When the goal posts move

In this wide-ranging overview of the now notorious 'Excellence Raid' of Budget night 2015, when substantial public funding was ripped from the arts sector and awarded to the federal Ministry, Ben Eltham examines the purposes of power, the extent of the damage done and the future of the crippled Australian Council. He shows how its foundational pursuit of 'excellence' has been diverted from an aspiration to a commodity, counts the culling of artists and long-established service organisations, questions the silence that grasped the major players, records the scattered shrapnel; and reports signs of growing unity of purpose across the sector. Now in the shadow of the 2016 federal election, Eltham views the shattered structure and the Opposition's restorative promises; and concludes that, when called upon, Australians still do recognise cultural value. They can--and do--still rejoice in sharing the idea of the public good.