Government Accused Of Blowing Two Years' Grant Money In Pre-election Dump

The chief executive of Live Performance Australia has called upon the federal Coalition government to provide clarification regarding their Catalyst arts grants after a "shambolic" rolling out.

Adding to the heartache for the creative community is the news that renowned industry body and key music export organisation Sounds Australia has been denied funding among the latest round. 

In a statement released to media today, LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson explained that it appears the government has "committed up to half the four-year funding allocation for Catalyst in less than a week", totalling more than $20 million in grants.

"Almost $24 million in funding grants has now been published on the Ministry For The Arts website, but the way in which the government has handled the funding announcement does nothing to build confidence in its approach to arts funding," she said.

As Fairfax reports, the new round of grants under Catalyst — an already-controversial program that has previously been accused of favouring affluent major bodies in its funding allocations — was released "without fanfare" on the Catalyst website on Friday, following Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's announcement of a 2 July election date. Among significant recipients are organisations such as The Australian Ballet ($1 million), Qld-based Circa ($840,000) and the National Library of Australia ($660,000).

In LPA's statement, Richardson highlighted an apparent lack of engagement with the community on the part of Arts Minister Mitch Fifield, whose office did not make an official announcement regarding the latest round of grants at the time they were published.

"The Minister has missed an important opportunity to provide some clarity and certainty around his approach to arts funding given the concerns that have previously been raised about the Catalyst program," she said.

"Our industry can deliver the jobs, growth and innovation that is important to Australia's economic prosperity but for all the talk of plans, the Coalition doesn't appear to have one for the live performance industry."

Meanwhile, industry representatives are voicing their disappointment on social media after discovering that Sounds Australia — the organiser of key events abroad such as the Aussie BBQ at SXSW — had been omitted from the recent funding round given its crucial role in continually growing the local music scene's imprint on the international stage.

You can only imagine how disappointed we were to learn that music export has not been funded by #Catalyst. @CommsAu https://t.co/cEMfqXSOVX

— Sounds Australia (@SoundsAustralia) May 9, 2016

How is @SoundsAustralia unable to secure @CommsAu funding? They're creators of global opportunities for our artists. #Catalyst @APRAAMCOS

— Charlotte Abroms (@charlotteabroms) May 10, 2016

If you have loved new Australian music in the last few years, @SoundsAustralia is why. Our world needs music export. https://t.co/HyEE3Reson

— Kodi (@useyourtanuki) May 10, 2016

This is a shame. @SoundsAustralia is THE model program for music export, having done countless good for Aussie arts. https://t.co/sKLHmdmudt

— Rev. MOOSE (@notreallymoose) May 9, 2016

Crazy! We need @SoundsAustralia to help continue creating amazing opps for Aus artists #catalyst @CommsAu https://t.co/YmXmVlH10K

— Custom-Made (@custommade0) May 10, 2016

Why has @SoundsAustralia music export has not been funded by #Catalyst? What can we do about this? @CommsAu @APRAAMCOS

— Laura Wallbridge (@laurawallbridge) May 10, 2016

A BIG reason why @BIGSOUNDtweets creates outcomes for artists & industry is because of @SoundsAustralia #Catalyst https://t.co/D0Ev0nYekc

— QMusic (@QMusicNetwork) May 10, 2016

Ridiculous. Music industry's invaluable #export service @SoundsAustralia failed to secure @CommsAu #Catalyst funding https://t.co/ZhHytRDSPN

— Dean Ormston (@deanapra) May 9, 2016

Not that the community could have done much about it - LPA says that they have been "seeking a meeting" with the Arts Minister to no avail, despite being able to secure time with both the Greens and the Australian Labor Party, who have committed to returning unspent Catalyst funds to the cuts-plagued Australia Council.

See the full list of recipients at the Department Of Communications & The Arts website.