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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
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STATUTES AMENDMENT (ARTS AGENCIES GOVERNANCE AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 30 June 2010.)

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Morialta, you are speaking but I believe you are not the lead speaker on this matter.

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (12:06): That is correct. It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak on the Statutes Amendment (Arts Agencies Governances and Other Matters) Bill and, as you have correctly pointed out, Madam Deputy Speaker, although I am speaking first on the opposition side which is a great pleasure for me for the first time, I am not as you say the lead speaker.

This bill deals with a number of bodies in the South Australian art firmament including the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Act 1971, the Adelaide Festival Corporation Act 1998, the Art Gallery Act 1939, the Carrick Hill Trust Act 1985, the South Australian Country Arts Trust Act 1992, the History Trust of South Australia Act 1981, the South Australian Film Corporation Act 1972, the South Australian Museum Act 1976, the Libraries Act 1982, the State Opera of South Australia Act 1976, and the State Theatre Company of South Australia Act 1972.

It is a broad and all-encompassing bill as far as South Australian arts are concerned and, therefore, it gives me the opportunity to speak on a number of issues relating to these important bodies and more generally on the arts in South Australia. I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a briefing along with the Leader of the Opposition and other opposition advisers. It was kindly offered by the government, and I appreciated the briefing that was given by departmental officers and an adviser from the Premier's office who gave a thorough and concise briefing. It is as a result of the work that these officers have done over a number of years to bring together all of these arts agencies so that they would have uniform governance procedures that this bill has arisen.

The opposition will be supporting the Statutes Amendment (Arts Agencies Governances and Other Matters) Bill 2010. The bill's objective is to introduce a suite of standardised governance arrangements for those major arts bodies in South Australia. As each of those organisations has its own governing act, and they have developed over not just decades but through much of the period of this parliament, the governance arrangements in those acts are in some places archaic, certainly not uniform, and could do with some bringing up to modern governance standards.

As I have said, Arts SA reviewed the arts portfolio statutes to determine whether there was scope for and, in fact, benefit in standardising sections of those acts. The review concluded that the variation between acts was not surprising, given that they were created at different times over that long period, and that there was indeed the opportunity to standardise governance of those bodies.

The Leader of the Opposition was thorough in questioning (and I enjoyed the opportunity also) those officers on how that review was conducted, and it seems to have been conducted very well, involving the maximum amount of stakeholder consultation. The proposed bill will not change the operations or objectives of the organisations; rather, it will streamline relationships with government and ensure a consistent, clear set of powers and functions for this board or trust.

It is important to acknowledge in this place that the South Australian arts community makes an immeasurable contribution to our state's culture, heritage, identity and livelihood. Our state's arts and cultural sector is leading the nation and, in many respects, the world in its collections, research, production and events and also in its commitment to creativity and artistic expression. In South Australia, we recognise the significance of the arts, with many of the state's major arts bodies established as statutory authorities, providing them with status and protection as key government entities.

I want to take the opportunity to reflect briefly on some of the achievements accomplished by some of the state's most significant arts organisations. I turn first to the Adelaide Festival Centre. Of course, the Adelaide Festival Centre was the first multipurpose arts centre in Australia and, more than 30 years later, it still maintains is status as a national arts icon. Somebody described it to me recently as the 'heart of the arts', which I found quite an apt description.

The Festival Centre not only presents a wide range of arts activities and performances for the community but it is also one of Australia's most active theatrical producers. On 27 July, it is worth noting that the Adelaide Festival Centre received two Helpmann awards—sort of Australia's version of Broadway's Tony awards—recognising its achievements in the performing arts. The annual Helpmann Awards recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre.

It is worth noting that, despite the difficult economical environment we have experienced and the reduction in discretionary income faced by so many families in South Australia over the last couple of years, more particularly in 2008 and 2009, the Festival Centre announced a net trading result 2008-09 of a $36,000 surplus, excluding depreciation. So, the Festival Centre is doing some important work, and it is appreciated by the community, and I recognise that in this place.

One of my favourite organisations in South Australia (and I have appreciated this institution ever since I was studying at the university next door) is the Art Gallery of South Australia, which serves the South Australian and wider community by providing access to original works of art of the highest quality, particularly its excellent Australian arts collection and good Indigenous art collection. It is, of course, one of South Australia's most valuable assets. It houses 38,000 objects of art, which are valued in excess of $600 million.

Recently, I was pleased to note the Art Gallery's commitment to the environment, through the Greening of the Gallery program, aimed at reducing the gallery's electricity consumption by around 40 per cent (the equivalent of 80 households). The Art Gallery is doing good work from that point of view. Also, the Art Gallery, along with Adelaide University, has developed new online art history courses, which commenced in February this year.

These two Adelaide institutions will ultimately teach art to the world, with students ranging not just from within Adelaide but also country South Australia and overseas, with students from Hong Kong. Students are able to watch the gallery director and curators deliver online lectures on the gallery's collection and exhibition displays and engage in live tutorial chat rooms led by university academics. Students may choose to complete a graduate certificate, graduate diploma or a masters degree or, of course, they may simply study for enjoyment.

As we have an ageing population and many people in the community are constantly seeking to keep their minds active, because we are living for longer than we ever have before, this sort of intellectual pursuit and intellectual exercise for members of the community is invaluable. I think that it will contribute greatly to the long-term happiness of many in our community. As we know, it is important for people's health that they continue to keep their minds active as they enter older age, so I think the Art Gallery and the University of Adelaide are doing some excellent work in this area.

The opposition has, of course, had some issues with the government's priorities as it relates to film in South Australia. I have long held the view that $40 million being spent on a film hub at the Glenside Hospital site should be a very low order priority for the government when compared to the needs of the mental health facility there.

Mr Marshall: Putting movies over mental health.

Mr GARDNER: As the member for Norwood describes, it seems to be the case that the government is putting movies ahead of mental health. However, I certainly would not want to denigrate the broader work of the South Australian Film Corporation, which over the years has created a sophisticated and dynamic film and television community, propelling South Australia onto the national and international stage with feature films such as Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger, December Boys and Wolf Creek, as well as a myriad of documentaries, short films, television programs and digital media productions.

I remember that, growing up, one of my favourite films was very reliant on the work of the South Australian Film Corporation, Colin Thiele's The Fire in the Stone, which I am sure many members will remember with fondness. This year, Adelaide's Andrew J. Romeo and Paul Platt won the best international short at the 2010 Manhattan Film Festival with their South Australian Film Corporation funded film Time of Day, and I acknowledge that significant achievement. The South Australian Film Corporation funded short film The Bully was chosen for this year's official line-up at the 16th annual Palm Springs International ShortFest in the US.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: An excellent film, if I may say so.

Mr GARDNER: It certainly was, thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—I could not agree with you more. I am sure many members here will have taken the opportunity to see it. It was also screened at the 12th Seoul International Youth Film Festival in South Korea in July, a sign of South Australian artists and cultural contributors making their contribution, not just here in South Australia but, with the support of the South Australian Film Corporation, around the world.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, which up until now has been one of the world's most significant celebrations of innovation and inspirational performances, drawing upon a wide selection of very diverse art forms from across Australia and around the world. The 2008 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts had an audience of 600,000 and exceeded box office targets to achieve more than 2½ million in ticket sales, featuring 62 high quality international and national arts events, with more than 700 of the world's best artists in Adelaide.

Since 1999, under the previous Liberal government, the Adelaide Festival Corporation has also hosted the Festival of Ideas. This event, held every second year, features talks and panel discussions with national and international speakers surrounding a chosen theme, and is often incredibly stimulating.

Before I move on to some of the local aspects, I also want to mention the work of Country Arts South Australia. Country Arts SA has been dedicated to delivering diverse programs of professional arts to a broad range of regional and remote areas since 1992 and continues to encourage and foster cultural and artistic growth in regional and remote communities. It acts as an advocate for the continuing development of the arts in country South Australia and provides an information and advisory service to those living in regional and remote areas.

I remember, from the 18 months that I was living on the Fleurieu Peninsula, the incredible importance of bodies like this in encouraging the local arts scene. Country South Australia is a great deal more diverse in terms of the interests and applications of the people that live there than I think many people who struggle to think of anywhere north of Gepps Cross would understand. The country arts scene is vibrant and greatly appreciates the work of Country Arts SA.

Country Arts SA successfully manages and operates performing arts centres in Whyalla, Port Pirie, Renmark and Mount Gambier, and through the efforts of Country Arts SA regional South Australian communities were provided with $150,090 from the Australian government's Regional Arts Fund to support arts initiatives in 2010. These are all very important organisations and we hope that this bill will in fact streamline their governance in a positive way.

What might be of more concern to these bodies, and many other arts organisations across South Australia, is the state budget to be delivered tomorrow. We have learnt today that in the Sustainable Budget Commission's report just about every one of these faces significant cuts or total de-funding, if the Treasurer's body gets its way. The very fact that these organisations have been slated for de-funding by the Treasurer's body causes me great concern.

We are waiting with anticipation for the budget to be delivered tomorrow and, along with all the other bodies across South Australia—with the small schools that are threatened to be merged, the repatriation hospital that is threatened to be shut down (with its land being sold) and, of course, the potential outsourcing of the work at Yatala prison—we wait with fear for the next 24 hours, which is very disappointing. The fact that this state has got into the position where it might be seen as necessary by one of the Treasurer's own bodies, the Sustainable Budget Commission, to cut funding to those concerned is, I think, an indictment on the poor economic management of the government over the last eight years, and I am very concerned for these bodies.

These organisations are not just about taking the elites and giving them opportunities, nor are they just about supporting the highest level of arts and culture in South Australia: they also support many people who are starting out their work as artists: many youth and many people who come to the arts later in life, and even those that it does not support directly. These bodies also indirectly provide support for so many other community arts organisations. They provide inspiration for so many young new artists and emerging artists.

I want to highlight some of the fantastic cultural and art work that is going on in the seat of Morialta, because life is not just about the work we do, although that is important. The family life that we lead is obviously the most important thing to us personally, but our life is enriched by the work of the artists in our community. When that community art is accessible, as it is in South Australia to such a large extent, then our lives become enriched. This is why I am so concerned about the potential for these bodies to have significant cuts, and in some cases for them potentially to be completely de-funded.

In Campbelltown's council chambers every year the Campbelltown Rotary Club and the City of Campbelltown combine to put on the Campbelltown community art show, which is a very significant event every year. It raises tens of thousands of dollars for the charities that the Campbelltown Rotary Club supports. It also gives an opportunity for hundreds of emerging artists in both the Campbelltown community and the broader South Australian arts community to display their work. I think that this year something like 700 artworks were on display, ranging in price from $30 to several thousand dollars. Prizes are awarded for various categories, including local and youth artists, as well as for pottery and ceramic, and oil, watercolour and Indigenous painting. I am very proud to be a sponsor of one of those youth arts awards at the Campbelltown community art show. Operating over some nine days it also gets several thousand members of the community in to the art show, with live demonstrations from local artists. They do a great job.

That sort of work is not necessarily the result of direct government grants, but the opportunities from higher-up organisations for those artists who can progress themselves can only be there with some level of government support, and support offered by groups such as the South Australian Art Gallery is very important.

I am very proud to be the member for Morialta, as I have said before. We have had significant work done in our schools in the development of arts and culture in South Australia. My fiancée, Chelsey, and I were pleased to visit the Charles Campbell Secondary School's production of It Takes Two recently, and the Norwood Morialta High School's production of Beauty and the Beast. It is fantastic to see these young performers—many of whom will go on to extremely high level roles within the arts community—doing so well. I should also acknowledge the work of the Charles Campbell Secondary School's barbershop quartet, The Fishbowl Boys, who were runners-up on Australia's Got Talent in 2008, and I look forward to seeing them progress well.

Rostrevor College has a significant Indigenous student community, and last month I was pleased to visit the opening of its Indigenous art show, along with the member for Sturt, Christopher Pyne. The college does great work, and encourages and inspires students from Indigenous backgrounds in that area to create incredibly fine artworks, as well as the musical groups that they produce. I think it leads to a more optimistic and more hopeful future not just for the Indigenous students involved but also for their families and other younger Indigenous students, who potentially may benefit from the flow down effects of these students' success.

Time expired.

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (12:26): I rise to speak on the Statutes Amendment (Arts Agencies Governance and Other Matters) Bill 2010. The framework presented in this bill both simplifies and clarifies the governance arrangements for the arts portfolio. South Australia's portfolio of government-administered arts organisations makes a significant contribution to the state. South Australia enjoys a rich cultural heritage and an outstanding reputation for the excellence of its major artistic and cultural institutions. At the foundation of these organisations is their status as government statutory authorities.

South Australia has proudly established its major arts bodies as statutory authorities, providing them with status as key government entities. For these organisations to flourish it is essential that their overarching governance model provides them with appropriate oversight of the state's investment in them, balanced with the flexibility to excel in their respective areas of cultural or artistic practice. A well-designed governance model should provide a solid foundation but not impede effective and efficient administration or operations. Difficulties and frustrations can arise from legislative variance across a portfolio, and it is evident that this bill is designed to address this situation within the arts portfolio by introducing a consistent governance model.

The benefits of this bill are evident from the government, organisational and legislative perspective. From the government perspective there are significant advantages in applying a consistent model across similar organisations. Public administrative processes can be shared, the application of government policies is more easily determined, management of board appointments is simplified, and monitoring of the arts portfolio is streamlined. Benefits also arise from the increased clarity in the organisations' and board members' obligations relating to the public sector standards of honesty and accountability that we all hold dear. By establishing a consistent, updated and solid governance model across the arts portfolio, government is providing an improved foundation for arts and cultural organisations and institutions.

For the boards themselves the bill provides updated powers. The inclusion of contemporary clauses dealing with intellectual property, sponsorship, official logos and broadcasting rights across the portfolio reflects the contemporary environment in which these organisations now operate. I am pleased to note the consistent clauses on board proceeding and obligations. These provide a clear reference point for board operations. Applications of the same provisions across the portfolio will be of great benefit to people holding positions on multiple boards or who are appointed to a different art board on the completion of a term.

The bill also introduces greater consistency in the composition of the boards, such as size and appointment terms. I understand these parameters have been drawn from research into the best practice of governance models and are aimed at providing an optimal blend of skills, experience and fresh ideas on arts boards across the state. These provisions will ensure that each arts organisation has the best board for its particular area.

From a legislative perspective, the bill also has its benefits. The legal status and powers and obligations of the arts organisations are now clearer, consistent and appropriate for their organisations. Each arts act provides a comprehensive guide for its respective organisation. The structure of the revised acts also has a greater degree of consistency for significant portions, across all acts. However, each act retains sections that specifically deal with the unique operations of those individual organisations.

When viewed as a whole, the revised arts act provides a template for modern, effective governance of statutory authorities. I support the bill and acknowledge the benefits this will provide to these organisations. I commend the Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts with this progressive initiative and I commend the bill to the house.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Thompson): The member for Bragg.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (12:31): I rise to speak on the Statutes Amendment (Arts Agencies Governances and Other Matters) Bill 2010 and indicate that I am not the lead speaker for the opposition, but I am sure the opposition's view will be ably presented by the Leader of the Opposition when she has an opportunity to make a contribution.

There are two aspects of this bill that I would like to address. One is the expectation, as presented by the minister on behalf of the Premier, that a one-size-fits-all proposal will in fact provide some better governance model. I hope he is right. I am not always an advocate for this concept that one size fits all for these organisations and that just to make it an easier process to be administered or managed by ministers or their departments, this should necessarily be reflected in a one-size-fits-all model. But if it does improve and enhance the operation of these agencies, then that will be something that is to be commended.

I know that these bodies, whether they are in a trust form or a corporation or a board form, are all to have boards. Most of them already have boards that are selected and appointed by the relevant minister, and it is not surprising to see the flavour of some of the board appointments that occur during each regime of government. That is not going to change, so we are still going to have the determination by the minister and/or the Premier, with or without consultation with cabinet, as to who is going to fill these positions.

Let me give just one example of where I think the situation needs to be improved, and I hope it will be. I refer to the South Australian Film Corporation, which is one of the agencies whose governance procedures are up for strengthening under this bill. The film corporation's annual report of 2007-08 listed a project that was one of its highlights, and it is one that is close to my heart. It is a film that was produced, named Driven to Diffraction. It was a film production of a documentary nature, which highlighted the very significant work in South Australia of the Nobel prize-winning father and son team Sir William and Sir Lawrence Bragg, whom my electorate is named after.

It was with pleasure that I ultimately viewed this film. The first part I thought was quite informative. It is an important part of South Australia's history that needs to be recorded, and I think it is terrific that that has occurred. As the film progressed, though, it seemed to become an advertisement for Baroness Susan Greenfield, who, members will be aware, has been a visitor of the Thinkers in Residence program, another little brainchild of the Premier which is under his jurisdiction, and which I also notice, when I come to the Sustainable Budget Commission inquiry, is under the microscope as well.

In any event, as it progresses Madam Greenfield suddenly becomes the feature of the film. The connection, apparently, is that she has been until recently the director of the Royal Institute of Great Britain, and the Braggs were also members of this institute. That is apparently the connection. She suddenly features in the South Australian historic work of the Braggs, and somehow or other that is some connection that justifies her being in this film about their history.

I suppose one asks whether this was the idea of the SA Film Corporation, the Premier, the minister, or someone else in the community, who said, 'Well, if you're going to do an historical documentary about the famous work of the Bragg father and son team, and this is going to be an important part of the history of South Australia, I think you should rush in Professor Greenfield'—because she is English but otherwise has no connection whatsoever with the historical work that they have done and, in fact, are generations apart, but apparently she needed to be in the film.

What we end up finding is a documentary which, I suggest, has been adulterated now with information and content which has nothing to do with the primary subject and which can only have some base, some origin, out of the brain of the Premier or his ministry. I find that completely unacceptable. If this new governance regime is going to provide us with some independence, which on the face of it I doubt (but I hope I am wrong) then let that be seen. I just used that as one example.

Now that Baroness Greenfield has been sacked as the director of the Royal Institute of Great Britain and is under some inquiry in England about that (I will not go into detail about it; I am not privy to it other than what I read in the paper, which pretty tawdry), what I am concerned about is whether the Film Corporation is going to go back and recut this film, get rid of her and edit her out of it, when she had nothing to do with it in the first place, or will she continue to be part of this film which will be part of the staining of the magnificent history of the Braggs in this state?

I want no political interference in the operation of these boards and the duties with which they are vested to ensure that we have the production of artistic merit and benefits to this state, in particular in this instance for the people of South Australia by way of documentaries. All of these entities should be free of that political interference and we need to make sure they remain independent in carrying out their duties.

The second matter I want to raise, which is of concern to me, is that we have been presented with an amendment, which is foreshadowed by the minister on behalf of the Premier, to add into it all of the duties, in respect of the relevant boards for these bodies, which essentially will facilitate the right of that trust, corporation or board to not keep any material that in their opinion is not of sufficient artistic, historical, or other interest to justify its collection or preservation under the act; in other words, the history, records and assets of that particular board. Whether they are talking about costumes for a festival trust, for example, whether they are talking about books, records and letters that might be held by the libraries, or whether they are talking about other assets, it seems that, under this amendment, they will all have this extra provision that, if they think there is no merit in keeping that material, they will have the authority to dump it.

I will wait eagerly to hear the minister and/or the Premier explain to us why this has come in first, late and, secondly, why it has come in at all. Members may be aware of the recent very public event of what was to happen as a result of the State Library making the decision that it would dump a whole lot of records and it no longer was required to keep them. This was apparently exacerbated by a federal decision to not keep a whole lot of records—I am told, although that may not be right. In any event, there were records of the library that it said were surplus to requirements and that there was no merit or benefit in keeping them. I do not make any judgment about whether they were or not but there was significant public controversy over the fact that the library had apparently decided that it was not going to be needing them any more.

One of the concerns that was raised, which may or may not be accurate (and, again, I do not know but I think it is important that this be fleshed out and we have some responses on it), is that the library is getting much more commercially oriented. It wants to be able to use its facilities, including the beautiful and historical parts of the library, for wedding receptions and functions for which it can charge a fee. It may be under some pressure from the government, which wants to start raising a bit of money from public institutions, and part of that might mean cleaning out the dead wood, dusting off those old records, shoving them out and disposing of them to clear the way for other commercial opportunities.

I think we need some explanation for this. If these boards are going to be vested with the power to be able to decide and dispose of, at their will, then I think there are parts of South Australia's history in these institutions which need to be at least under some ministerial review—not the ultimate review by the minister being able to sack a board that might do this; that is too late—that is shutting the gate after the sheep are out.

Minister, you are on notice, in relation to the discussion that we will have in committee on the amendments, that I would certainly like to see some mechanism by which there will be at least some ministerial overview of that power. It seems to me, while it is occurring, there cannot be a disposal of these things until there has been proper consultation and approval by a minister or some other entity which you may consider is appropriate. I am happy to consider what that might be.

However, to throw this in as an amendment makes me very concerned and wary, in light of the situation of all these institutions being under enormous pressure now to show cause why they should exist and also that they have to make money for us. We know they are all entities which cannot make real money. They are going to be heavily subsidised by the taxpayer but they have a meritorious reason for existing. Everyone on our side of the house accepts that there is a benefit in these entities and that they provide an enormous value to the broader community.

However, the way that they are administered and the way that they administer the public funds which are invested in them needs to be under scrutiny. I note in the material published by the Sustainable Budget Commission Report 2010 that a number of these entities—and, in fact, just about all of them—come under some kind of proposal. It varies from the removal altogether to significant cuts in their budgets. Almost all of them are under the commission's knife or at least for consideration by the Treasurer (to be under his knife) whether it is in tomorrow's budget or some subsequent period.

The Sustainable Budget Commission report does not mean that it has to be announced tomorrow. They could sneak up on us during the time ahead. There are a couple of proposals that were brought to my attention which I thought were quite interesting. One was a proposed reduction in grant funding to the SA Film Corporation—that should start in tomorrow's announcements—of $2 million or 40 per cent. I do not want to be particularly picking on the SA Film Corporation today but we cannot run through all of them.

I highlight that one because on page 20 of the report it also proposes that the Adelaide Film Festival, of which almost half of the funding is to be provided by the SA government for investment in films, etc. for this film festival, should also come under scrutiny. In particular, it is recommended here that the proposal is to terminate the Adelaide Film Festival after February/March 2011. So, in other words, you can only have one and then it is of no merit whatsoever and you should cut it altogether.

What is interesting here is the combination of these two recommendations, because also identified in this report under 'Further action required' is the following:

Have been asked to examine construction of film hub in light of the cuts to the SAFC and the Film Festival.

It does not identify who has asked them to examine whether that should come under review, but it highlights these two proposed cuts that I have referred to and it refers to a film hub.

Now, the only film hub I know of is the Premier's little diamond in the rebuild of a proposed new headquarters and some filming facilities at the Glenside Hospital campus, the merit of which I have already made a number of comments on in this house. This flash new accommodation is underway. Over $40 million is being spent on new accommodation for the Film Corporation as headquarters for its personnel with some sheds at the back to do some film production.

Here we are with the commission's recommendation to at least review the construction of this, when we have had budget after budget and been through the last global financial crisis when we had the Treasurer running in here saying how desperately under pressure he was and that he needed to stop building prisons and make cuts and move projects into the never-never, yet this, of course, has blindly gone on. So, here is the commission coming forward and saying, 'Look, you need to review the whole thing.' In fact, somebody (undisclosed in this document) has asked them to even examine the construction of it. This is just one example in the commission's report.

The commission says that there need to be some cuts made to accommodate the Treasurer's request—it is being paid, of course, to define where there is fat in the system and what has to go, given the Treasurer's allegedly financially impecunious position, notwithstanding that he is swimming in money still and the Mid-Year Budget Review made it perfectly clear that he is still swimming in money—and that he should basically rip the guts out of these arts organisations.

The Treasurer may not be persuaded by this report. He may, tomorrow, actually announce extra funding for these entities. I doubt it, but, nevertheless, I may be wrong. So we will look forward and listen with interest to what he plans to do.

Can I say this: you can strengthen and try to improve all the governance in the world, but these entities cannot do their job properly unless they are independent and unless they have the resources to actually get on with their job.

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (12:47): I have been quite surprised by some of the remarks coming from members opposite, but I simply rise to use this as an opportunity to speak about some of the excellent work that has been done by our cultural institutions, as we do not often get to talk about them. I recognise that the bill is about changing the governance arrangements and, from my conversations with some of the people involved in that, this is something that I know to be widely supported.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate some of the work that occurs through our arts agencies, and in my remarks I want to focus on the cultural institutions that we have along North Terrace, but I know there are others who are eager to talk about other matters relating to our arts community.

I do want to, though, just mention one area that falls outside those institutions and that is Country Arts SA. There is a problem for access to arts for people who live beyond Gepps Cross, as was mentioned opposite, but also for people who live beyond Darlington. The involvement of Country Arts SA in the Hopgood Theatre at Noarlunga has changed the use of that theatre to great advantage to the community.

People living north of Darlington can actually also participate in these activities because some of the things that we now have available through Country Arts SA are not regularly available at Festival Theatre, for instance. If you live at Mitcham, or somewhere like that, you can get down to Noarlunga and park more easily than you can get into Festival Theatre. I would like people to take notice of that opportunity that we have.

Those I want to mention include: the Art Gallery of South Australia, History SA, the South Australian Museum, and the State Library of South Australia. These are the state's treasure houses and, together with their heritage buildings, the state's most valuable assets. The South Australian Museum collection holds over 4 million objects and specimens, and was valued in 2009 at nearly $145 million. The Art Gallery of South Australia collection holds over 38,000 works, which cover Australian, European, North American and Asian art and features paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, textiles, furniture, ceramics, metalwork and jewellery, most recently valued at $616 million.

The capacity of our community to reflect on itself through understanding the past underpins the role of our collecting institutions and is vital to our cultural fabric and the development of identity. I particularly welcome the fact that, during the time when the teaching of history in universities and schools is becoming quite unfashionable (something that I simply do not understand), we have these institutions available to provide us with living examples of our history. I know from conversations with younger members of my extended family that, when they visit these institutions, they do not understand at all that they are doing history, especially if they happen to be accompanied by a history-mad aunt.

These institutions offer free access to our human cultural heritage. The library, museum and art gallery play a vital role in a socially inclusive society. The major collecting institutions were established at various times as Crown entities with independent boards. While the governing act for each agency effectively sets the government's broad policy for acquiring, managing, conserving and promoting the state's collections, they have always been, and will continue to be, independent of government in deciding what is collected and displayed.

Further, these flagship organisations have always enjoyed bipartisan support. The State Library of South Australia is the largest public reference library in South Australia, with a collection focused on South Australian information and general reference material for information and research purposes. The breadth of its activity and services never fails to amaze and it seems to me that, even in this digital age, it is becoming more relevant to more and more people.

Broadly, it provides information, research and referral services for the whole community. It actively collects, preserves and gives access to the state's documentary heritage, both historical and contemporary. It offers public programs which enhance the cultural life of the state and it supports South Australia's public libraries network.

The State Library's archival collections include manuscript, pictorial, oral, film and other formats of material which document a rich diversity of South Australian life. Collecting began in 1920, when the South Australian Archives was established, the first state archives in Australia. The archival collections now form part of the State Library's South Australiana collections and the library collects archival material which is predominantly South Australian in content or is by or about South Australians and has great research value. The library began collecting audiovisual material in earnest in the 1980s, although the collection was established in the 1970s. In 1989 the legal deposit legislation was amended to include all non-print formats.

Two more examples of the breadth of the library's collection are the Bradman collection and the children's literature research collection, both of which attract visitors in person and online from around the world. The State Library has been the custodian of Sir Donald Bradman's personal collection of cricketing memorabilia since the early 1960s and it is now on display at the Adelaide Oval.

The children's literature research collection was established in 1959 as a research and reference library for the study of children's literature of the world, with particular emphasis on Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. To support this research function, there is a collection of reference books and periodicals relating to the study of children's literature and child play. A number of games and toys enhance the collection.

Electoral rolls held by the library are often used by family historians and other researchers. The State Library also provides another important service in its English Language Learning Improvement Service (ELLIS) as a free service for people who are learning English as a foreign language and want to improve their language skills. ELLIS supplements other English language and literacy programs within South Australia by providing self-help materials and opportunities to improve.

We may take for granted that someone will be keeping the material that builds a visual and written record of South Australian society from 1836 to the present but may not realise that it is the State Library that is doing this—collecting material produced with a short intended lifetime such as pamphlets and posters, often the only record of an organisation, event or activity.

Even fashion is within the collecting remit of our library, and I do not think it is 'even'. I think it is important that fashion is in the collecting remit of our library. Clothing styles are an integral part of the look and feel of the time and the State Library has a good range of materials, particularly older periodicals, which can provide students, historical researchers and designers with images and text to bring their projects to life.

The fashion collection of the State Library is particularly important for me. As a feminist, I recognise that over the years the creativity of women has not been well represented in the public fora. The art of women has not been encouraged until recently. I would have to say that within my lifetime the art of women is now encouraged in public fora but, up until my lifetime, there was not much record and it has not even been for all of my lifetime that the art of women has been recognised.

However, the creativity of women has often been recognised through their clothing, their choice of fabric, fashion, colour, etc., as well as their jewellery and the embroidery and knitting work that they do has often been the only representation of the creativity of women over the years. For this reason the fashion collection of the State Library is particularly important to me in enabling the creativity of women to be recorded and available for us now and for our descendants who want to see what has happened in terms of the cultural history of our community.

The list of library collections and services is almost endless. It also includes government and parliamentary publications, legal information, maps, medical and health resources, music, newspapers, oral histories, patents, vehicle workshop manuals, one of the best shipping and maritime history collections in Australia, and the largest collection of materials on the topic of wine in the southern hemisphere encompassing thousands of items including books, pamphlets, periodicals, wine labels, company records, and many other examples of fascinating oenography. Truly, it is a library for the 21st century.

The library's immediate neighbour, the South Australian Museum, enjoys an international reputation for the size and representation of its collections as well as the breadth and quality of its scientific research, regularly achieving a disproportionately high share of Australian research grants. Its six floors of exhibits taken from its holding of over four million objects and specimens tell many fascinating stories, and it offers a comprehensive teaching program linked to curriculum in schools from reception to year 12 for around 38,000 students a year.

The most recent addition to the richness of the Museum's collections is the Biodiversity Gallery opened earlier this year. Using more than 12,000 models and specimens, it tells the unique story of South Australia's diverse wildlife. I seek leave to conclude my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.


[Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00]


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