Comment on the State Budget

Read our Media Release: Media Release State Budget 2010.pdf

Summary of Key agencies impact:

Art Gallery:

• Govt acknowledge the ongoing problem of storage for the State Art Collection which impacts on exhibition spaces, but has not committed to any action in this budget.
• Budget 2010 $14.6M nominal increase of 6%.
• Budget is yet to return to 2008/9 levels of real funding. 
• Staff levels will still be less than in 2008/9.
• Urgent maintenance to Art Gallery façade has been included ($6.5m 2011 & $3M 2010) as has allocated $230Kpa for the Art Gallery acquisition fund over three years.

WA Museum:

• The business case for a new State Museum is due in October 2010, but there is no provision in the forward estimates for this project. 
• Budget $36,6M which include the $4.5M specifically for the new museum project work, net budget = $31.2M which is the nominal level of funding in 2008/9 and below the real level of funding. 
• Good News is that Welcome Walls stage 3 $1M committed.

State Records Office:

• Budget $2M dropped from $2.5M in 2008/9
• Govt acknowledges the lack of storage for SRO is a major issue across Government but has not committed to any action in this regard.

Read the Minister for Culture and the Arts, John Day's, media release on the State Budget in relation to the Collections sector:

http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx?ItemId=1335...

For in depth information read the budget papers:

http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/uploadedFiles/State_Budget/Budget_2010...

The Culture and the Arts Portfoio details start on page 567