Canberra’s creative economy is currently depressed, taking time to bounce back after COVID-19 with funding going predominantly to infrastructure projects rather than directly to creative activities. With that in mind, the Canberra Liberals’ policy for the arts and creative industries in the ACT for the 2024 election aims to draw on and highlight the existing arts excellence in the ACT and ensure it continues to develop and grow.
We recognise that the arts are essential to a healthy society. They offer a profound means of self-expression and creativity, allowing individuals to explore and communicate complex emotions and ideas. They offer empathy and understanding, bridging cultural and social gaps. The arts also play a crucial role in preserving and reflecting our cultural heritage, providing insight into the values, struggles and aspirations of our community though our shared history. Moreover, they stimulate intellectual and emotional growth, challenging conventional thinking and encouraging innovation.
Beyond individual benefits, the arts contribute to economic development through job creation, commerce and tourism. In essence, the arts enrich our lives by enhancing our quality of life, promoting societal cohesion, and inspiring personal and collective transformation. Their presence in society is not merely a luxury, but a fundamental component that nurtures creativity, fosters community and drives progress.
The Canberra Liberals are committed to backing our arts and creative industries by investing an additional $4.4 million over four years. This is on top of existing programs: in other words, real growth in the arts budget.
In comparison, in 2022-23, the ACT Government allocated approximately $859 million for arts and cultural institutions (including infrastructure). However, funding for the arts sector is projected to decrease over the forward estimates, with a budget of $783 million in 2025-26.
Furthermore, and for too long, the Labor Government has combined arts and infrastructure spending to artificially inflate the so-called arts spend. We are committed to actually increasing arts spending to the benefit of individual creatives, and of arts and cultural organisations and venues. This will help to keep creatives here in the ACT and offer them sustainable practice.
With that said, a Canberra Liberals Government will support our local artists by offering immediate financial relief through a one-off 10% increase in grants, and guaranteed future indexation, to directly support local artists and small-scale venues, ensuring their sustainability and growth. As we all know, a thriving arts community helps boost our local economy. By promoting arts tourism and integrating arts into urban planning, the policy drives significant economic benefits, attracting high-value tourists who stay longer, spend more and support local businesses.
Our policy will enhance community engagement with the arts. Starting the process with feasibility studies for the development of new arts centres in Woden and Molonglo, alongside enhancements to existing facilities, provides more spaces for community activities, fostering a vibrant cultural life and stronger community bonds. And we will also support existing cultural institutions, by supporting the expansion of the Canberra Theatre and the Kingston Arts Precinct – which, by the way, has been mishandled by the Labor Greens Government over a long period of time (since 2006).
We recognise that long-term certainty is vital for a healthy arts community. We will work to ensure funding sustainability through data collection and robust oversight mechanisms. We want to make sure that there is proper transparency and accountability in funding, and that the funding supports creative activities and not just infrastructure. By doing so, we will foster trust and long-term commitment to the arts.
The Canberra Liberals genuinely value our arts and cultural organisations. We will be supporting our arts and cultural organisations and venues with a one-off boost to funding of 10% and providing financial support to small-scale independent venues to build employment opportunities for local creatives. Our ‘Investing in our Arts and Creative Industries’ policy delivers on our commitment to building a better arts community in Canberra, with more sustainable funding, a commitment to artists and the building of a thriving arts scene.
As Shadow Minister for Arts, it has been my privilege to visit, speak with and experience so many of our wonderful arts and creative venues and activities over the past term here in Canberra. I am grateful for the advice, information and support I have received in that time. Our policies have been developed utilising the many conversations had, and this would of course continue, indeed be even more important, should we be in government. Future stakeholder engagement will form the cornerstone of our arts approach, with dedicated efforts to involve diverse community groups and organisations throughout the planning and implementation phases. We are also keen to conduct public forums to ensure broad representation and inclusivity.
In summary we are committed to existing programs and funding levels, and in fact would add additional funding.
This is the third in a series of opinion pieces in which ACT politicians put forward their policies and beliefs in the lead-up to the Australian Capital Territory’s election on Saturday 19 October 2024. Read ACT Minister for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Tara Cheyne MLA’s opinion piece here and a piece by Jo Clay, ACT Greens spokesperson for the arts, here.
