Page 2624 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 1993
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There are officers within my department who are exploring options which would enable eligible ACT residents to obtain return concessional travel by train between Sydney and Canberra. I regard that as an issue that we must continue to pursue. I regret that so far New South Wales has not seen fit to cooperate with us to any great extent.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I thank Mr Kaine for his comments. There is certainly no lack of interest or of action on the part of this Government in relation to the older people in our community. Quite the contrary; we have continually sought to extend to them greater social justice and greater access and equity to the services that are provided by the Government, and we will continue to do so.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
CULTURAL COUNCIL - "SHARING THE VISION: A FRAMEWORK FOR CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT"
Paper
Debate resumed from 11 May 1993, on motion by Mr Wood:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
MR HUMPHRIES (9.15): Madam Speaker, the paper which was presented by the Minister in May this year, "Sharing the Vision: A Framework for Cultural Development", is a quite significant document in the development of an arts policy for the ACT. There have been papers like this beforehand, and there will no doubt be papers like it afterwards, but I find this a reasonably satisfying document in that it tries to set out fairly comprehensively what we are trying to achieve in the arts in the ACT. There are some criticisms, but I think that essentially it is a document which aims high and which achieves a lot of what it sets out to achieve. It is a blueprint for future directions in the arts in Canberra. To some extent necessarily, therefore, the terminology which is used has to be fairly vague. There is a dichotomy or a tension, if you like, between the extent of government or quasi-government control of the arts and freedom in the arts, and that, of course, is always a very touchy subject.
The chairman of the ACT Cultural Council said in his introduction:
It is worth stating that Council does not see itself as a "cultural producer". Rather, Council is an architect planning a strong structure within which the varied activity of a city's cultural life can develop and grow. Council has no desire to interfere with the unique role of artists or cultural organisations, but it will be an advocate for their cultural achievement.
Madam Speaker, the distinction between being a cultural producer and the provider of a framework in which cultural activities might occur is a very fine one. The question is how to encourage and fund cultural activities without allowing value judgments to determine priorities in and between different forms of artistic expression. You might say that that is very difficult to do. In fact, it could even be said that it is impossible to do. Thus far, however, the process has been well intentioned and well planned. Despite that fact, it will have its critics.
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