Labor’s Live Performance Fund delivers $0

A fund established by the Albanese Labor Government to support live performances has failed to deliver a single dollar to the sector and has been quietly shelved.

Launched in September 2022 by Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, the COVID-19 Live Performance Support Fund was to cover events such as plays, concerts and festivals over Summer.

Announcing the Fund, Mr Burke said at the time that the industry was still “facing significant challenges that threatens its viability."

But under questioning from the Opposition in Senate Estimates, departmental officials confirmed that the funding set aside for the Fund has been reallocated because “none of that money rolled out.”

Shadow Minister for the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, called on Mr Burke to apologise to the live performance sector.

“The Fund’s a fizzer,” Mr Fletcher said.

“After years of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry deserves confidence and certainty from government, but Mr Burke’s actions in secretly axing the Fund has achieved the exact opposite.

"It is curious that this funding announcement was made mere days before mandatory public health orders were lifted.

“Why did it take the questioning of departmental officials, months later, to finally learn that the Fund was dead, and why did Mr Burke not formally confirm this?

“Under new documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, we now know that the money used by the Fund was ripped out of the Coalition's successful Temporary Interruption Fund.

“This means around $20 million that could have been put to work months ago, to support the sector, remains unused almost a year later.

“It’s clear this government is all about the announcements, like their so-called National Cultural Policy, but when it comes to actually delivering, they continue to fall short.

“This is in contrast to the Coalition Government which achieved the highest ever level of Commonwealth arts funding in Australian history in 2021-22, reaching over one billion dollars.”

ENDS

FURTHER INFORMATION: JACK ABADEE 0403 440 099