Cultural wars in an Australian context: challenges in developing a national cultural policy

Abstract

In March 2013, the Australian Federal Labor Government released Creative Australia. This document was described as the first national Cultural Policy statement in 20 years since the publication by a previous Labor Government of Creative Nation in 1994. However, within 6 months of the launch of this new policy, a Coalition (Conservative) Federal government was elected in September 2013. Up till now, Coalition Governments have rejected the need for a national cultural policy, so the future for Creative Australia may in fact be both contested and limited. Indeed, during the previous Federal Coalition Government a ‘cultural war’ erupted between the government and artists and intellectuals, over the latter’s desire for an Australian cultural policy. This paper addresses questions around the process of developing this new national cultural policy, why it occurred, and what future it might have now there is a new Coalition Federal Government in power.

Keywords:

• cultural policy
• Australia
• arts
• politics

Notes

1. According to Mathew Westwood in the Australian on the 17th January 2012, there were ‘… 450 formal submissions and about 2000 online responses’ (Westwood 2012) accessed at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/culture-to-connect-the-dots/story-e6frg8n6-1,226,245,839,174.

2. http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples.