Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make a contribution to this debate, the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee's report into the impact of the 2014-15 Commonwealth budget decisions on the arts. I am inspired, because of the verbal diarrhoeathat was given to this chamber by Senator Macdonald. Quite frankly, coming from Tasmania, I understand and appreciate what the arts means to our state. In fact, Australia's arts community has a worldwide reputation for what we are able to achieve in this country.

I also want to place on record—and I have said this before—that I have never known a Liberal government that is so out of touch that they could polarise community groups that normally do not get up in arms about the government of the day. We had GPs around the country up in arms, campaigning against the tax that this government were trying to impose on every single Australian going to visit their GP.

Now Senator Brandis—what a mistake having him as Minister for the Arts; it is beyond belief—has managed to unite the entire arts community right around this great country by submitting 2,700 submissions to this inquiry. It is very unfortunate that I was not able to participate in this committee, because the contribution of Senator Macdonald—who, with all due respect, has been in this place a very long time—today and his behaviour at those hearings are an absolute disgrace. I know that those people on the other side of the chamber hang their heads in shame quite often when he makes a contribution in this place, but it was a terrible display from a respectable senator at those public hearings.

I want to thank those 2,700 submitters who took the time—and let's face it: the arts community is hardly rolling in money; a lot of their work is done by volunteers—to put together a submission and attend one of those public hearings. They were able to put their position, and to hear such a united and strong voice from the arts community right around this country is a credit to each and every one of them.

There was almost unanimous agreement that, if the new program was to go ahead, it must be new money and not at the expense of the Australia Council's program. This is a very, very short-sighted government. By creating this slush fund, if nothing else, Minister Brandis has united the arts community, because they are angry and confused and they have every right to be.

Senator Ludlam gave credit to Senator Fifield as the new minister—he has a lot more confidence than I have, because I have experienced what he was like when he was the assistant minister for aged care: he could not even roll out a policy and a framework that was already in place from the former Labor government; he could not even roll out something that was already planned. What Senator Fifield will do, I am afraid, is continue with Senator Brandis's policy. Therefore I do not have Senator Ludlam's confidence in Senator Fifield.

I sincerely hope I am proven wrong, because this country will be much poorer if we do not fund the arts community to the level that it should be, to ensure that people within the community—young Australians—have the support they need to participate in the arts in whatever form. It is another glaring example of how out of touch and arrogant this government is.

I spoke earlier today, as I have a number of times, about when those on that side in the Liberal Party knifed Tony Abbott and replaced him with the new Prime Minister. The community had a sigh of relief. They really did have a sigh of relief, believing that they had someone new, with a better suit, who could put a few words together. In fact, some would say he has verbal diarrhoea. But what the arts community are doing now is sighing with relief that George Brandis was sacked from that position. So they are hoping that Senator Fifield steps up to the mark and reinstates that funding that the arts community in this country deserve—and I hope that I am wrong and that he does.

The government can very easily put this uncertainty the rest, just as they can with the GST. We are fortunate enough to have the minister in this chamber. They can come into the chamber and make a statement to say that in the 2015-16 budget we will now restore that funding. In May, in the next budget, they can come in here and restore that funding. That would be a fantastic thing for him to be able to do. That would give me some confidence that the new minister is showing some vision and some leadership and will take the arts community with him to ensure that that funding is there and that all the arts community right around this great country can aspire to be the best that they can be.

I do take exception to Senator Macdonald when he comes into this chamber and espouses that we only set committee meetings around the availability of some members of that committee. That is not the way the Senate operates. I can assure you that, as a former chair of committees participating in the Community Affairs Committee, one of the busiest committees in this place, every endeavour is always made to accommodate all senators. So if Senator Macdonald was unable to get to any of those hearings he could have, by all means, ensured that there was a member of the government there. To say that the whole agenda was around Melbourne and Sydney is quite wrong, because that committee went down to Hobart to listen to what the Tasmanian arts community had to say, and their concerns reflected everything that was being said around the country.

I do know there are other senators who want to make a contribution, but I just wanted to place on record that the inspiration that I had to make a contribution was because of the verbal diarrhoea from Senator Macdonald and the attack on the institution of the arts community in this country.