The government has defended its decision to axe the federal arts department, saying artists should welcome its new home within an infrastructure mega department
But on Wednesday, Minister for Communications and the Arts Paul Fletcher tried to calm the waters.He said the arts are still represented by a minister in cabinet and there has been no change to the number of people working on arts policy.The minister said it is not unprecedented for the arts to sit in a department that does not bear its name.
"There is no change in the resources committed to the arts - $749 million is what the Commonwealth is committing to the arts in 2019/20."Mr Fletcher also said the move presents"interesting ideas for cross-pollination". "It is a sector that is full of very creative, innovative, thoughtful people, and they want their expertise to be available more broadly. This is a good opportunity to do that."It was a point that some in the arts community have since challenged.
"The issue is not who the arts is with, the issue is removing the name of the arts ... It's the invisibility of the arts at the top level," she said."It's hard to have confidence in the way our colleagues in the public sector will be relied upon and respected across government when they don't even have a name."
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