Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Directed art—that's right. Bureaucratic art—we don't want that. People should go back and have a look at some of the turgid art that was produced over the years and came out of the old Soviet Union. That was state dictated art. There was that brutalist architecture, devoid of any humanity, devoid of any art. That's the art you get out of bureaucracy. Give the funding to the grassroots, to all those wonderful artists out there. Give the money to the grassroots as effectively and efficiently as possible. Deliver it to them.

But what we are seeing here is an increase in bureaucracy. According to the budget, the average number of staff at the Australia Council will increase by 32 per cent—from an estimated 108 in 2022-23 to 143. What are these people going to be doing? Our Public Service does a wonderful job in this city—absolutely—and they have to do what the ministers dictate. To the extent the ministers want to set a government dictated cultural policy and dictate how we should be creative, I guess the public servants just have to do their best—but what are all these people going to be doing? What are these extra 35 people going to be doing? Why don't we give the money direct to the artists, to the performers and to the venues? There are wonderful venues in my home state of Queensland which need support. This is where the money should be going—not to bureaucracy but to the performers, the theatres and those who need that support, especially young performers starting on their artistic journeys. I congratulate each and every one of them. The next Peter Weir and the next great painters—we should be supporting them at the grassroots level. That's our basic philosophical objection to the approach of the government in relation to this matter.

In conclusion, I would like to pay my respects to, and say something positive about, the previous arts minister, Minister Fletcher. I think he did an outstanding job as arts minister. I was listening reasonably carefully, between my interjections, and I noted that there wasn't much said about then minister Fletcher by those opposite. But I think he did do an outstanding job as arts minister, especially during the COVID pandemic, which was a very, very difficult time. In my discussions with him, conveying the concerns of my constituents in my home state of Queensland, he took his responsibilities in that regard extremely seriously. I would like to see the great work that then minister Fletcher discharged in that role built upon, not detracted from, during the term of this parliament and during the course of this government.