OUR STATEMENT ON FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF ARTS
Perth Festival is disappointed that Australia’s national cultural policy will be administered by a department that has dropped the arts from its name.
This is a bleak message to send about our national aspirations. The arts are the measure of us as a people. The department responsible for supporting our national creativity should be seen and heard as a reflection of that value at the highest level.
Our cultural expression gives our lives meaning and reinforces our empathy and connection with one another to bridge our apparent differences. Measured in economic value, our creativity and cultural endeavours are worth $111.7 billion a year to the Australian economy, providing jobs faster than the national economy as a whole.
It is encouraging that the Minister for the Arts remains in Cabinet. We look forward to him continuing to deliver a strong voice for Australian culture within government and urge that this oversight of the arts be rectified.
Executive Director
Nathan Bennett
Media contact:
Stephen Bevis
+61 8 6488 8618 / 0448 927 281
[email protected]
Image credit: Jess Wyld