4172.0 - Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/10/2010   
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Contents >> Funding by Government and Business >> LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING

In 2008-09, local government funding for cultural activities was $1,154.2m, which was 17% of total cultural funding provided by all levels of government. This was an increase of $115.5m or 11% on 2007-08 when local government funding for cultural activities was $1,038.7m.

The majority of local government cultural funding was allocated to libraries in 2008-09 ($727.5m or 63%), compared with $645.9m (62%) in 2007-08. Most public libraries are funded at the local government level, except in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory where libraries are mainly or solely funded by the state and territory governments. As such, local governments in most states allocated a majority of their cultural funding to libraries in 2008-09. Of those states where libraries rely on local government funding, South Australia had the highest proportion of local government funding for libraries (77%), followed by Western Australia (71%), New South Wales (64%), Queensland (60%) and Victoria (59%).

The value of cultural funding per-person provided by local government increased by 8.6% to $53.13 in 2008-09, from $48.91 in 2007-08.

4.4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT CULTURAL FUNDING(a)(b) - 2007-08 and 2008-09
Art
museums
Other
museums
and cultural
heritage
Libraries
Performing
arts
Cultural
or arts
services
nec
Total
cultural
funding
Cultural
funding
per
person(c)
Percentage
change from
previous year
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$
%
2007-08
New South Wales(d)
33.9
10.6
226.2
28.5
61.7
360.9
51.97
23.8
Victoria(e)
na
na
155.0
na
104.6
259.5
49.32
1.1
Queensland(f)
15.0
7.7
117.9
27.3
30.2
198.1
46.70
16.2
South Australia
2.1
4.3
67.8
6.0
10.0
90.2
56.60
5.9
Western Australia
na
na
79.1
na
32.7
111.8
52.27
-0.1
Tasmania
0.4
8.7
-
4.7
2.1
15.9
32.07
111.8
Northern Territory(e)
na
na
na
na
2.4
2.4
10.85
-9.3
Total
51.3
31.3
645.9
66.6
243.6
1 038.7
48.91
12.2
2008-09
New South Wales
28.9
11.6
255.1
37.2
67.3
400.1
56.54
10.9
Victoria(e)
na
na
168.2
na
116.1
284.3
52.82
9.5
Queensland
20.2
5.5
140.9
35.8
32.2
234.6
53.73
18.4
South Australia
1.9
6.2
79.4
6.1
10.1
103.7
64.29
14.9
Western Australia
3.8
3.9
82.1
5.0
21.1
115.9
52.41
3.7
Tasmania
0.5
7.3
-
3.4
2.4
13.6
27.14
-14.4
Northern Territory(e)
na
na
1.8
na
0.3
2.1
9.32
-12.0
Total
55.2
34.5
727.5
87.6
249.5
1 154.2
53.13
11.1
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
na not available
(a) Local Government Finance data is sourced from state/territory Local Government Grants Commissions, or equivalent.
(b) Care should be taken when comparing categories between states and territories. For further information see paragraphs 11 and 12 in the Explanatory notes of Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 4183.0).
(c) Although the Australian Capital Territory does not have a local government, its population has been included in calculations of per person funding. See paragraph 14 in the Explanatory Notes of Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 4183.0).
(d) The quality of New South Wales (NSW) data at the Local Government Purpose Classification (LGPC) 4 digit level is being adversely affected by the current structure of the collection instrument, as well as a marked decrease in the number of NSW councils reporting data by the LGPC for 2007-08.
(e) No data was recorded for Victoria and the Northern Territory for grants and subsidies provided by councils to community organisations.
(f) Data quality issues resulting from the local government amalgamations that occurred during the 2007-08 reference period resulted in high imputation rates for Queensland councils. This data should be viewed with caution.
Source: Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 4183.0)








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