Billions in crisis payments paid to the arts, new report shows

As a result, Australia was now trailing the spending of its Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) peers.

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Overall Australia is currently ranked 23 out of 34 countries for its expenditure on culture, recreation and religion, behind the likes of big spenders Hungary, Iceland and Estonia but ahead of Japan, the United States and Great Britain.

Boosting spending to at least the OECD average within the next decade and ensuring spending kept pace with Australia’s population growth required “commitment and courage” from all parts of the arts and culture ecosystem including philanthropists, creators and governments.

Forty-two per cent of current government funding goes to museums, libraries, archives and heritage, and 31 per cent to film, radio and television. The smallest piece of the pie – 27 percent – went to activities like festivals, visual arts, performing arts and literature.

In the last four months of the 2019-20 financial year, which were the first months of the pandemic, Australia’s arts and cultural organisations received more than $4 billion of COVID-19 support.

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A total of 98.8 per cent of that support came from the federal government, ANA’s chief executive Kate Fielding said.

All these industries had been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the effects were ongoing and would be for some time.

“From national events to everyday activities like going to the cinema, taking ballet lessons, visiting the library or doing a painting class, Australians have been missing out.”