Is Aboriginal Arts Funding Out of Proportion?

I asked Creative Australia why Aboriginal organisations are receiving such an out-of-proportion share of arts funding.

Their own annual report shows $32.1 million in First Nations investments out of a $285.8 million funding pool – over 10%, roughly three times the proportion of Aboriginal Australians.

Promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is important and no one disputes that. But why is it treated as more important than promoting any other form of art?

Proportion matters.

If it doesn’t – isn’t that just more divisive?

Transcript

CHAIR: Senator Roberts.  

Senator ROBERTS: Thank you for appearing today. I want to start by making the observation that your grants are important to what most Australians would consider culture—symphony orchestras through to local brass bands, regional and city theatres, museums and art galleries—genuine arts. We recognise the importance and that people think they’re important. These need support. My questions go to what appears to be the strong appearance of DEI in recent years, which suggests you either have too much money or have lost contact with community expectations. My question is: looking at the last three years of grants, eight of your top 20 grants by value are to Aboriginal organisations for a total of $13 million out of $37 million. That’s more than one-third. Why are Aboriginal projects prioritised over the wider community? Our Aboriginal community is not one-third of the Australian community. 

Mr Blackwell: I think that by far our biggest funding agreement is with Opera Australia, and there are 39, I think, organisations in the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework, which account for approximately $140 million of the investment that we had last year, which was $285.8 million overall. The total value of investments to First Nations, as reported in our annual report last year, was $32.1 million out of that $285.8 million.  

Senator ROBERTS: So it’s a bit over 10 per cent.  

Mr Blackwell: It was a bit over 10 per cent.  

Senator ROBERTS: What about your top 20 grants—$13 million out of $37 million of the top 20 grants?  

Mr Blackwell: What program are you referring to? If we look at grants, we’ve got grants in multiyear funding agreements, we’ve got project grants and suchlike. If I were to look at the top 20 multiyear grants within Creative Australia, then they will all be in the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework. There are three First Nations organisations in the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework: Bangarra, Marrugeku and Ilbijerri. I think they would rank at about $3 million to $4 million for Bangarra, and about just over a million for the other two. They are obviously, by far, a lot smaller than the top grants within that category. I’m not sure where that information is coming from.  

Senator ROBERTS: Could you check, then, that eight of your top 20 grants by value are to Aboriginal organisations.  

Mr Blackwell: I don’t think that’s correct.  

Senator ROBERTS: Can you check?  

Mr Blackwell: I can check, sure. I don’t know those figures.  

Senator ROBERTS: Just take it on notice. I haven’t got any more figures other than the global figures. Eight of your top 20 grants by value—  

Mr Blackwell: Can I ask about the source of the information? That will actually help me answer your question.  

Senator ROBERTS: My staff are very diligent. I’m assuming it came from your figures.  

Mr Blackwell: Our figures would have been through, say, our annual report. If they came from our annual report, they are the figures that I’ve given you, which would be $32 million on a total investment of $285 million.  

Senator ROBERTS: So that’s more than 10 per cent?  

Mr Blackwell: That would be just more than 10 per cent, yes.  

Senator ROBERTS: About 11 or maybe even 12 per cent?  

Mr Blackwell: Yes.  

Senator ROBERTS: That’s about three times the proportion of Aboriginals in our Australian community.  

Mr Blackwell: We have—  

Senator ROBERTS: It’s out of proportion. That is what I’m getting at. It doesn’t matter whose figures we use; these figures which would have come from you—  

Senator Green: The parliament passed a law in 2023 that established the current Creative Australia as we know it—  

Senator ROBERTS: 2023?  

Senator Green: 2023. And one of the functions of Creative Australia is to—well, there are lots of functions in the act. There’s the promotion of art. Safe workplaces is one of them. And the promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is one of the functions of Creative Australia.  

Senator ROBERTS: Out of proportion to other—  

Senator Green: No, it’s not about proportion. The law doesn’t say that it should be proportional; it says that it is their job to promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.  

Senator ROBERTS: More so than others.  

Senator Green: That’s what the parliament agreed to.  

Senator ROBERTS: Thank you, Minister.  

Senator Green: You’re welcome.