Policy F2: Arts and Culture

Issued: June 2008

Principles

The Australian Greens believe that:

1. creative artistic expression and cultural experience is a fundamental aspect of social wellbeing.
2. access to diverse, innovative artistic and cultural experiences should available to all Australians.
3. Australian artistic expression and culture should be protected and promoted.
4. creative artists play an essential role in Australian social life and should be fostered and supported.
5. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and artistic work express unique cultures and heritage which must be supported, respected and appropriately protected through legislation, policy and funding priorities.
6. cultural heritage must be protected and preserved.
7. national libraries and collecting institutions are essential to our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world and must be maintained and developed as the repositories of cultural heritage.

Goals

The Australian Greens want:

8. Australian arts and culture to maintain its unique character and diverse nature through support and promotion of local content and the development of local projects for all forms of art and culture.
9. to promote arts and cultural events and access to those events with appropriate funding and support.
10. increased access to arts and cultural experiences in rural and regional areas.
11. the support and promotion of arts and culture that reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Australian population.

Measures

The Australian Greens will:

12. recognise the importance of arts and culture to our society by promoting a national approach to policies and programs.
13. prioritise and safeguard public funding for our national artistic and cultural institutions.
14. support and adequately resource the Australia Council as the principal independent body for policy development and administration of arts grants programs.
15. increase funding incentives for artists and arts events to tour in rural and regional areas.
16. reinstate the Community Cultural Development program as a discrete funding program in the Australia Council.
17. support the expansion of the Commonwealth Art Bank – Art Rental program with a focus on emerging artists.
18. sign and ratify the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003.
19. ensure that any Trade Agreement or other international instrument does not adversely affect Australian artists and cultural expression.
20. protect indigenous intellectual and artistic property rights.