Page 1391 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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national institutions to pursue alignment of strategic planning and policy, to explore efficiencies and share resources where appropriate and to provide for joint advocacy, negotiation and collaborative marketing.
In this context it is not necessarily the case that we should just simply pick up the model, say, of the Smithsonian Institute in the US but there are some valuable lessons that can be learnt from the way our United States colleagues structure their national institutions. We have had the opportunity to meet with the Smithsonian and also to host some representatives from the Smithsonian here in Canberra in recent years. This is, I think, one possible avenue to explore for this potential new structure. A model that constructively connects senior leaders of national institutions with the territory government would also provide a good platform for a representative voice to speak with common interest to the Australian government.
Museums, libraries, archives and galleries are the guardians of the past, they are the keepers of the Australian story and they are the stewards of our national identity. They also inspire the creativity that drives our economy and creates a bright future for our nation. Continued investment in our shared history is essential to reflect who we are as a nation, importantly to ourselves but also to the rest of the world.
There is no doubt that our national institutions are facing an increasingly challenging operating environment, with the efficiency dividend and other budget cuts repeatedly requiring institutions to do even more with less, a situation that simply cannot be maintained indefinitely without significantly negatively impacting on our collections, services and staffing.
The ACT government will continue to advocate strongly for continued and long-term Australian government support to the national institutions to enable them to provide high quality public services both today and into the future. It is in this spirit that I seek leave to move an amendment to Mr Rattenbury’s motion.
Leave granted.
MR BARR: I move:
Omit paragraph (2), substitute:
“(2) further notes the ACT Government will engage with the Federal Government on their investment into the Australian War Memorial to promote good design outcomes, reduce the impact on the surrounding environment and retain existing Memorial facilities as far as possible;”.
I think that this is a constructive way forward on this specific issue. I note the concerns that Mr Rattenbury has raised, and those that have been raised in the Canberra community and by the group of eminent Australians. I understand that across all of the national cultural institutions there are some very good and well-developed proposals for facility expansions but also a desperate need for simple maintenance in building restoration programs that have particularly impacted on some of our treasured national collections.
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