Richard Watts, Labor boosts funding in new arts policy, ArtsHub, 4 June 2015
The Australian Labor Party has promised an extra $80 million over four years for the Australia Council and $60 million for local drama on the ABC, as part of a new arts policy to be launched today.
Regional arts, live music and arts education are also prioritised in the policy, Labor’s first arts policy since the launch of the short-lived National Cultural Policy – Creative Australia in 2013.
The policy, launched at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre on Saturday 4 June, promises to restore the arts and creative industries ‘to their rightful place in Australia’s cultural and economic life’.
As previously promised by Labor, the new policy features an end to the divisive Catalyst fund, with all remaining Catalyst money to be returned to the Australia Council. It also undoes the $72 million cut over four years from the Australia Council budget, and increases funding by an additional $8 million
Read: Labor promises to return lost Australia Council funding
