JUDITH WHITE. NSW arts policy officially in ruins

September 1, 2019

Arm’s length funding of the arts is the hallmark of a government attempting to work in the interests of the people. It prevents the arts being used as a political football, and together with peer assessment fosters the development of creativity. It was the founding principle in 1946 of the Arts Council of Great Britain, created by economist John Maynard Keynes and the Attlee Labour government, but came under sustained attack by the government of Margaret Thatcher (1979 to 1990). It was also the basis of the funding model for the Australia Council developed by the Whitlam government in 1973....