Thursday, 3 August 2023

Australian National Academy of Music

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (17:45): (371) My matter for the adjournment tonight is for the attention of the Minister for Creative Industries. I raised with him in June the matter of ANAM, the Australian National Academy of Music, based in South Melbourne in the town hall in the City of Port Phillip. The City of Port Phillip is providing very significant funding for the reinvigoration of the South Melbourne town hall, and obviously that town hall is an old town hall but needs significant money spent on it. The federal government has contributed $12.5 million, announced in 2019. Prior to the last election I should say that the state opposition indicated that, if elected, we would put another $10 million in to support ANAM, which is one of the national arts training bodies that provides training to a very, very high level. But I was distressed, in fact disturbed, when I got a response to the question that I raised from Mr Dimopoulos, the minister, and he gave a straight flick pass – this was 11 July – where he said, ‘No, no, the feds can pay for this, and the state’s not going to take on any responsibility for capital spending.’

I am in possession of an old document – but an active document – a memorandum of understanding between the Commonwealth government and the state of Victoria signed in June 1995 by Michael Lee, the then Commonwealth Minister for Communications and the Arts, and Haddon Storey, the then Minister for Tertiary Education and Training and Minister for the Arts in Victoria. And in this memorandum of understanding, which underpinned ANAM – basically the only body that we have got here that fits into this national model – I note a number of different key clauses:

The Academy will be established jointly by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments in Melbourne as a centre of training excellence for musicians of outstanding talent.

And at 4.3 it goes on to say the Victorian government:

… will provide and arrange for the equipping and maintenance of the South Melbourne Town Hall to a standard necessary to fulfil the functions of the Academy …

It says at 4.4:

The Victorian Government will provide security of tenure for the Academy at the South Melbourne Town Hall.

All of these are very clear commitments. This is governed clearly, with the recurrent money coming from the feds to fund ANAM, a national training centre, and the state providing the support for the South Melbourne town hall. So what I am asking the minister to do is revisit this serious matter and treat this as a big, important issue for Victoria. We actually need to make sure that the ANAM is not in any way in peril. We need to make sure that it is strengthened and that the Victorian government sticks to its deal. This is what it has got to do. He has got to re-examine this and provide the funding as per the memorandum of understanding that governs the arrangements between the governments.