NAVA welcomes the Budget allocations for the arts including $286m to support the delivery of Revive and the $535.3m funding boost to National Collecting Institutions. However NAVA remains concerned that the modest increase in welfare spending will do little to support low-income artists and arts workers.
Photo: Tanja Bruckner, 2016
NAVA welcomes the 2024-25 Budget commitments for the arts, all of which were previously announced in the National Cultural Policy. While it included some positive measures that will indirectly support artists, such as the 12-month extension to the $20,000 instant asset write-off, the 10-year tax cut package and cuts to student debt, there is no new funding allocated for the visual arts. Additionally, the budget falls short in addressing pressing challenges faced by low-income visual artists, including unemployment, income support, and the housing crisis.
NAVA remains optimistic about future commitments that prioritise supporting and sustaining the visual arts sector. As we continue to build on Revive initiatives, it’s crucial to maintain dialogue and collaboration to ensure the visual arts receives the targeted support it needs and deserves.
Esther Anatolitis, Budget 2019: What is Australia's Cultural Policy?, Daily Review 3 April 2019
Esther Anatolitis, Budget back in black — and the white blindfold, Eureka Street 3 April 2019
Leya Reid, The arts sector is already suffering. This year's budget just pours salt on the wound, The Guardian Australia, 8 October 2020
Penelope Benton, NAVA responds with concern to 2020 budget, 7 October 2020
Leya Reid, Politicians have failed to focus on those COVID-19 has hit hardest, Independent Australia, 31 October 2020
Esther Anatolitis, Budget 2019: What is Australia's Cultural Policy?, Daily Review 3 April 2019
Esther Anatolitis, Budget back in black — and the white blindfold, Eureka Street 3 April 2019
Esther Anatolitis, The budget's arts flagship is, well, a flagship, Eureka Street 8 May 2018
Richard Watts, Federal budget 2018-19 offers paltry support for the arts, ArtsHub 8 May 2018
Esther Anatolitis, The arts on Budget Night? It’s a little off-Broadway, Daily Review 9 May 2018
Esther Anatolitis, When the nation’s best vision is no vision at all, ArtsHub 9 May 2018
Angus McPherson, Budget 2018 a Disappointment for the Arts Industry and ABC, Limelight 9 May 2018
In the 2014 Federal Budget, cuts were made to the Australia Council’s appropriation of $28.2m over four years. Furthermore, the large Canberra-based cultural organisations had their back office functions amalgamated to save $2.4 million over four years (the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, Old Parliament House and the National Archives of Australia). The three year $20m funding for the Australian Interactive Games Fund was also terminated. Also in 2014, Screen Australia was cut by $38m over four years with an extra cut of $3.6m made in the 2015 budget.
The Visual Arts and Craft Strategy (VACS) Evaluation Report published by the Australia Council, demonstrates the extraordinary multiplier affect of a small amount of government arts investment.
In the May 2015 Federal Budget, the Government announced that $104.8M would be removed over four years from the Australia Council's funding. Instead these funds were used to establish a new 'National Program for Excellence in the Arts' (NPEA) under the control of the Federal Government's arts department, the Ministry for the Arts. This redirected funding also supported Creative Partnerships Australia with an extra $5.2 million over three years starting in 2015-16 to foster private sector support for the arts. In addition there was a transfer of the Visions of Australia and Festivals of Australia programs and the Major Festivals Initiative (with support to be doubled to $1.5 million) to the Ministry for the Arts.
Two other cuts were made by the Government to the Australia Council's appropriation: $7.3M 'budget efficiency measure' over four years; and an extra $6M over three years was extracted to be used for the establishment of the Australian Book Council.
The Australia Council had announced that its total funding for 2015-16 was $184.5M. These funds were to be used to deliver the Major Performing Arts framework, Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (which has been renewed for the next 4 years), Playing Australia, Contemporary Touring Initiative and Contemporary Music Touring Program, on behalf of the Australian Government.
The Council's remaining funding was $23M less than expected. These funds support the Australia Council's current Key Organisations, national and international development activities, capacity building, research and operations.
In response, the Australia Council announced that:
In December 2015, more cuts were made in MYEFO with a deduction of $52.5 million from the sector over the next four years.
Canberra based major national museums and galleries were the biggest losers with $36.8 million cut from cultural and collecting entities over 4 years This includes the Australian National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Now these institutions are contemplating closing one day a week to cope with the incremental diminution of their budgets over several years through the imposition of a percentage cut called the 'efficiency dividend'.
There are also to be cuts of $6 million from the Department for Communication and the Arts and $3.8 million from other unspecified arts programs. Screen Australia will lose $10.4 million over four years – 3 per cent of its budget – in its third round of cuts in 18 months.
In November 2016, Arts Minister Mitch Fifield abandoned the NPEA and released guidelines for his rebranded 'Catalyst - Australian Arts and Cultural Fund' program along with a return of just $8 million / year to the Australia Council's budget. The Catalyst Fund planned to spend $12 million / year 'to assist organisations to forge new creative and financial partnerships'. This figure was down from the originally proposed $20 million per annum, as the Government returned $32 million back to the Australia Council over 4 years.
On 18 March 2017, NAVA welcomed the announcement by the Arts Minister, Mitch Fifield that there will be partial return of funds from the Catalyst Fund to the Australia Council. NAVA had hoped that this signalled the Government’s new interest in implementing its stated intention to stimulate creativity and innovation, by recognising with increased funding, the essential role of the arts, including in the innovation agenda.
Photo: Tanja Bruckner, 2016
On 1 June 2015 ArtsPeak, the confederation of national peak arts organisations called for a Senate Inquiry to investigate the rationale for and potential consequences of the 2015 Federal Budget announcement that $104.8 million over four years would be deducted from the Australia Council’s funding budget.
Shadow Arts Minister Senator Mark Dreyfus led the move to establish the Senate Inquiry. This call for a Senate Inquiry was successful.
On 16 June 2015 the Senate voted in favour of an Inquiry into the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the arts.
The Terms of Reference, as jointly presented by the Greens and Labor, for the Senate Inquiry were:
That the following matters be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 September 2015:
(a) the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts; and
(b) the suitability and appropriateness of the establishment of a National Programme for Excellence in the Arts, to be administered by the Ministry for the Arts, with particular reference to:
(i) the effect on funding arrangements for:
(A) small to medium arts organisations,
(B) individual artists,
(C) young and emerging artists,
(D) the Australia Council,
(E) private sector funding of the arts, and
(F) state and territory programs of support to the arts,
(ii) protection of freedom of artistic expression and prevention of political influence,
(iii) access to a diversity of quality arts and cultural experiences,
(iv) the funding criteria and implementation processes to be applied to the program,
(v) implications of any duplication of administration and resourcing, and
(vi) any related matter.
NAVA applauded the huge response - 2719 submissions from around the country and overseas to the Senate Inquiry into the Impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the arts. Submissions closed on the 17 July 2015. You can read published submissions by the Senate Inquiry here.
10 Senate Inquiry Public Hearings concerning the Impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts were held across all seven states and concluded on 5 November 2015.
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee tabled their report into the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts on 2 December 2015. You can read it here.
Read the Government's response to the Senate Inquiry report here.
Free the Arts organised a National Arts Sector Roundtable on Friday 6 November 2015. The Roundtable brought together 50 arts sector leaders from across the country representing each of the states and territories, all artforms and individual artists, small to medium and major companies. Senator Mitch Fifield, Senator Jacinta Collins, Adam Bandt MP and Mark Dreyfus QC MP joined the meeting at different stages of the day.
This event was the culmination of a series of public sector gatherings in each of the states and territories and focussed on planning for the future and in particular, the three big whole of sector agenda items which emerged from the meetings:
• money - creative solutions to funding challenges
• vision - building a shared, non-partisan, evidence-driven policy platform
• advocacy - bringing the whole sector together with one voice.
The proceedings were streamed online here.
Photo: Joan Cameron-Smith
Media release from ArtsPeak: New low as Government pumps Catalyst funds out the door in blatant pre-election pork barreling, 9 May 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: Government turns its back on the opportunity to fix arts funding mess, 4 May 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: ‘Fair Use’ - the wrong direction at the wrong time for Australian artists, 2 May 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak responds to Catalyst funding results, 26 April 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak takes up the Leadership Challenge with Expanded Executive Team, 5 April 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: Open letter from ArtsPeak to the Prime Minister, 22 March 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak calls for Government to act on Senate Inquiry recommendations, 7 March 2016
John Bailey and Debbie Cuthbertson, New round of controversial Catalyst arts funding quietly posted as government enters caretaker mode, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 May 2016
Richard Watts, Government spends $12 m in mysterious Catalyst windfall, ArtsHub, 9 May 2016
Justin O'Connor, Do we have to rebrand the arts as 'creative tech' for Turnbull to give us money?The Guardian, 5 May 2016
Stephen Bevis, Arts groups batten down hatches, West Australian, 4 May 2016
Dewi Cooke and Tom McIlroy, Budget 2016: No new money for Australia Council as jobs go at National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and National Film and Sound Archive, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May 2016
Richard Watts, Arts budget 2016 doesn't hurt (much) but doesn't heal, ArtsHub, 3 May 2016
Ben Eltham, Turnbull govt leaves arts in a sling, locking in Abbott-era cuts, Crikey, 3 May 2016
Joanna Mendelssohn, Federal budget 2016: arts experts react, The Conversation, 3 May 2016
Rupert Myer, Why the innovation agenda needs the arts, ArtsHub, 3 May 2016
Andrew Taylor, 2016 federal budget: Australia Council 'one major cut away' from not functioning, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 April 2016
Esther Anatolitis, Arts funding is inconsistent and questionable, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 April 2016
Sally Pryor, National Gallery of Australia's contemporary art space to close due to funding cuts, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 2016
Ben Eltham, Arts sector's worst nightmare comes true with Catalyst a smokescreen for pork, Crikey, 18 April 2016
Maxim Boon, The Australian artist: a species under threat? Limelight Magazine, 30 March 2016
Maria Miranda, Small is beautiful: artist-run collectives count, but they’re facing death by a thousand cuts, The Conversation, 30 March 2016
Henry Belot, Cash strapped cultural institutions must find $40 million of savings in addition to budget cuts, Canberra Times, 28 March 2016
Sandra Abma, Budget boosts funding to Canada Council, CBC News, 22 March 2016
Linda Morris, It's not too late: ArtsPeak pens open letter to Malcolm Turnbull, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2016
An Open Letter to the Prime Minister, Arts Hub, 22 March 2016
Deborah Stone, The worst arts administration in 40 years, Arts Hub, 9 March 2016
Katrina Strickland, Michael Lynch slams corporate titans for their silence on arts cuts, Australian Financial Review, 9 March 2016
Richard Watts, ArtsPeak calls for Government response to Senate Inquiry, Arts Hub, 9 March 2016
Ben Eltham, Arts to come in innovation policy, Arts Hub, 29 February 2016
Andrew Thackrah, Turnbull, cuts and the culture of forgetting, ABC The Drum, 29 February 2016
Mike Jones & Deb Verhoeven, Treasure Trove: why defunding Trove leaves Australia poorer, The Conversation, 26 February 2016
Henry Belot, Budget cuts will have a 'grave impact' on the National Library, staff told, 22 February 2016
Paul Karp, Canberra National galleries, museum and library warn staff will go after funding cuts, The Guardian, 12 February 2016
Sasha Grishin, Canberra's cultural institutions being crippled by cuts to arts sector funding, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2016
Dan Conifer, Australia Council budget cuts blindsided peak arts body's executive, documents show, ABC News, 20 February 2016
Gina Fairley, Should a commercial gallery receive Catalyst funding? Arts Hub, 9 February 2016
Ben Eltham, Massive arts grant highlights the rift between the haves, have-nots, Crikey, 10 February 2016
Ben Neutze, Commercial Gallery Receives A Whopping $485k In First Round Of Fifield’s Catalyst Grants, Daily Review, 2 February 2016
Matthew Westwood, Indigenous exhibit the big winner in arts funding, The Australian, 2 February 2016
Matthew Westwood, Government reworking a new Catalyst for creative arts funding, The Australian, 2 February 2016
Australia needs a Charter for the Arts, ArtsHub, 14 January 2016
Tim Walsh, Cuts run deep: Is Australia’s ‘coup culture’ killing its cultural heart?, Apollo Magazine, 20 January 2016
Jen Snowball, Why art and culture contribute more to an economy than growth and jobs, The Conversation, 20 January 2016
Stephen Cassidy, The invisible cuts to national arts and culture funding, indefinite article, 22 January 2016
Grant Hall, The Australian arts funding crisis and what it means for business, where words fail, 4 January 2016
Madeleine Dore, Happy new year? The arts in 2016, ArtsHub, 6 January 2016
Media release from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak signals unsustainability of Australian arts, 16 December 2015
Media release: Senate Inquiry Report Says It All, 3 December 2015
Senate Committee delivers arts inquiry report, 2 December 2015
NAVA responds to Arts Minister's decision on NPEA, 20 November 2015
Media release from ArtsPeak: New arts minister fronts the sector, 6 November 2015
Letter from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak seeks urgent meeting with the Arts Minister Fifield, 22 October 2015
Media release from ArtsPeak: ArtsPeak calls for new measures to deal with state/territory arts budget impact, 30 September 2015
Media release: Arts Sector Welcomes Change of Minister, 21 September 2015
Media release: Call for Turnbull to fix the arts mess, 15 September 2015
Media release by Free the Arts: LNP snubs arts funding inquiry, 6 August 2015
Media release by Free the Arts: Arts sector gearing up for Senate Inquiry public hearings, 4 August 2015, 2
Senate Inquiry Hearings, 31 July 2015
Have your say on the draft NPEA guidelines, 28 July 2015
Media release: ArtsPeak Laments Real Impact of Australia Council Cuts, 24 July 2015
Tamara Winikoff, In the Midst of Chaos One Good Thing, 22 July 2015
Media release: Huge response to Senate Inquiry into arts funding, 21 July 2015
Jade Lillie, The future of arts advocacy, 21 July 2015
Media release: ArtsPeak responds to announcement of NPEA guidelines, 6 July 2015
Media release: NPEA Value for Money? 2 July 2015
Make a submission to the Senate Inquiry, 22 June 2015
Tamara Winikoff, Brandis out of touch, 19 June 2015
National Arts Gathering Calls for Immediate Halt to NPEA, 19 June 2015
Ben Eltham, Impact of budget cuts on the visual arts sector, 18 June 2015
Justin Bishop, Regional gallery faces shadow of uncertainty, 18 June 2015
State and Territory Impact of the Federal Arts Budget, 15 June 2015
Australia Council Funding Cuts - National Call to Action, 10 June 2015
Media Release: ArtsPeak calls for Senate Inquiry, 1 June 2015
Federal Arts Budget Changes, 13 May 2015
Laura Hartnell, ‘Left for dead': Why cuts to youth arts funding are bad news for all of us, ABC, 21 December 2015
Andrew Taylor, Neil Balnaves, art collector, philanthropist, arts board member, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 December 2015
Catryna Bilyk, Talking Point: Arts under threat from Federal cutbacks, Mercury, 26 December 2015
David Sefton, 2015 was a year of change in the arts, The Advertiser, 29 December 2015
Deborah Stone, MYEFO brings more bad news for the arts, Arts Hub, 15 December 2015
Dewi Cooke, Garry Maddox, Linda Morris, Book Council of Australia to be scrapped as $52.5 million cut to arts revealed in MYEFO, SMH, 15 December 2015
Ben Neutze, Arts Sector In Crisis As Turnbull Government Cuts Continue In MYEFO, Daily Review, 16 December 2015
Helen Razer, Turnbull’s Arts Credentials Go Down The Toilet, Daily Review, 16 December 2015
Ben Eltham, Christmas stockings very empty for the arts, with $52m more cut, Crikey, 16 December 2015
Madeleine Dore, Can the arts sector recover?, Arts Hub, 17 December 2015
Linda Morris, Jobs cut at Australia Council as arts grants are announced, SMH, 10 December 2015
Ben Eltham, Some Catalyst, Overland, 30 November 2015
Kath Dolan, Keep trying: the message from Australia Council, Arts Hub, 30 November 2015
Ben Eltham, Australia Council showing the stress, ArtsHub, 1 December 2015
'Unhinged' senator made a witness cry, Nine News, 2 December 2015
Andrew Taylor, Senate Committee demands government return funding to Australia Council, SMH, 3 December 2015
Stephen Bevis, Arts chamber dares to dream, The West Australian, 3 December 2015
Gina Fairley, Michael Lynch: the disrupter with vision, ArtsHub, 4 December 2015
Alison Croggon, Catalyst: New arts policy name, same old story, ABC News, 23 November 2015.
Richard Watts, Sector responses to Catalyst range from caution to dismay, ArtsHub, 23 November 2015
Jo Caust, Catalyst or NPEA, we need to grow up: artists aren’t playthings for the government, The Conversation, 23 November 2015
Mitch Fifield: Why Catalyst is different, ArtsHub, 23 November 2015
Ben Eltham, Catalyst contradictions revealed at Senate Estimates, ArtsHub, 25 November, 2015
David Pledger, Mitch and George’s Excellence Adventure, ArtsHub, 26 November 2015
Victoria’s Creative Industries Taskforce Says: “Unleash Your Inner Artist”, Daily Review, 26 November 2015
Richard Letts, A creeping funding disaster for OzCo in the wings? Daily Review, 29 November 2015
Dewi Cooke, Rebranding NPEA to Catalyst: the same program by another name? The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 2015
Matthew Knott, Turnbull Government Overhauls George Brandis' Arts Slush Fund, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 2015
Australia Council responds to Catalyst news, Arts Hub, 20 November 2015
Deborah Stone, Catalyst Guidelines: S2Ms win, independence loses, Arts Hub, 20 November 2015
Stuart Glover, Joanna Mendelssohn, Julian Meyrick, Out with the NPEA, in with Catalyst: expert response, The Conversation, 20 November 2015
Debbie Cuthbertson, Rebranding Brandis arts fund Catalyst won't kill off National Program for Excellence in the Arts, The Age, 20 November 2015
Ben Neutze, Brandis' Controversial NPEA finally killed off, Daily Review, 20 November 2015
Monica Tan, George Brandis's arts excellence fund slashed and renamed Catalyst, The Guardian, 20 November 2015
Sharon Verghis, Tasmanian Theatre Co’s Charles Parkinson worries about its viability, The Australian, 3 November 2015
Richard Watts, Indigenous and disadvantaged artists will suffer under NPEA, Arts Hub, 4 November 2015
Maxim Boon, The Senate Arts Inquiry: political point-scoring on artists’ time, Limelight Magazine, 5 November 2015
Fifield to meet with the arts sector, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2015
Gina Fairley, HECS-style payback mooted for arts grants, Arts Hub, 6 November 2015
Ben Neutze, The final nail in the coffin for Brandis’ arts ‘slush fund’?, Daily Review, 6 November 2015
Richard Watts, Fifield promises NPEA decision within two weeks, Arts Hub, 6 November 2015
Andrew Taylor, New arts minister Mitch Fifield to wind back funding cuts, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2015
Monica Tan, Arts minister promises to ditch Brandis-style 'out of the blue' funding changes, The Guardian, 6 November 2015
Katharine Murphy, Mark Dreyfus vs George Brandis: battle over access to the minister’s diary, The Guardian, 6 November 2015
Dan Conifer, Arts sector welcomes rethink on Brandis's controversial funding changes, ABC News, 28 October 2015
Avani Dias, NT arts community voices fears about future of sector after funding changes, ABC News, 29 October 2015
Deborah Stone, Remote arts will suffer more under NPEA, Senate hearing told, Arts Hub, 29 October 2015
Ben Eltham, Sorry but the NPEA's not dead yet, Arts Hub, 30 October 2015
Ben Eltham, Key architect of the Excellence Program to advise Turnbull on arts, Crikey, 20 October 2015
Blanche Clar, Author Tim Winton’s Island Home: A Landscape Memoir pays homage to Australia, Herald Sun, 23 October 2015
Ben Eltham, Same chaos, different minister for arts sector, Crikey, 23 October 2015
Dewi Cooke, Australia Council cuts caused 'huge' damage overseas says PS122's Vallejo Gantner, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 2015
Madeleine Dore, Artists may miss out on international opportunities, Arts Hub, 6 October 2015
Leanne Nicholson, Funding gap threatens to grind Adelaide's the Mill to a halt, Daily Review, 8 October 2015
Ben Eltham, State Ministers pressure Fifield to reverse Australia Council cuts, Arts Hub, 8 October 2015
Primrose Riordan, Mitch Fifield pledges 'provocative' step away from the high brow, Australian Financial Review, 25 September 2015.
Andrew Taylor and Dewi Cooke, Arts Minister Mitch Fifield flags changes to controversial funding program, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 September 2015.
Maxim Boon, ArtsPeak's plea to State Governments: bailout for local artists, Limelight Magazine, 30 September 2015.
Meet Mitch Fifield, the new Arts Minister, ABC Radio National Books and Arts, 1 October 2015
Ben Neutze, Fifield says (almost) all the right things to rebuild Brandis' burnt bridges, Daily Review, 1 October 2015
I had no time for arts, says new minister Mitch Fifield, The Australian, 2 October 2015
Editorial: 7 things you didn't know about Senator Mitch Fifield, Daily Review, 20 September 2015
Patrick Hatch, Cabinet reshuffle: artists call on new arts minister Mitch Fifield to 'undo the damage' done by George Brandis, The Age, 21 September 2015
Joanna Mendelssohn, Was it but a dream? Post Brandis, we need a reordering of national arts priorities, The Conversation, 21 September 2015
Ben Neutze, Brandis leaves a fine mess for Fifield to fix, Daily Review, 21 September 2015
Tully Barnett and Julian Meyrick, Senate Inquiry into arts funding: Testimony and Truth in South Australia, The Conversation, 22 September 2015
Jeremy Story Carter, Privatisation of the ABC is off the table, ABC Radio National Drive, 22 September 2015
Richard Letts, How new Arts Minister Mitch Fifield can lead through innovation, Daily Review, 24 September 2015
ABC The Mix, 26 September 2015 (from approx. 12.10 mins in)
Ben Eltham,It ain’t over til … well, now, maybe, for opera companies, Crikey, 29 September 2015
Raymond Gill, The Brandis Initiated National Opera Review: Change is Coming, Daily Review, 29 September 2015
Editorial: Turnbull’s chance to dump Brandis and win over the arts community, Daily Review, 16 September 2015
Raymond Gill, Artists gather at PM’s office: Call for Brandis’ removal, appoint himself instead, Daily Review, 16 September 2015
Michael Cathcart with Tamara Winikoff, Should Turnbull take over the Arts Ministry? ABC Books and Arts, 16 September 2015
Tom Clift, People are calling for Malcolm Turnbull to take over the troubled arts portfolio, Concrete Playground, 16 September 2015
Maxim Boom, Artists lobby Turnbull: sack Senator Brandis, Limelight, 16 September 2015
No Mercy Seat for Brandis says Nick Cave, Arts Hub, Friday 18 September 2015
Steve Dow, Brandis accused of favouritism over jazz festival backed by Sophie Mirabella, The Guardian, 18 September 2015
Monica Tan, Nick Cave among 360 Australian writers to call for George Brandis to be replaced as arts minister, The Guardian, 18 September 2015
Linda Morris, Nick Cave implores Malcolm Turnbull to remove Arts Minister George Brandis, SMH, 18 September 2015
Deborah Stone, Senate hearing: arts messages for new PM, Arts Hub, 18 September 2015
Editorial: OzCo data shows inefficiencies of the major 28 companies, Daily Review, 18 September 2015
Ben Eltham, Brandis is wrong: small arts orgs deliver much greater bang for govt buck, Crikey, 18 September 2015
Jessica Nico, Funds in firing line, Fremantle Gazette, 7 September 2015
Daniel Clarke, Making art in a time of crisis, Arts Hub, 10 September 2015
Andrew Taylor, Urban Theatre Projects discovers God's Own Country in western Sydney, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2015 Katharine Murphy, George Brandis appoints former News Corp editor to board of Australia Council, The Guardian, 11 September 2015 Senate Inquiry hears there are positives to NPEA, ArtsHub, 11 September 2015
David Pledger, The Senate Inquiry into Arts Funding: a new live performance work, Arts Hub, 31 August 2015
Stephen Bevis, Angry artists vent at Senate inquiry, Yahoo, 1 September 2015
Susan Browning, Tasmania's arts sector converges to fight federal funding changes, ABC News, 3 Sep 2015
$10 an hour: harsh realities before Senate Inquiry, Arts Hub, 3 September 2015
Daniel Hurst, George Brandis urged to respect rule of law by former Liberal attorney general, The Guardian, 17 August 2015
Emilia Terzon, Darwin's iconic Fridge Festival put on ice as founders grapple with arts cuts, 105.7 ABC Darwin, 17 August 2015
Julian Meyrick and Tully Barnett, Ten dos and don'ts for thinking about arts funding and the NPEA, Arts Hub, 18 August 2015
Ben Eltham and Joely Mitchell, Big companies tour more, do they? George bungles the arts again, Crikey, 20 August 2015
Editorial, By George! Brandis wrong again on arts touring, Daily Review, 20 August 2015
Marie Sansom, Funding: To boldly go where no Australian council has gone before, Government News, 20 August 2015
Ben Eltham, FactCheck: will the Arts Minister need to publicly disclose who he funds? The Conversation, 10 August 2015
Non-Professionals invited to assess excellence, Arts Hub, 10 August 2015
Richard Letts, After the Brandis heist: arts sector needs to be a political player, Daily Review, 13 August 2015
Gina Fairley, Privately-funded program threatened by public funding cuts, Arts Hub, 13 August 2015
Steve Dow, Senate inquiry into George Brandis’s arts funding plans, The Saturday Paper, 1 August 2015 Ben Eltham, Senate submission reveals full impact of Brandis’ raid on OzCo, Crikey, 3 August 2015
Tamara Saulwick, No Minister: An artist's encounter with Senator Brandis, Arts Hub, 3 August 2015
Sonia Harford, Victorian arts organisations take fears of collapse to Senate inquiry, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 2015
Richard Watts & Madeleine Dore, Senate Inquiry hearings begin in Melbourne, Arts Hub, 5 August 2015
Candice Kortlever, Witnesses come forth to give evidence against Brandis' cuts, Daily Review, 5 August 2015
David Blumenstein, Day One of Senate Inquiry into Brandis' arts cuts in easy to follow pictures, Crikey, 6 August 2015
Sonia Harford, Arts organisations condemn Brandis budget decisions at Senate inquiry, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 August 2015
Madeleine Dore, Artists prove their excellence in public hearing, Arts Hub, 6 August 2015.
Jane Lee, George Brandis' arts funding program open to legal challenge, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 July 2015
Arts Minister Brandis responds to feedback on National Program, ABC Radio National Books and Arts, 28 July 2015
Lawrence English, Majors and the majority: planning for Australia’s artistic legacy starts now, The Conversation, 30 July 2015
Debbie Cuthbertson, Thousands lodge submissions to the Senate inquiry into arts cuts, The Age, 21 July 2015
Debbie Cuthbertson, Thousands lodge submissions to the Senate inquiry into arts cuts, They Sydney Morning Herald, 21 July 2015
Candice Kortlever, More than 2200 submissions lodged to Senate Inquiry into arts cuts, 22 July 2015, Daily Review, 22 July 2015
Jane Howard, Senate Inquiry hears of lost opportunity, independence, Arts Hub, 23 July 2015
Candice Kortlever, (Some) local and international artists voice their anger at Brandis' Australia Council cuts, Daily Review, 15 July 2015
Ben Deacon and Nicola Harvey, Private arts donors Neil Balnaves and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis accuse George Brandis of neglecting arts community, politicising funding, ABC, 17 July 2015
ABC The Mix, interview with Neil Balnaves and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, 18 July 2015
Deborah Mills, History sheds light on Australia Council attack, Arts Hub, 6 July 2015
Julian Meyrick, We have a ‘show tunes’ government, with an arts policy to match, The Conversation, 6 July 2015
Deborah Stone, 'Global harm' from Australia Council Budget cuts, Arts Hub, 9 July 2015
Richard Watts, Here they are! NPEA draft guidelines release, Arts Hub, 1 July 2015
Nancy Groves, George Brandis will have final say on arts funding, draft guidelines suggest, The Guardian, 2 July 2015
Raymond Gill, NPEA: George Brandis' Excellent Adventure is All Going to Plan, Daily Review, 2 July 2015
Outgoing Australia Council board member speaks out, ABC Radio National, 3 July 2015
Artists' gathering airs funding concerns, ABC Radio National, 3 July 2015
Ben Eltham, Do excellence numbers hide a sneaky arts funding cut?, Arts Hub, 3 July 2015
Ben Eltham, George Brandis and the arts funding crisis: one hell of a one-man show, Arts Hub, 4 July 2015
David Blumenstein, The Brandis Australia Council raid so far....in pictures, Daily Review, 22 June 2015
Gina Fairley, Regional touring faces Brandis' chopping block, Arts Hub, 23 June 2015
Ted Snell, Australia Council changes will also affect university museums, The Conversation, 23 June 2015
'Us and them' mentality emerging between big and small arts companies after Government's budget, 7.30 Report, 26 June 2015
Debbie Cuthbertson, Australia Council cuts will 'rip heart out' of independent cultural sector, Victorian government warns federal Arts Minister, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June 2015
Steve Dow, Creative Victoria taskforce vows to consult widely, The Saturday Paper, 13 June 2015
Australia Council Cuts: The Companies on the Chopping Block, Daily Review, 15 June 2015
Arts Sector calls on Parliament to Block Sector Cuts, Daily Review, 16 June 2015
Major performing arts companies issue new statement on Brandis' cuts, Daily Review, 17 June 2015
Madeleine Dore, Silence of the majors divides arts sector, Arts Hub, 17 June 2015
Joanna Mendelssohn, Beyond the inquiry: some notes on effective strategy to free the arts, The Conversation, 17 June 2015
Ben Eltham, Impact of budget cuts on the visual arts sector, NAVA Art Wires, 18 June 2015
Justin Bishop, Regional gallery faces shadow of uncertainty, NAVA Art Wires, 18 June 2015
Arts industry converges on Canberra to protest Government cuts on RN Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 18 June 2015
Nancy Groves, Arts funding changes: artists meet Labor and Greens MPs in Canberra, The Guardian, 19 June 2015
Ben Eltham, Brandis refuses to meet with arts industry, Arts Hub, 19 June 2015
Free the arts go to Canberrra to protest Brandis' arts cuts, Daily Review, 19 June 2015
Richard Watts, Artists converge on Canberra to #freethearts, Arts Hub, 12 June 2015
Raymond Gill, Editorial: shameful silence over arts cuts, 12 June 2015
Philanthropy in an age of uncertainty on Books and Arts, ABC Radio National Books and Arts, 1 June 2015
Ben Eltham, The Art Of Being George Brandis: How To Destroy A Sector Without Even Really Trying, New Mathilda, 2 June 2015
David Pledger, Brandis is waging a culture war: artists must take direct action, The Conversation, 2 June 2015
Dick Letts, The Brandis Heist, The Music Trust, 2 June 2015
Alison Croggon, Why Art?, Overland, Spring 2013 (article of note that is currently recirculating)
Madeleine Dore, Mourning the end of ArtStart, Arts Hub, 3 June 2015
Richard Watts, Mobilising audiences to oppose Australia Council Budget cuts, Arts Hub, 4 June 2015 Suzie Gibson, The Brandis effect on regional Australia? Just look at Bathurst, The Conversation, 5 June 2015
Adam Bandt MP, Federal Member, Melbourne, Australian Greens speaking in Parliament, 25 May 2015
Senate Estimate, Wednesday 27 May 2015
Richard Letts, Australia Council cuts: Is the devil in these details, Daily Review, 26 May 2015
Jeff Sparrow, Captain’s calls and culture war: the future of Australian Arts, The Guardian, 28 May 2015
Ben Eltham, Major arts companies throw little guys under the bus after Brandis’ shake-up, Crikey, 29 May 2015
Ben Eltham and Deb Verhoeven, Philosophy vs evidence is no way to orchestrate cultural policy, The Conversation, 29 May 2015
David Berthold, Why It’s Unwise to Cut Off Your Arm, Arts Hub 18 May 2015
Shadow arts minister on the Australia Council cuts, ABC Radio National Books and Arts, 18 May 2015
Arts Minister George Brandis defends Australia Council funding changes, ABC Radio National Books and Arts, 19 May 2015
Keith Gallasch, Major art heist: The Brandis File, Realtime Arts, 20 May 2015
Martin McKenzie-Murray, Inside George Brandis’s Australia Council arts heist, The Saturday Paper, 23 May 2015
Jane Howard, Our smaller cities stand firm together against Brandis’ arts cuts, Daily Review, 23 May 2015.
Ben Eltham, Budget shocks decimate Australia Council, Arts Hub, 12 May 2015
Alan Evans, Budget takes $100m from Australia Council to establish arts excellence program, The Guardian, 12 May 2015
Debbie Cuthbertson and Joel Meares, George Brandis turns arts into 'political football' with $104.7m Australia Council cuts, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 2015
Van Badham, After the budget: shh! Australia's era of artistic silencing begins, The Guardian, 13 May 2015
Arts community extremely concerned about 'alarming' changes to arts funding in budget, ABC News Radio, 14 May 2015
Ben Potter, More to Brandis arts move than Medici Complex, AFR, 15 May 2015
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