HOW MUCH ARE GOVERNMENTS SPENDING ON ARTS AND CULTURE?
According to the latest report on cultural funding, total government funding for cultural activities was $4.9 billion in 2002-03, equating to almost $250 for every man, woman and child in Australia.
State and territory governments collectively contributed the most funding to cultural activities ($2,238m or 45% of total government funding), directed primarily towards heritage activities such as nature parks and reserves ($988m), art and other museums ($431m) and libraries and archives ($358m). In contrast, the Australian Government's contribution ($1,671m or 34% of the total) was focused mainly on arts activities, particularly broadcasting and film ($980m), although art and other museums in the heritage sector also received substantial funding ($257m). Local government also contributed $1,025m to cultural activities in 2002-03, however a detailed breakdown on their cultural priorities was not available.
A report prepared by NCCRS for the Cultural Ministers' Council Statistics Working Group (CMC SWG), and soon to be available on their Web site at http://www.dcita.gov.au/swg, also provides substantial data dating back to 1999-2000. These historical data provide both an overview of the trend upwards during this period, during which total cultural funding increased by $860.9m or 21%, as well as providing a detailed year-by-year breakdown of cultural funding allocations by the Australian Government and each of the states and territories.
Further information is available in Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2002-03 (cat. no. 4183.0).
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