Dr WOODRUFF – Just sticking on regional arts, a comment that was made by a number of arts producers who live outside of the Launceston-Hobart areas were sick and tired of the federal regional arts money and perhaps to some extent, I wonder how much of this is affecting Tasmanian arts funding for regions, they are sick and tired of it being allocated to touring things being produced, that are being seen in Launceston and Hobart to regional parts of Tasmania and calling that regional arts development.
Do not get me wrong, there not unhappy with things being toured, it has great that people in regions get to see, but that is not generating regional arts creativity and culture. It is not helping the flourishing of regional arts itself. Are these conversations you would have with the federal body to push back a bit on using that regional arts money, which should be about creating, generating, the growth in that sector within regions to be used a touring mechanism for big productions outside of the main centers?
Ms ARCHER – Again, we need to look at what I have control over and what I have control over to a large extent is the state funding through different arts streams. We try to disperse that as fairly as possible. It is certainly something that our STEAG in terms of our screen funding what they look at its certainly a peer assessment process under Arts Tasmania grants, try to look at it from that perspective, it is just one factor they look at.
Dr Sudmalis I am not sure if you have anything to add in relation to regional arts and whether or not we are looking at beneficiaries being located and not, as differentiated from touring, arts, I think that is the question.
Dr SUDMALIS – Thank you for the focus on Regional Arts Australia. Regional Arts Australia manages a number of things on behalf of the Australian government, including the regional arts fund which essentially is a competitive program, there’s a couple of things I think that are worth nothing.
Firstly, the Australian government uses for this, for the purposes of the regional arts fund, and regional arts Australia, the modified Monash model of regionality, which means that all of Tasmania is considered regional for the points of this discussion. Necessarily Arts Tasmania calibrates regional as Greater Hobart and then outside of Greater Hobart to better remedy the notion that Arts Tasmania is Hobart and nothing else.
The Regional Arts Fund is managed by Regional Arts Australia and in Tasmania by RANT Arts at Deloraine, is subject to grant guidelines that have been approved by the Australian Governments Minister for the Arts. Recent conversations indicate there is a reasonable likelihood some of these guidelines and emphasis might change, even the change in Minister at the Australian Government level. I do not know what those changes might be.
I think that is the next stage of the discussion and that is to be held probably with the new Australian Government Minister for the Arts and the chair of Regional Arts, Simon Spain.
Ms ARCHER – Who is Tasmanian, who is a wonderful advocate for Tasmania.
CHAIR – The time for scrutiny for these portfolios has expired. The committee will meet back here at 9 a.m. sharp tomorrow where we will be examining the portfolios of Energy and Renewables.
Ms ARCHER – Can I take this opportunity to thank the Department of State Growth and others at the table, different department, and for my acting deputy secretary and all of our attendants, thank you.
