Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will start by congratulating the former arts minister, Senator Brandis, on reform of arts funding and for putting out draft guidelines to enable further consultation on this issue. I also congratulate the current Minister for the Arts, Senator Fifield, for the new proposals he has put forward for Catalyst, which resulted from his and the government's consultation on these issues. Of course, that is why you put out draft guidelines—so that you can have further consultations.

Regrettably, the chair of this committee and most of the members were too inexperienced or unworldly to understand the whole process, and that is what it was all about. From the start this was a cynical attempt by the opposition, the Greens political party and a green Independent senator to politicise reform of arts funding. Claims by the majority attempted to create a divisive and combative atmosphere that characterises the government as inherently opposed—