Governments must view arts and culture funding as an investment not just a price tag, writes Simon Crean on the Queensland Government's cuts to arts in the state budget.

The arts were a substantial casualty in the Queensland budget last week with the axing of grant programs and the obliteration of arts education initiatives.

This is a short-sighted attack by the Queensland Government on an entire creative generation.

The Newman Government sees arts funding as an indulgence when in fact it has been fundamental to the growth and the diversity of both Brisbane and regional Queensland.

Queensland was once the smart state with a commitment to creative and liveable communities. A creative society is a more productive society and the Newman Government's failure to understand these basic principles jeopardises the economy and liveability of Queensland.

You just have to look at the thriving hotspots of Brisbane's South Bank precinct drawing in thousands of locals and tourists. The Gallery of Modern Art last year topped the most-visited galleries league and there's the vitally important interactive media industry in Fortitude Valley.

The Queensland Government cancelled the Premier's Literary Awards almost on day one of taking office. They then cut funding for the Fanfare and MOST youth music programs. With last week's budget we now see $20 million ripped out of arts grant programs including the early cessation of the hugely popular Art + Place program.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4267544.html?WT.svl=theDrum

Gus: as we say in the art world, Newman isn't the sharpest pencil in the box...

from Bob Ellis...

There will be a book eventually written called The Economic Consequences Of David Marr. A hung parliament, a needless panicky surplus, a hydrophobic Campbell Newman trashing our social democracy all derive from David’s ‘rat-fuck’ tut-tut.  And the Labor Party’s extinction may derive from this ‘wall-fist’ tut-tut, over a bashed wall and some up-close home truths said to a tough little woman long, long ago.

It’s all of a piece, though, really, with the Thomson and Slipper ‘parliamentary poison’ beat-ups, the ‘government in chaos’ beat-ups, the ‘school hall debacle’ beat-ups, the ‘parliament unworkable’ beat-up, the ‘Gillard leadership toxic’ beat-up, all of Abbott’s making, and some say he deserves it.

But I do not. This fair-go country is, or used to be, better than that. And we, or some of us, should be ashamed.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/the-economic-consequences-of-david-marr/

----------------------------------

Coming from Bob Ellis who tried to bury Julia Gillard in a few articles, this one is a bit suspect... What? He supports Abbott's right to crap on us?... Hang on... Bob Ellis tells us how righteous he is here:

---------------------------------

I, too, want Tony Abbott gone, but this is ridiculous. If he were brought down for stirring the current shitstorm in which hundreds have drowned, and thousands of children are to be ill-schooled and shamed and tempted by suicide on Nauru, fine. If he were brought down for defending a Dutch trawler’s right to loot our sea of its fish, fine. But for attacking a wall in 1978 and speaking harshly to a female rival minutes after his defeat … really?

---------------------------------

Well. so what... really... Abbott has not changed much.... He's the little catholic boy who will sin like buggery but then will commit an act of charity to absolve himself while tooting he's a nice bloke because look at it... He's charitable and the photgraphers are there to prove it... Ah, Bob...

And from what I could make of David Marr's article, this incident was only mentioned in passing and there was far more to glean from his musings... But the media chose to focus on this incident — not because it happenned (it did) — but because the little shit denied it... That's tells far more about the character of Abbott than punching a uni wall.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-20/campbell-newman-identifies-design-fault-to-clarke/4272618?WT.svl=news4

THE state government is recruiting two $400,000-a-year executives who will be tasked with deepening the cuts to the public service, where 2000 education and health workers already face the axe.
The additions to Treasurer Mike Baird's razor gang will qualify for a one-off, $43,000 ''recruitment allowance'' and an annual bonus of $43,000 to top up their maximum base pay of $402,150. The starting pay for a teacher in NSW is $44,000.
The new positions, to be known as ''associate secretaries'', are a new level of bureaucrat directly underneath the Treasury secretary, Philip Gaetjens.
Last week, The Sun-Herald revealed Mr Gaetjens, in his other role as the chairman of the NSW Treasury Corporation - known as TCorp - approved a $5 million refurbishment of the corporation's swanky city headquarters.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/recruitment-bonus-is-obscene-waste-20120922-26dn8.html#ixzz27EtXoM1N

LIBERAL – NATIONAL Party Government’s in the NOB States (Newman in Queensland, O’Farrell in NSW and Baillieu in Victoria) are showing their true conservative economic credentials when in power.

There must be surplus budgets. This is dogma to these governments. To achieve that, savage cuts to health, education, welfare services and the public sector are being put in place. The people of the States must pay for the impact of the excesses of the global financial crisis on the States’ Budgets. Unemployment must rise, so that wealthy investors can be reassured by the State’s credit rating that it is a safe place to invest.

All of this is a foretaste of what is to come at Federal level, if and when the Liberal – National Party Coalition, led by Tony Abbott, win the next Federal Election. No one can say they weren’t warned!

As part of the implementation of this program of cuts in NSW, Gillian Skinner, Minister for Health, NSW, announced on the 13th September 2012 that $3 billion would be cut from health services in NSW over the next four years. This was just after Adrian Piccoli, Minister for Education, announced $1.6 billion cut in the States education services.

This amount includes $775 million from the imposition of a “labour expense cap” announced for every NSW government department in this year’s budget. A further $2.2 billion would be cut from NSW Health in “efficiency savings”. Gillian Skinner said that the money cut as part of the labour expenses cap would go back to Treasury as consolidated revenue, but she insisted at the time of the announcement that the $2.2 billion would be redirected to front line clinical services.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/nob-state-health-cuts-will-cost-lives/

Queensland Health employees losing their positions should be told they have made a “significant contribution” but their roles are no longer needed, according to a leaked script prepared to help managers deliver the news.

The document, titled “Suggested manager script for informing substantive employees their role is no longer required in the new structure – one on one”, is 2½ pages long.

According to the script, distributed to media by the Queensland Nurses' Union which says an employee leaked it, managers should start out by telling employees they “understand this is a difficult time”.

“We've had to make some tough decisions following the approval of our structure,” the document says.

“Our branch's core business is now <insert core business>. This means unfortunately not all employees are now needed to deliver these priorities.

“It is greatly regretted your substantive position is one of those no longer required here in the <insert branch>. This means that in the near future, you will be offered a voluntary redundancy.

“(I understand you have been with the department for <insert timeframe>). You have made a significant contribution to Queensland Health and the public sector <insert some examples>.”

• See the full document

Queensland Housing Minister Bruce Flegg has resigned days after a former staffer raised questions about the accuracy of his lobbyist register.

Dr Flegg was accused of not properly documenting interactions with this son, who works for lobbying firm Rowland.

The sacked staffer also alleged Dr Flegg's diary was altered to show he was working in his electorate when he was practising medicine.

Dr Flegg says it was an "administrative oversight".

He became emotional as he told Parliament that he wanted to prevent any further damage to the State Government.

"Madam Speaker, you might guess from my demeanour today that I am tendering my resignation to the Premier," he said.

"I want everyone in this place to understand fully I am taking that action.

"The Premier has not asked me or approached me in any way about that."

Premier Campbell Newman says he accepted Dr Flegg's resignation with regret.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-14/bruce-flegg-resigns-as-housing-minister/4371790?WT.svl=news2

THE CAMPBELL NEWMAN Queensland Government cut funding for the Premier’s Literary Awards earlier this year.

Then, later in the year, they gave $200,000 to assist in the production of the reality television show Big Brother.

No, this isn’t a joke; this actually happened.

The Literary Awards were cut to save $244,000, just $44,000 more than was given to the producers of Big Brother.  The Government’s defence for the Big Brother cash splash was about the jobs that it would create for Queensland. Except, they weren’t Queensland jobs ― they were Gold Coast jobs. Next defence was about it being a tourism boost ― again, for the Gold Coast.

We can’t put all of the blame on the Newman Government though. The Big Brother payout was actually granted by the Bligh Government ― although no contracts were signed until the Newman Government took over.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/campbell-newman-funds-big-brother-against-the-arts-in-queensland/