Federal Opposition Slams New Look Australia Council

The Federal Opposition has lashed out at the new look Australia Council, with opposition arts spokesman George Brandis calling the appointments “deeply disrespectful”, criticising the major city-centric make-up of the board and stating that the literature and visual arts sectors were under represented.

The Australian has today reported Brandis' criticism of the board, saying that there wasn't a sufficient amount of consultation before the members were appointed.

"Two-thirds of the members of the board come from either Melbourne or Sydney," Brandis said. “The growth states of Queensland and Western Australia, which are both the home of vibrant and rapidly expanding arts communities, are limited to a single board member each. Regional Australia is barely represented.”

The new board was appointed by Arts Minister Tony Burke on Monday and features Rupert Myer AM Robyn Archer AO, Tony Grybowski, Waleed Aly, Lee-Ann Buckskin, Adrian Collette AM, Khoa Do, Professor Matthew Hindson AM, Mary-Ellen King, Sophie Mitchell, Samantha Mostyn and Tim Orton.

"The board seems to have been tailor-made to cater to the tastes and prejudices of a narrow group of people from the two largest capital cities, rather than representing the breadth and variety of Australia's art forms, arts practitioners and audiences," Brandis said.