Page 3190 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 August 2013
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came through for that. The Canberra Liberals are very proud of the Glassworks. And last night, the runner-up in the glass awards was there. If you want to see some spectacular contemporary glass, it is something that the ACT arts sector does lead in this county.
Contemporary dance is another area that we are interested in, and there is some money in the budget for Gorman House, which is a good thing. Gorman House is home to many fantastic arts organisations, in particular Quantum Leap. Quantum Leap really has fostered a huge number of the nation’s modern contemporary arts dancers and done some amazing work. This year’s project was no exception to that. And the incorporation of, particularly, Indigenous dancers from all around the country and, indeed, a dancer from Thailand was quite spectacular. The Playhouse was put to good use. I think Gary Humphries can take the credit for building the Playhouse. That is another Liberal initiative that really has given us a venue where young performers can do their thing. And they do it oh so well.
So it is important. Often the arts community is the difference between a city having an identity and not having an identity. We certainly have a very strong arts community here.
I think the issues raised by the Childers Group are real. I trust that over time, after the cursory answers that have been given in the government’s response to the report, the minister gives very serious consideration to the issues raised. These are people who have put their hearts, their souls, their lives and often their personal funds into promoting arts in the ACT and building up the community. And it would be a genuine shame to not reap the value, the potential, the contribution to the economy, the personal development, the health and wellbeing that arts brings to all communities, and make it work very well in the ACT.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (8.30): I rise tonight, again, to reiterate a number of our 575 recommendations, those being recommendations 43 through to 54. But in particular, I just want to talk to our recommendation 50, which discusses the linkage of wage levels in the arts sector with those of the community sector. The committee was in agreeance on this particular recommendation. But I do want to reiterate that the work that the Tuggeranong Arts Centre has done in linking their wage structure with the new SACS award in the community sector was done in-house from the budget provided by the ACT and the diversification that occurs at the Tuggeranong—
Mr Hanson: Your No 50 is the same as 42.
MR GENTLEMAN: It is No 50. Just to reiterate, it was funded in-house by the management of the Tuggeranong Arts Centre and by its diversification of income, especially with the messengers program and the fresh funk program which have been operating so well for so many years.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Disability, Children and Young People, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Women, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Racing and Gaming) (8.32): This budget delivers a number of initiatives that will improve services and amenities to
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