Key elements of Australia's literary future are under threat due to changes in federal arts funding, a parliamentary hearing in Hobart has been told.
The coalition government has shifted more than $104 million in funding from the Australia Council to a new National Program for Excellence in the Arts, administered by Arts Minister George Brandis.
Small arts groups, such as the Tasmanian Writers' Centre which runs an annual festival, fear the change will make it harder to secure funding essential for their survival.
"We can't guarantee that we'll have the money to run the festival ... the reality is that it probably won't happen," centre spokeswoman Caroline Dean told Thursday's hearing of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.
Labor committee member and Tasmanian senator Catryna Bilyk said the funding changes announced in the 2015/16 budget were worrying.
"Tasmanian festivals and events won't go ahead and organisations will close due to the Australia Council funding changes," she said.
Greens senator Nick McKim said the new funding model was not based on evidence or consultation and called on the government to reinstate the previous rollout of money.
The Labor-dominated committee is due to hold its next hearing in Brisbane on September 11.
Share
