Media Release - Further Funding for National Collecting Institutions Is Welcomed

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday 5 April 2023

Further Funding for National Collecting Institutions Is Welcomed

The Coalition welcomes today’s announcement of further funding for the National Collecting Institutions. This builds on very significant capital funding commitments made by the Coalition during our time in Government.

For the National Gallery we committed $20 million to upgrade lighting in December 2020 and $28.6 million for a range of capital works in May 2021.

For the National Library we invested over $24 million into Trove from 2016, and in 2021 provided further funding for Trove of $5.7 million through to 30 June 2023.

In 2021, we provided $47 million for digitising and preservation of works held across eight National Collecting Institutions, with the work led by the National Film and Sound Archive.

The Coalition will use parliamentary accountability mechanisms such as Senate Estimates to probe the details of this announcement.  Minister Burke has form in making arts funding announcements which turn out not to be backed up by detail, such as his September 2022 announcement that there would be funding for a Live Performance Support Fund which he later abandoned.

We will also ask whether today’s funding commitment comes at the expense of other programs and support offered under the existing Arts budget, as occurred last year when remaining unallocated funding under the Coalition’s successful RISE program was cut by the Minister.

FURTHER INFORMATION: JACK ABADEE 0403 440 099