Earlier this month I was thrilled to join in a very special celebration at the National Museum of Australia marking the opening of two new galleries.
The magnificent Great Southern Land gallery includes more than 2,100 objects and multi-sensory experiences taking visitors on a journey across Australia.
The Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre is a brilliant new space for children to play and learn, which I’m very much looking forward to taking my two little explorers to soon.
The free public event included a performance from Australian rock icons, Icehouse (who better to open the Great Southern Land gallery!) and the Museum welcomed around 1,200 people.
It was truly a wonderful experience to see so many people come together after the incredibly challenging few years that our community, and our national institutions, have been through.
It was a valuable reminder of the important place our national institutions have in Australian life, and how lucky we are as Canberrans that these institutions are part of our local community.
Our institutions tell our stories and keep our history and culture alive.
They bring people together to learn, to be inspired and challenged, and to enjoy.
They are a place for international visitors to learn about Australia.
They are a key reason for the existence of our nation’s capital and for people to visit our beautiful city and experience all it has to offer.
But the ability of our national institutions to fulfil this role is wholly dependent on them receiving the funding they need from the federal government.
Over the last decade, our national institutions have been subject to devastating neglect.
While their leadership have been resourceful and innovative in managing to keep things together over this period – including through the Black Summer and a pandemic – it has come to a crisis point.
Last week, National Gallery of Australia director Nick Mitzevich and National Library director-general Marie-Louise Ayres repeated calls for an end to the efficiency dividend affecting the institutions.
Arts Minister Tony Burke has already begun work to unwind the neglect though establishing a National Cultural Policy – to be delivered by the end of the year – with the aim of changing the place of art and culture in Australian life.
He gave an inspiring speech at the NMA, and you could feel the excitement among those present that we now have an Arts Minister who genuinely values the role of these intuitions.
As the Member for Canberra and chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, advocating for our national institutions to be properly funded and promoted is core business, and I plan to use this opportunity as best I can to further this case.
Labor has inherited not only a trillion dollars in debt, but also the legacy of a decade of neglect and mismanagement.
While there are many pressing demands on the federal budget and very difficult decisions being made, the damage that would be done by letting our national institutions run into the ground robs our future and cannot be undone.
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