It was the kind of budget designed to give everyone a win big enough to forget the government’s struggles over the past few months. But while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg drove a truckload of cash into the living rooms of middle Australia, plenty of sectors and agencies traditionally left behind by the Coalition remained big losers.
As usual, an arts sector hammered by two years of pandemic-induced lockdowns, venue closures and economic uncertainty received little. The one silver lining was a $38.3 million package over the next two years. That included $20 million to extend the government’s Restart Investment to Support and Expand (RISE) initiative, which aims to give the arts sector a boost. There was also $9.3 million for the National Museum, and $9 million to support independent cinemas.
That’s where the good news ended for the arts sector. Buried in the portfolio budget papers were deep cuts. The winding-up of RISE means that funding for arts and cultural development will fall from $159 million in 2021-22 to just $2 million a year over the forward estimates. Screen Australia’s funding will also be reduced dramatically, from $39 million at the last budget to an estimated $11 million annually over the forward estimates. Support for regional arts was $18 million in 2021-22; it’s projected to sit at $7 million a year over the next four years. Film and television spending falls from $195 million in 2021-22 to around $150 million.
Also buried is a cut to the budget of the Australian Human Rights Commission. The agency, which is already predicted to lose one in three jobs despite dealing with a record number of complaints, loses significant funding, falling from $32.6 million in 2021-22 to $20.2 million in 2025-26. The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s funding will fall from $48.8 million in 2021-22 to $41.9 million in 2025-26.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology, much criticised recently for its forecasting of extreme weather events, will see its total resourcing decline from $786 million in 2021-22 to $739 million in 2022-23.
Despite the generosity of the government’s budget, there are a few losers in there. Just don’t expect to hear much about them.
Undermining freedoms. The right to express. Call it what may . . . outcome reflects loss of an essential democratic imperative. Restricting access to mediums such as The Arts. Human Rights Commission. C’Wealth Ombudsman. Bureau of Meteorology. BOM certainly stands out! The entire Globe at risk, escalating, inevitability of Climate Threat. What we are talking about here is not reduced expenditure. It is the loss of essential human skills open to redundancy. The current Federal Govt, their lack of policy, vision, and accountability has and is accelerating national vulnerability. And this 2022 Budget, content and projection, confirms that national vulnerability.
The cuts reflect the perception by our currupt leaders of the respective constutuencies voting tendencies.
Arts people are not likely to vote LNP so no money for them.
Ditto Education and the ABC.
Despite their recent history our great leaders are not as hopelessly stupid as they appear. They know for a fact that anyone with any intellectual capacity wont vote for them and they recall the immortal words of John Howard, “why would you give any money to people who dont vote for you?”.
How sad that a government that insisted on holding onto tax cuts for the middle and upper earners when Covid cost the economy so much, then drains the arts sector.
What will we spend all our money on darling?
All fascist regime are terrified of arts and literature and actually ironic isn’t it true Liberal ideals and freedom of individual – HitLr burnt books and exiled or murdered those who spoke out the truth about Brown shirts; Mussolini only funded the Right types of design aesthetics in public places example: warrior memorials, buildings to remind the populace about who was top dog….
Croatian public also burnt books when yugoslavia as a nation ended. Any books in Serbian language removed and destroyed. Even though linguistically its the same language.
Not funding the Yartz as much as the luvvies think is their due is light years from censorship or totalitarian attack.
If the output is worth a pinch of the proverbial, people will pay voluntarily.