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Premier Daniel Andrews has dismissed concerns about the financial state of Arts Centre Melbourne, saying it is too early to speculate on whether the state government will continue to offer additional support as the organisation attempts to recover from pandemic shutdowns.
Details contained in a leaked document, allegedly from within the flagship venue, reported in the Herald Sun on Tuesday, said an extra $223 million was needed, otherwise 30 per cent of staff – at least 70 people – could lose their jobs, and major assets such as the Australian Music Vault could be sold.
The Arts Centre’s revenue plummeted during lockdowns. In 2022, it received $30.6 million in additional, non-recurrent funding from the state government, after having also received an additional $43.3 million in 2021, according to the centre’s 2022 annual report.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Andrews said it was premature to speculate on Arts Centre funding. “The only documents that matter are the budget papers that will be handed down by the Treasurer in May. They haven’t even been written yet, let alone handed down,” he said. “So I think they’re getting a little bit ahead of themselves in the reporting.”
However, he warned that the budget would be designed to deliver on priority areas of health and transport, while also delivering a surplus. “We had to go and borrow money to get our state through a one-in-100-year event. And now that money needs to be paid back. But more importantly, we need to stop the borrowing. So, the way to do that is to run a surplus, to have more money that’s sourced from Victoria, that is spent by Victoria,” Andrews said. “So, this is going to be a challenging budget.”
“Delivering a surplus is critically important. The only way you do that is if you grow the Victorian economy, and you are very careful in terms of making sure that we deliver our election commitments and align our spending with our top priorities like health, education, transport, community safety.”
Arts Centre Melbourne is said to be facing a $223 million shortfall.Credit:istock
He also said the government would continue to support the arts. “Some of the concerns in the arts sector, I don’t think they’re well-founded, we’ve always supported that sector and we always will.
“There’s not a funded agency or organisation in our state that doesn’t want more money. Every May, every year, that’s what happens. That’s what budgets are about. Everyone wants more and that’s fine. That’s their job. Their job is to push for more funding.”