After the environment portfolio lost its right to stand alone, moving into Department of Environment and Energy in 2016, perhaps it is no real surprise that the current coalition government is going ahead with the axing of the Department of Communications and the Arts.
It will become part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications from February 2020. Note there is no mention of arts in the name, nor did the Prime Minister mention the arts in the press conference following the announcement, nor did the same government present an arts policy in the lead up to the 2019 election.
While we can only speculate on what it means in practice for the future of funding beyond the current budget, alarm bells are certainly ringing for many of us who recognise the symbolic power of rendering the arts invisible at a federal department level, and who have a shared understanding that a strong and vibrant arts sector is essential to a thriving democracy.
Australia as an open democracy is already under question for recent curtailing of rights. Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) reported that according to CIVICUS, an international alliance dedicated to strengthening civil society, Australia has been downgraded in its civil space tracking monitor from 'open' to 'narrowed'.
CIVICUS makes reference to the police raids on journalists earlier this year, anti-encryption laws and their impact on privacy as well as changes to security laws in 2018 with the passing of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill, criticised for infringing upon freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
HRLC are calling for a Charter of Human Rights and there seem to be an increasing number of signs that we need one.
Without a stipulated national human rights framework to turn to, we can look to UNESCO, of which Australia is a member, and the 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Article 5 recognises that cultural rights are inseparable from human rights, along with Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognises the right to free participation in cultural life and enjoyment of the arts. The arts need be promoted as public goods that are accessible to all. Subsuming them into an already large portfolio implies the opposite.
"In the face of so much adversity, from climate crises to a broader climate of instability, we need art in all its forms more