As you may know, the arts sector responded with overwhelming support for the role of The Australia Council when it responded to the Senate inquiry into the 'Impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts', or, in other words, the sudden diversion of Australia Council funds to establish the National Program for Arts Excellence.
2,719 submissions were received, with ten public hearings around Australia. During this time the new Minister for the Arts, Senator Fifield, made himself available at a National Arts Sector Roundtable in Sydney and spoke with those representing most arts sectors.
Needless to say, the decision to scrap a grant application round mid-way through its process and divert funds to a new and unanticipated program has created pointless uncertainty for small to medium dance organisations, as well as other arts organisations. These organisations have invested many years in establishing well-founded creative operations that run in multi-year cycles to suit audiences and participants and the delivery goals of funding programs.
These arts companies work in the community, produce small touring shows for regional theatres, give festival programmers exciting variations and options, take creative risks, and give excellent value for money. Funds invested with them go a long way: there is an estimated employment multiplier for money invested in music and theatre productions, which includes dance, of 34 full-time equivalent jobs (Multipliers for Culture-Related Industries; culturaldata.arts.gov.au). Youth dance has struggled for recognition; we counted two 2016 project grants funded out of a total of 838 successful applicants. Similarly, youth theatre companies have dropped from 21 supported in 2007 to just three receiving project funding for 2016.
According to the Report of the Senate Inquiry, which was released on 4 December:
- 'There was a remarkable level of consistency in the evidence provided' (Report 2.1);
- 'Ms Roslyn Dundas of Ausdance said there was 'a lack of policy clarity or leadership' behind the funding cuts' (Report 2.4).
- 'It was noted that the Budget changes were made without any warning, consultation or transition arrangements: one witness observed that ‘[f]rom a public administration perspective, it has been exceptionally poorly managed’.” (Report 2.5).
The unambiguous response of the sector and the Report appears to have resulted in a return of $8 million per year to the Australia Council, or perhaps one third of the diverted funds. There were enough changes to the NPEA program, including allowing individual artists to apply under an auspice arrangement with a suitable arts management organisation, that it was renamed Catalyst—Australian Arts and Culture Fund. But Catalyst will not fund core operations, so it will not support organisations left unfunded by the reduction in funds to the Australia Council, and it will not fund projects for organisations unless their administrative core is already paid for. That is not opening up opportunities for new players, even if a basic proposition for Catalyst is that new ideas are sought and encouraged.
Consequently, the original concerns remain. The continuing diversion of the remaining two-thirds of the funds will imperil a number of small to medium arts organisations, including Ausdance, and there is a continuing lack of clear policy regarding the Catalyst fund. Indeed, rather than compliment the Australia Council as announced, Catalyst appears to lack a rationale apart from being a mechanism to allow the Minister for the Arts to exercise personal control over funding.
Ausdance is a key member of ArtsPeak, the confederation of national peak arts organisations, which is calling on the Federal Government to:
- Implement Senate Inquiry recommendations: The government must urgently implement the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry, in particular the full restoration of funds to the Australia Council.
- Binding public statement to secure Australia Council’s future: The government must release a binding public statement by the Prime Minister and the Arts Minister guaranteeing the future security of the Australia Council (endorsed by other parties). The statement would:
- confirm Council’s role and status as articulated in the Australia Council Act;
- commit to funding the Australia Council to fulfil its role at an optimal level;
- underwrite all Australia Council organisational four-year contracts;
- affirm the central roles played by individual artists and small to medium companies in the cultural life of the country.
- Position the arts centrally to the innovation agenda: The government’s new agenda to fund an ‘ideas boom’ must include and acknowledge the role that the arts play in generating new ideas, creating unusual partnerships, and reshaping and rethinking models and practices.
- Prevent further damage to the arts by providing transitional funding: Ensure the viability of small to medium organisations during 2016 by providing $10million in transitional funding. This will allow organisations to research and try to secure alternative income streams, change business models, and develop new strategic directions and programs to respond to the changed sector.