How Good is Silence?

So it is now finally official. The announcement this week by the Australian Federal Government of the merger of the Arts Portfolio with, amongst other responsibilities, that of Transport and Infrastructure and Cyber Security means that Australia is the only OECD country without a dedicated Ministry of Arts and Culture. The decision has been justified with the usual Tory gaff about "trimming the fat" off governmment, a Randian trope that defines government as a not-so-necessary evil that really only gets in the way. The rhetoric is hollow but the intention is clear, and when paired with one senior cabinet minister's frank and alarming confession on Sky News this week (where else) that parliament really only represents an irritating distraction for the Federal Coalition, a pretty clear picture emerges of the character and intention of Australia's current Federal Executive. 

Although not a direct recipient of Federal or State Arts Funding, Bluepepper decries the current changes and the naked contempt they display for the role of arts and culture in this country. In purely economic terms (the only terms this Prime Minister seems willing or able to digest without that shit-eating grin), cultural and creative activity contributed $111.7 billion to Australia's economy in the 2016-17 financial year.* We are a nation that is justifiably proud of its Orchestras and Opera Companies (and the buildings in which they are housed), of our music festivals and world-renowned musicians of every colour and stamp, of our actors and directors and visual artists, our novelists and, yes, our poets. When in so many areas Australia can appear heartless, rudderless and self-interested on the international stage, when our cricketers are cheats and even Sir David Attenborough can barely stand to utter our name, our artists, musicians and writers allow us to hold our heads high. Bluepepper would like all Australian's to reflect on this, even those many "silent ones" who, we suppose the government assumes, harbour some latent hostility to anyone who dares to make noise. We cannot, yet again, allow this government to suppress the free exchange of ideas in this manner, as they have recently attempted to do with regards to civil activist groups and certain voices in the media with whom they disagree. This latest move, we believe, is part of an alarming pattern that if not quickly addressed will leave us all living greatly impoverished and far less freer lives.

* according to the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research.