'A myth from Labor': Paul Fletcher has no regrets over arts funding ahead of national cultural policy

The Morrison government arts minister and now opposition spokesman is also concerned that the Arts Minister Tony Burke is about to impose an "industrial relations agenda" on the COVID-19 hit arts sector in its imminent national cultural policy.

Mr Burke will on Monday unveil Australia's first cultural policy in a decade, but while the Prime Minister this month described the mainly Canberra-based institutions - like the National Archives and the National Gallery of Australia - as "starved of funds", any new significant funding for the arts sector will have to wait until the May budget.

Mr Fletcher said he has heard the arts sector being described as suffering effectively from long COVID as it has had essentially almost two years of not having business as usual.

"It's now been a month since this government came to power, we've already had one budget, there was no new money for the arts. In fact, there was money taken away," he told The Canberra Times.

"When are we going to see the feel good rhetoric backed by significant resource commitments? I think that's a big test for this national cultural policy."

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Built around five pillars, the new cultural policy has been based on six months consultation and around 1200 written submissions and is expected to include new Australian content quotas for streaming services and improve remuneration for artists.

"These things tend to go in cycles, things move in and out of fashion," Mr Fletcher said.

"One thing I do expect we'll see is further attempts or continuing attempts by the Labor government to impose an industrial relations agenda on the arts. If you look at the language that's been used to date, a significant part of what seems to be motivating them is to try and get the sector to sign up to new union friendly industrial frameworks.

"What I would like to see is a lot of emphasis on audiences. What audiences want. How to best serve audiences."

Mr Burke, who is also the Workplace Relations Minister, has said he wants artists treated more as workers and he wants them to get a fair pay after what he called a "decade of neglect and funding cuts under the Liberals".

Artists traditionally don't have stable incomes, but Mr Fletcher does not want any fix to stifle creativity.

"First of all, let's wait and see what the measures are. If you look at some of the submissions coming from organisations like the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, there is a clear agenda to impose a more rigid industrial relations framework on the arts," he said.

"Now that would be very problematic if it reduced or constrained the different range of ways in which the arts operate."

The public sector efficiency dividend applied to the cultural institutions in the late 1980s by Labor have led to years of financial squeeze, but it continued under every succeeding government.

The National Gallery is considering closing two days a week and charging entrance fees, the National Liberal is overdue for capital works and its Trove public digital service is about to run out of funds, while the National Archives remains concerned about its priceless historical treasures.

Could the Coalition have done something about this situation more while in office?

"The Prime Minister is engaged in the complete rewriting of history," Mr Fletcher said. "We provided very, very substantial funding for the national collecting institutions, including we provided funding for Trove for further two years. Now in the Prime Minister's first budget in October last year, no more money for Trove."

"So he's forcing the National Library to wait until the last possible moment to know if it's going to get any more money."

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He admits the institutions have a "range of issues" and all need renewal, but he accused the government of shifting blame.

The former Arts Minister said he has no regrets.

"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. This is a myth from Labor. The facts are very clear. We delivered record arts funding," he declared. "2021-22 arts funding was around a billion dollars, commonwealth arts funding. Absolutely no government, Liberal or Labor has ever reached that level of arts funding. This is Labor trying to rewrite history. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Labor's now in power, it's now up to them to shoulder the continuing responsibility of support for national collecting institutions."