The Royal Society of New South Wales, one of Australia’s oldest societies, deplores the Prime Minister’s proposed restructure of public service departments, in which Arts is moved to a mega-department with responsibilities for infrastructure, transport, cities and communications—surely an unpromising home for the Arts. And the situation is made worse by the fact that Arts is not mentioned in the title of any department.

The Society’s view is that the Arts play an essential role in Australian society, and that governments play a key role in ensuring their vitality. The proposed changes leave the unavoidable impression that the federal government’s commitment to the Arts is weakening.

9 December 2019