MEDIA RELEASE - Budget confirms Arts Funding drop under Labor

The October Budget shows arts funding falling in 2022/23 and over the forward estimates, Shadow Minister for the Arts, Paul Fletcher said today. 

“Labor’s arts funding strategy in this budget is nothing more than moving existing money around and applying some new labels,” Mr Fletcher said. 

“Labor’s Live Performance Support Fund uses $20 million ripped out of the RISE Fund which the Coalition set aside in the March 2022 Budget.

“That money should have been put to work to assist the sector months ago.

“Whether any of it is ever actually used now remains to be seen, given the Live Performance Support Fund is available for only three months, and the states and territories have now withdrawn their COVID public health orders.

“Labor claims to be extending the Coalition’s Temporary Interruption Fund (for screen productions which suffer a delay or cancellation because a key figure gets COVID) but this involves no new money.

“Labor have sought to inflate their financial contribution to the arts by thorough accounting tricks such as moving the cost of Old Parliament House into the arts budget figures.

“The fact is the highest ever level of Commonwealth arts funding in Australian history occurred in 2021-22 under the Coalition Government, reaching around one billion dollars. 

“Under Labor’s budget funding has dropped sharply from 2021/22,” Mr Fletcher said.