Senate Inquiry into Proposed Arts Changes.

[Maureen K Clifford]

You are a veritable mine of information Gary and a noter of the finer details as well I often wonder what old Glenn Lazarus was thinking when he joined a political party but he may be the only rational one there and I have never seen him displaying unsavoury personal habits in public either.

Hope you Dad gets better soon - it's hard when us older folks are also looking after even older folks

[Gary Harding]

Thanks Maureen,
Nearly three weeks ago I thought I had lost Dad (he is 89yo). One morning he woke up in severe pain, unintelligible speech and unable to move much. Got him in to a great private hospital by sheer persistence and he just came out and is progressing. Now he complains bitterly about hash on the telphone line... having just dodged a major bullet ! I am reminded of Lawson's line
"When you've just escaped the gallows then your corns begin to shoot". beats me.

There is wonderful assistance provided by federal government and other agencies ..lots of help... and I am having to come to grips with the whole Aged Care scene rapidly although I am psychologically unsuited to it all I think. Thankfully there are a lot of genuinely capable and kind people out there ... doctors, nursing staff and Carers.

I was gearing up to engage these Arts guys, especially the so-called poetry experts but this distracting and rather traumatic family problem has in any case precluded that now.
By way of comfort, it has been pointed out to me that one major thing working against these Arties is the fact that it is all a one-sided constant winge and nobody likes that. We all have our own problems after all...

By appearing for the other side, one permits it to appear as a democratic and balanced presentation.. to allow that both sides of the case have been presented which lends some validity to the whole Farce, which is not there now. They simply do not need me to counter them. They are doing an excellent job themselves! but are too out of touch with the real world to see it. I have been told that my submission negates much of what has been argued to date which will not win me any popularity awards.

Reading their submissions I conclude that they are a self-interested, arrogant, disrespectful and insular bunch. They regard taxpayer money as their right and whatever is given is never enough. Gratitude and graciousness are not their strong points. The Australia Council even have the cheek to keep a register of so-called "unfunded excellence" which is designed to embarrass any government and try and lever yet more money out of the taxpayer. They need to be cut down to size and be taught who is Boss .. and George is doing it.

The witnesses wrongly believe that the source of all the lovely money is The Australia Council and not the poor taxpayer and his ever-increasing national bankcard debt.

Recent correspondence to me from the Arts Minister suggests that everything I have said.. starting off with the $80,000 award winning pregnant-panty poetry through to my initial suggestions for managing Traditional Poetry within the public service and promoting and supporting it as well has been well and truly noted. My Senate Inquiry submission has obviously been read by the Minister, even if unpublished yet. In fact I think all my work has had a vastly more influential effect than I appreciate. Good.

George's bush poetry reading in Estimates was a brilliant targeted sign of support for Bush Poetry, and thus by inference ABPA, while at the same time putting the Poetry Club on notice. From the Inquiry evidence and submissions, he has put their noses way out of joint. A nice start... Henry Lawson versus Ern Malley... and the winner is... Henry!

So I am content for now to fly as George's wingman and see how events unfold for Bush Poetry.. more chapters to come, that is for sure. And humour too.... hopefully.

[Maureen K Clifford]

My family have just recently had to put our Mum into a nursing home - we are lucky because she really likes it there even the the weekly travel is killing the rest of us - I did my nine hour pilgrimage yesterday, what is sad though is that I am sure she doesn't really know us anymore - the penny drops sometimes but then she seems to drift off again. I caught her yesterday more than once looking at me with a look on her face that said who the hell are you. She had her grandson, grand daugher and great grandson there yesterday as well as my sister and her husband. Maybe so many people at one time is too big an ask Old age is a bitch.

But as you say - every person has their own troubles to deal with - probably a good reason to not deal too harshly with others. We have no idea what their day/week is like.

[Gary Harding]

For some comments on the Brisbane Inquiry session there is a interesting link

http://visual.artshub.com.au/news-artic ... pea-249233

Finally there is someone who puts a more positive light on the NPEA. Arthur Frame was the first speaker and at least he was more positive and pragmatic. The first person to realise that these changes are going to happen regardless so it is more useful to try and see what can be got from them. He seemed to take a broader view.

There have been no "cuts" to the Arts, just taking from one pocket and putting in another. This point was argued. It is the taking from the Australia Council Club that has so many people who have had their pockets filled in the past rather annoyed. Plus the loss of power to call the shots, and that importantly includes poetry.

If any Bush Poet had approached the Australia Council for support in the past they would have been laughed at.
So I welcome this change.

In this article I see that George Brandis has (just as I have, ad nauseum!) noted the existence of The Club. Yeah, it is a bit obvious really and they make themselves more so at this Inquiry.

Under the proposed new system, the Minister has discretionary funds. As the people's elected and direct representative and as the boss, if he feels that there is some worthwhile Arts related cause then he can bypass the myriad of panels, boards and bevvy of ever present well-paid so-called experts and support it. The Inquiry mob shout "How dare he!"

George has already made a public statement at Estimates about his strong personal support for Traditional/Bush poetry over the style and subject matter of what won the PM's $80,000 Literary Award in Poetry. His message is very clear and enormously positive for Bush Poets.

Make no mistake.... that is a direct result of my extensive and hard-hitting correspondence.

The days of $40,000 grants to individuals or mates to write such $80,000 material are gone.

There will be a re-emphasis on "project" style funding. So the "Let's Get Henry and Banjo Back Into Schools" lobby will suddenly see a major reversal of reception .. and funding. I have also pressed for subsidies or incentive payments to on-line magazines that support balladry in the traditional style. It can come under the project-based banner of the "Traditional Poetry Promotion Program" that I will propose in due course.

Much happier days ahead for Bush Poetry!

[Gary Harding]

I would expect a very major cabinet re-shuffle now so there's a good chance that The Hon Senator George Brandis QC, or "Brandis" as he is known by intellectual arties will vanish along with his proposed Arts restructure.

Absolute power will potentially be restored to the Australia Council and their cronies as opposed to being passed to the Australian people. All the hopes I had for promotion of Bush Poetry will go out the window too..... including heavy subsidies for modest personal volumes of work such as are enthusiastically published by ABPA members.

So I do not know about his demeanour or style of clothing, but if he goes then I believe that Bush Poetry has lost an intelligent and very rare ally. Someone who is unfraid to read Paterson at Estimates and make a statement about which poetry style he enjoys.

Some may celebrate that defeat for Bush Poetry, but I am in the crowd that enjoys Lawson and Paterson etc... which is why I am here I suppose.... and would regard his departure as a huge loss for our craft and hence for Australian culture as well.

Wait and see I suppose... he may possibly keep his job, but overall I am not optimistic now.

[Neville Briggs]

I am very curious to know why anyone who sees themself as a champion of poetry should use the word intellectual as a term of abuse.

[Gary Harding]

Thanks Nev .. but I don't see myself as a champion of Bush Poetry at all!
The term champion has egotistical undertones and I have no ego.

I have always loved bush poetry, Lawson and Paterson and their contemporaries, and have a very large selective collection of that style of work started decades ago. I fund the restoration of bush poetry books because I love these poets dearly and constantly add to the collection which will probably be passed to the nation when I am gone.

Recently I bought a small rare 1911 Lawson booklet bound in red leather in great condition for $90. It is quite delicate but I recognize it as a piece of valuable Lawsonia and consequently something that has high value to Australians now, and future generations too. I have photographed extracts, added a picture of Henry Lawson and a placard explaining the history of this booklet.
It is all being framed using special conservation-grade photo papers, special UV-blocking glass and other high-grade long lasting materials. I shudder to think what the exercise will cost in the end, but if one is as devoted to something as I am, the pain somehow isn't as great. That is the sort of stuff I do.

You would appreciate that I guess.

I feel these great Traditional/Bush poets gave so much to Australia, so much pleasure in their writing, that if something can be done to support, promote and perpetuate their great ballad style of writing, then one does it. That can take many forms.

Rescuing and Preserving their works.
Encouraging the writing and performance of bush poetry
Promoting bush poetry to young people, lobbying governments, and raising the public profile of balladry.
Subsidising the costs of publishing small volumes of bush poetry.
... and other suggestions forwarded to the Minister in January.

I try and write ballads myself but the standard of it is a bit indifferent though I'm afraid, but that isn't the point. Everyone should at least try and write I believe, regardless of the standard produced.... gee, there I go again off at a tangent....

Maybe Sen George Brandis will keep his job and maintain the ship on course. I hope so, but I seem to start the day as a pessimist and finish the day as an optimist!

Thanks anyway Nev for your kind words. Like yourself and everyone else I am a Supporter of Bush Poetry... never a champion of it.

[Neville Briggs]

The OED gives a definition of " champion" as " a person who fights, argues etc. for another or for a cause". . I don't know how egotistical undertones get in there ?

I am still left wondering why "intellectual" seems to be a term of derision. Does one park one's brains at the door on entering bush poetry.
I have seen a few anti-intellectuals in my time, they always give the appearance that their heads are composed of some sort of impermeable barren ground where the subtleties and nuances of understanding have never taken root.
Surely we must not be like that if we are to do enduring poetry.

Someone has said that we should be careful what we worship as that is what we will become. If we continue to worship Lawson and Paterson, we might become like them. Dead, long ago.

[Neville Briggs]

Salvation is at hand.
Mitch Fifield is now the new Minister for the Arts and the arts community have earnestly pleaded for him to undo the damage done by the former minister George Brandis.
We can't have things run by conservatives, things must remain as they always were.

[warooa]

Yes, will be interested to see how the new Minister goes about arts funding. Also interested to hear from Gary whether he sees Mitch Fifield as a sympathiser with the 'arts luvvies'.

Whilst Brandis was simply showing prudent fiscal management by cutting funding, the fact that funding allocated had to be personally signed off by the Minister did reek a bit of a 'private arts fiefdom' - while Gary may be grinding his teeth at the loud applause from the arts community at George's demise, what does he make of Senator Fifield?

Marty