I see that the NSW Government is responding to the crisis of survival being faced by artists and arts and cultural organisations of all kinds from ‘the burden of rising costs, rapidly shifting audience trends and waning philanthropic support’ by focusing on the promise of tax reform. This is after a long period of shocks to the creative sector that have threatened its viability.
Navigating the shifting currents of the NSW, Australian and global environment.
‘There is a strong focus on tax reform for the cultural sector across State governments with engagement from the Australian Government, linked to a broader national focus on tax reform generally.’
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald, which you probably won’t be able to read because of its paywall, noted ‘Australia’s struggling culture sector could be handed much-needed extra funding under plans to use a radical shakeup of the nation’s tax system to alleviate the burden of rising costs, rapidly shifting audience trends and waning philanthropic support.’ Options being considered include ‘exempting prize money from GST, giving wealthy benefactors added incentives to donate, taxing vacant commercial spaces and allowing arts workers to claim new expenses.’
There is a strong focus on tax reform for the cultural sector across State governments with engagement from the Australian Government, linked to a broader national focus on tax reform generally. I gather that Arts Minister Tony Burke is interested in considering the idea as part of reviewing the Labor Government’s national cultural policy, originally announced in 2023.
This has implications for the whole of the broad creative economy. According to the Herald article, any changes would potentially apply to ‘galleries, libraries and museums; performing arts such as theatre, dance and comedy; music; screen and digital games; visual arts and crafts; literature and writing; and the design, architecture and fashion industries.’
Focus beyond funding
It could be an important initiative and it’s interesting that it is coming from a State government, rather than the Australian Government, which has the main tax powers in Australia. When we look at the role of government in this area, we often focus on funding, but support by government for creativity and culture has traditionally encompassed a broad range of measures that extend far more broadly than funding – and in fact much of this support is far more important than funding.
Often overlooked but critical is the role of regulation, legislative frameworks (including Intellectual Property), the establishing of standards and support for international conventions. Some of the most important ways the Government supports arts and culture is through its role in education and training.
‘When we look at the role of government in this area, we often focus on funding, but support by government for creativity and culture has traditionally encompassed a broad range of measures that extend far more broadly than funding – and in fact much of this support is far more important than funding.’
Government involvement includes a direct role in the arts and culture sector through its own agencies, such as the national and state cultural institutions, its place in education and training subsidies and through its own arts training bodies, accreditation frameworks and curriculum, through tax incentives or deductions (such as those that subsidise major screen production by international producers in Australia), schemes like the lending right programs that compensate authors for the use of their publications in public libraries, frameworks for intellectual property rights and payments, local content regulations, and the setting of standards and protocols that govern such things as Internet content.
This doesn’t even include the myriad of other ways in which Government agencies which are not mainly concerned with arts and culture, intersect with the arts and culture sphere.
Increasing government support and broadening the support base
While it’s always good to see serious attempts at change, I am ambivalent about some of these developments. There are a large number of issues to be considered and I’ll attempt to lay out some of them here.
In a world where government funding supporting arts and cultural is likely to be increasingly in short supply, we need to remind governments that support for arts and culture is a highly cost effective way to spend relatively small amounts of taxpayer dollars.
At the same time, while we should hold Government to account for the support it needs to provide to Australia’s arts and culture, we should also aim to have a Plan B to reduce reliance on government funding, which has a tendency to be elusive, variable in approach and quality, and declining. Some of these proposed developments could be a very useful part of a Plan B.
‘We need to be concerned at what might be the continuation of a bigger trend – the tendency for government to withdraw from longer term operational support for the arts in preference for short term, one-off project funding.’
However, while I appreciate these attempts to broaden the support base for arts and culture, my concern is that they will accelerate trends for government to withdraw from direct support for culture and to move Australia further along the American road of relying on private philanthrophy and investment to support an area of the economy which suffers from market failure, that is, it is not economically viable on its own.
Turning organisational support into project support
We need to be concerned at what might be the continuation of a bigger trend – the tendency for government to withdraw from longer term operational support for the arts in preference for short term, one-off project funding. The trend fits into the broader ‘neo-liberal’ agenda of withdrawing from servicing the community and minimising the role of government – a tendency exhibited by both major parties. It overlooks many of the implications of growth in the economy and population and the need for services supported by government to keep up with these increases.
My major reservation about this creeping trend is that is makes it ever harder for organisations to find the long term operational funding which small arts and cultural organisations need to keep their doors open so they can deliver base level ‘frontline’ services. It transitions arts and culture funding into support for the more ephemeral and enables support to be reduced or even ceased with far less impact and reaction. There are major problems with competitive grant funding models and this is exacerbated by moves away from longer-term multi-year strategic infrastructure funding.
Operational funding, project funding and infrastructure
Infrastructure is important but I keep thinking of my days in local government as a Community Arts Officer, when road, rates and rubbish was the rule, with roads the main emphasis. It is all too easy to underestimate the central importance of operational funding for arts and cultural organisations. This makes for greater consistency and sustainability, enabling these organisations to leverage their funding to attract far broader support.
‘What politicians often fail to see is the dynamic interrelationship between three levels of funding – infrastructure, operational and project funding. Operational funding is a form of organisational infrastructure funding and, to my mind, is far more important than physical infrastructure.’
What politicians often fail to see is the dynamic interrelationship between three levels of funding – infrastructure, operational and project funding. Operational funding is a form of organisational infrastructure funding and, to my mind, is far more important than physical infrastructure. Politicians find it easy to talk about infrastructure because buildings are very concrete and very visible. They are things you can point to and say ‘I built that’. They are also very good for what politicians call ‘announceables’, items that can be featured in numerous media releases.
Philanthrophy is important but it is not the answer
Private philanthropists are unlikely to fund operational costs. Unfortunately the way philanthropic support works in practice is that often small organisations use their government support to leverage far higher levels of support from philanthropic donors. Without the government support, the philanthropic support may no longer occur.
‘These developments may help move us further and further away from the practice of taxing wealthy earners to adequately reflect their ability to contribute to a society from which they benefit disproportionately and then redistributing it directly in a comprehensive, coherent, strategic manner. Instead this appoach gives up crucial government revenue to encourage wealthy philanthropists to support personal favourites and enthusiasms.’
Talking about philanthropy can also overlook the fact that the largest single form of private philanthrophy supporting creativity and culture is the huge army of volunteers (and the grossly under-paid) who contribute to the ongoing survival of this sector without much fanfare.
These developments may help move us further and further away from the practice of taxing wealthy earners to adequately reflect their ability to contribute to a society from which they benefit disproportionately and then redistributing it directly in a comprehensive, coherent, strategic manner. Instead this appoach gives up crucial government revenue to encourage wealthy philanthropists to support personal favourites and enthusiasms. It’s clear the NSW Government is aware of the risks involved, because tax concessions are a cost to government revenue, and hence a cost to Australian communities overall. However, a neo-liberal mindset makes it a more attractive option.
These are potentially important initiatives that could provide serious relief for the struggling arts and cultural sector. Like the ‘truckification’ of Australian roads, with ever-increasing behemoths clogging the streets and parking spaces, this is another way that American influence distorts Australia. The growth of neo-liberalism, deregulation and privatisation moves us further and further away from the historically essential direct role of the Australian public sector in economic, social and cultural development.
© Stephen Cassidy 2025
See also
Trump tariff threat to Australia’s screen industry – collateral damage a real risk for Australia's global cultural presence'In the new world order, as the American empire seems to be starting to unravel, there are likely to be severe repercussions for other countries and their international cultural presence. One of the unnoticed casualties of the tariff wars may be Australian content and our local screen industry. The Albanese Government has been promising a new model to ensure that streaming services commit funds to Australian content. The Americans, especially the new regime, are very hostile to any form of regulation or quotas and may apply pressure to stymie the Australian plan', Trump tariff threat to Australia’s screen industry – collateral damage a real risk for Australia's global cultural presence.
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet
‘The recent exhibition 'Piinpi', about contemporary Indigenous fashion, has a significance for Australian culture that is yet to be fully revealed. The themes covered by the exhibition are important because they demonstrate the intersection of the culture of First Nations communities with creative industries and the cultural economy. In attempting to address the major issue of Indigenous disadvantage, for example, it is critical to recognise that one of the most important economic resources possessed by First Nations communities is their culture. Through the intellectual property that translates it into a form that can generate income in a contemporary economy, that culture is pivotal to jobs and to income. It may not be mining but it mines a far richer seam – authentic and rich content that has already been recognised internationally for its high value, just like our iron and coal. At a time when First Nations communities are talking increasingly about gaining greater control over their economic life, this is highly relevant’, Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet.
Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
‘When we start to think about the economy of the future – and the clean and clever jobs that make it up – we encounter a confusing array of ideas and terms. Innovation, the knowledge economy, the creative economy, creative industries and the cultural economy are all used, often interchangeably. Over the years my own thinking about them has changed and I thought it would be useful to try to clarify how they are all related’, Understanding the economy of the future – innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy. Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
Do you want fries with that?
‘In my long working life I've traversed the public sector, the private sector and the community sector - not lots of people can say that. I've seen the best - and the worst - of them all. Lately I've noticed a whole new approach to how local businesses interact with me. It's the 'do you want chips with that' approach to upping the spending ante. Given the way that over the last few decades we have started to treat public and community services like private businesses - and often turn them into private businesses - I expect to see this become more widespread’, Do you want fries with that?
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
‘In my long working life I've traversed the public sector, the private sector and the community sector - not lots of people can say that. I've seen the best - and the worst - of them all. Lately I've noticed a whole new approach to how local businesses interact with me. It's the 'do you want chips with that' approach to upping the spending ante. Given the way that over the last few decades we have started to treat public and community services like private businesses - and often turn them into private businesses - I expect to see this become more widespread’, Do you want fries with that?
Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
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