Arts Policy

Principles

The Greens NSW believe:

1. That the arts are an integral part of people’s lives, and we recognise the importance to all Australians of a rich and lively artistic life;
2. We should uphold the right of all Australians to ready access to the arts, both as audience and as participants;
3. Age, financial, physical or cultural differences or difficulties should not disbar any Australian from engaging in, or enjoying, the arts;
4. We have a right to education that develops individual creativity and the appreciation of the creativity of others;
5. Freedom of expression is fundamental to the arts and the ability of all artists to comment on the nature of our society must be preserved as part of the structure of a just and democratic society;
6. It is especially important that Australians’ have a right of access to all our intellectual and cultural heritage (including Indigenous and immigrant heritage);
7. Amateur, local and small-scale artistic endeavours are of particular value, and we affirm that some government assistance should be available for such endeavours; and
8. The community should respect the value of the Indigenous cultures of Australia, and we believe that particular support should be given to Indigenous artistic activities.

   
   Goals
   

   The Greens NSW will work to:

9. Support the practice of professional artists through government grants to individual artists and financial assistance to exhibitions, performances, publications, and recordings created by professional artistic institutions;
10. Prevent any legislative or administrative action that limits, on political grounds, freedom of expression in works of art;
11. Increase local community participation in artistic and intellectual life;
12. Support advocacy organisations to represent artists and inform debate at all levels of State and Local Government consultation, policy-making and decision-making;
13. Make community development and community access essential parts of all government-funded arts, cultural and educational institutions;
14. Increase consultation with youth organizations, youth council workers, social workers, teachers and others working directly with youth, in order to form policies and projects which develop young people’s interests and capabilities; and
15. Support the retrieval of Indigenous ancestral remains and secret/sacred objects both from within Australia and abroad in order to return them to Indigenous control.

    
    Detail
    

    The Greens NSW will work to:

16. Increase substantially the total funding of arts organizations in NSW;
17. Increase the proportion of arts funding set aside for small to medium artistic organizations;
18. Increase the proportion of the NSW Arts Budget devoted to Community and Local Projects;
19. Ensure funding is spread to all regions throughout New South Wales with special attention addressed to the Far West, to Western Sydney, to Indigenous Communities and extending seeding grants for artists and areas not currently covered by such funding;
20. Fix payments to arts workers employed by the NSW Government (whether in funded projects, grants and one-off hirings) at a point to be negotiated above the average wage in NSW;
21. Simplify applications for government funding by artists and community groups;
22. Democratize and broaden the consultation base for funding decisions;
23. Ensure that local libraries are centres of community interaction, as well as information dissemination;
24. Implement the recommendations of the National Aboriginal and Islander Cultural Strategy, 1997, including supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural industries, developing the links between those cultural industries and the tourism industry; and implementing prison art programs;
25. Increase NSW Government funding for Education in Aboriginal and Islander skills to make up for the cuts in funding by the Federal Government;
26. Set up programs in schools and in community and youth centres for visiting writers, artists and musicians, with the multiple aims of:

• 26.1 Educating young people through direct exposure to art in process;
• 26.2 Helping artists financially; and
• 26.3 Encouraging life-long participation in the arts;

27. Establish “arts banks” in local government areas by allocating a percentage of development levies (Section 94 funds) to art and craft works that beautify particular development and enhance the local environment;
28. Ensure that day-to-day access to all public museums and art galleries is free;
29. Provide limited financial support for artist-run ventures such as galleries and performance venues;
30. Protect the provision of live entertainment in pubs and clubs by:

• 30.1 Reducing the numbers of poker machines in hotels and clubs;
• 30.2 Levying what poker machines remain, so that a proportion of their “take” goes to employ live musicians in hotels and clubs; and
• 30.3 Amending the Place of Public Entertainment (POPE) development application process, so as to allow acoustic and non-amplified live performances;

31. Advocate the state government subsidising and supporting film culture, in particular repertory screening programs such as the NSW Cinematheque;
32. Provide limited funding for community radio and television; and
33. Amend/or rescind NSW legislation that limits artistic expression by furthering or complementing the Federal Government’s “Sedition” Laws.