Comments on: Draconian Liscensing Laws Threaten Melbourne’s Arts Scene

By: Theatre review: Sappho…in 9 fragments « Overland literary journal

Theatre review: Sappho…in 9 fragments « Overland literary journal — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:54:31 +0000

[...] It’s true that Melbourne’s independent arts scene is eclectic, marvellous, under-funded and perpetually under threat. [...]

By: john walker

john walker — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:27:06 +0000

Dear ‘info security’
Australia these days has an awful lot of excess tertiary education and thus we have a glut of over qualified and under-skilled graduates. These regulation/management schemes create undemanding things for them to do.

By: Information Security

Information Security — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:35:16 +0000

I have never understood why Australia has soo many regulations. Was there chaos before this was instigated?

By: Killing culture with mad beuracracy

Killing culture with mad beuracracy — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:35:08 +0000

[...] Surely we could start to think about this stuff before we pass stupid legislation? The sad thing about unintended consequences is that they are rarely unpredictable. It was obvious from the moment that the new licensing regime was mooted that it would hit cultural venues far more harshly than mega-nightclubs. The Tote fiasco has unfolded more or less as I predicted in these pages back in November. [...]

By: john

john — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:39:00 +0000

How much management and regulation costs can the arts actually afford to pay? this and the internet filtering look a lot like make work schemes created solely for management ‘churn’.

By: lauren

lauren — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:30:53 +0000

after an interesting discussion yesterday with a member from an artist-run-initiative, it has been suggested that said draconian laws (which have even seen small art spaces threatened with $3500+ fines for not displaying their liquor licence during openings) are more about revenue-raising than ‘antisocial behaviour’. the king st fights have been a convenient PR decoy, but the implied outcome of the crackdown is actually a massive financial boost for a flailing state budget. (given the amount of small bars/venues/galleries, etc in greater melbourne who need to cough up). conspiracies abound…

By: Creative hords approach from the South… « Translations

Creative hords approach from the South… « Translations — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:22:44 +0000

[...] Leave a Comment In between disparaging comments about licensing developments in Melbourne, Marcus Westbury has a few good things to say about the direction that NSW/Sydney is heading: NSW has pushed through [...]

By: Rebecca Cannon

Rebecca Cannon — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:03:32 +0000

On this note, I hear there is a job position going you might be suitable for: Victorian State Minister for the Arts.

How on earth did Lyn Kosky end up with a portfolio of Minister for Transport and Minister for the Arts?

How does Australia lump Heritage and the Arts together with the Environment at a Federal level as well, and then split Climate Change out into a separate portfolio, managed by someone entirely different to our Environment Minister?

Why does Australia, which even according to the Australian, admits that culture makes money (see their article a few weeks ago where they acknowledge that it’s Victoria’s support for culture that has made it an economic Win in recent years compared to the other states), still not realise that the Arts are important, and perhaps by being so deserve a Minister who has time to pay attention to them?

If the Victorian Minister for the Arts was across this issue of the Tote and the Arthouse being closed down by Draconian licensing laws, then perhaps it wouldn’t be happening.