Wednesday, 12 August 2026

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (19:11): (1775) Tonight I raise a matter for the new Minister for Creative Industries, and I ask the minister to urgently increase funding for Melbourne’s small and medium arts and cultural organisations and give them the long-term financial security they need. Ask anyone why they love living in Melbourne and near the top of the list will be our arts and culture. It is what sets our city apart from the rest of Australia and in fact the world. But right now that is under threat. Our small and medium arts organisations are having their funding cut or stripped back or handed out in very short term increments that really make it impossible to plan, let alone thrive. Without these organisations, our bigger arts institutions and our industry as a whole cannot exist, as the smaller organisations are the pipeline for growing talent and experience. We are already seeing the impact of a lack of investment. Just one example: we saw the musical Waitress’s run cut short in Melbourne. Think of it this way: it is impossible to imagine that the AFL would exist without all the grassroots junior and suburban footy clubs, schools and PE teachers around the country training our kids and young people and building up skills. And yet somehow we expect our arts sector to thrive without investment in small and medium organisations and without support for mandatory arts and music education in schools. It does not make sense.

Let me give you a concrete example in my electorate. Last week I met again with the CEO and the board of La Mama Theatre in Carlton. It is a much-loved small independent theatre in my electorate known as the incubator of new talent and also the place where Cate Blanchett started her career. But La Mama’s future is uncertain. In the last round of Creative Victoria funding they received only two-year funding, not the usual four, and it makes planning almost impossible. Without that state investment, when they apply for federal funding in the cycle early next year they might miss out because they cannot demonstrate that matched state support, so it is a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, they are not alone. Writers Victoria, Musica Viva Australia, live music venues and the Abbotsford Convent all had funding cut back by the Labor government, and many will close without urgent funding. That also means lost jobs. One in 10 working Victorians work in the creative industries, and that is huge for our state. They are not asking for much. La Mama is asking for $300,000 a year for just two years. It is peanuts when you consider that Labor is able to find $400 million for the grand prix and $500 million for greyhound racing over 10 years – industries that employ a fraction of the people of the arts sector. And if not for the jobs, it is also just time that we invested in the arts for its own sake, for the joy and the depth it brings to our lives. If that reason is not enough, Labor might consider the 300,000 Victorians who work in creative industries and who will cast their votes in November. They are not likely to prioritise Labor if Labor has not prioritised them. It is time to invest in the soul of Melbourne, our arts.