether for the national election later in the year. So far, for the arts, there are promises of positive change.
Read the full story: Minister Don Harwin outlines his arts election promises
Read the full story: NSW shadow arts minister presents Labor’s future plan
