Labor MP Peter Garrett has labelled senior Federal Government ministers as “philistines” claiming they are obsessed with sport at the expense of Australia’s art and culture.



Garrett had this to say:

“The idea of a national political leader championing an artist, author or designer in 2006 seems almost absurd.

“Politicians continually associate themselves with sport and sporting success and yet at the national level are virtually absent from any meaningful discussion or involvement with the arts.”

He also said many leaders seemed indifferent to the idea that Australia should spend more on the arts, and that they tended to portray the arts as elitist.



Personally I can’t see why governments need to spend our taxes on arts or sport, certainly not at the elite level. Hardly essential government services, are they? If things like theatre, opera, cinema can’t stand on their own feet commercially, why should taxpayers fund the artists to indulge their hobby? Why should we pay for writers to write books - if they want to do what they love, let them do it at their own cost, after all they reap the rewards if successful. Same with sports. Why should governments support professional teams - eg in Canberra the local government gives money to the Raiders, the Brumbies and was bribing North Melbourne to play a few AFL games here. At the end of the day, if they can’t perform commercially off ticket, sponsorship and other revenue sources, its not that important that they play in Canberra or not … certainly not to the point my taxes need to prop them up. If I care, I’ll choose to pay to watch the sports. Likewise, if I want to go to galleries, theatre etc, its my choice to pay for it, not government’s. If not enough people care to pay to see something, too bad!





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