James Milligan MLA, shadow minister for arts and creative industries, said many in the arts industry had raised similar concerns for years:
“When the government inserts itself into the sector without collaboration or accountability, it can stifle the very growth it claims to champion.
“I have heard from many in the industry and seen first-hand the ACT Labor’s eagerness to make spending commitments and announce headline grabbing projects, often forgetting the local artists who make up the ‘industry’.”
At the 2024 election, Mr Milligan said, Labor’s promised to increase funding for arts organisations and centres by 25 per cent this term — but the arts community has yet to receive much of this support.
“The Government have instead chosen to put most of their eggs into one basket: large headline-grabbing venues capable of hosting thousands of people for international level productions. These venues are, of course, important for increasing arts tourism and cultural enrichment in Canberra.
“However, they are currently being delivered at the expense of local talent and groups who are crying out for spaces to perform. The ACT Government has allowed a situation to develop where Canberra has a ‘missing middle’ of arts venues.
“A city with multiple venues of differing scale, offers its audiences a richer cultural life. Small venues bring experimental and intimate work. Medium‑sized venues bring ambitious local productions. Major venues bring large touring shows. When all three tiers function well, audiences enjoy a more holistic cultural experience, full of local talent.
“Creativity or talent is often the spark that attracts someone to the industry, but it is opportunity and aspiration that turns a young stagehand into a lighting designer, a student actor into a playwright, a community‑theatre volunteer into a producer.
“We have seen some local Canberrans who have been able to navigate their way to the national or international stage, but that potential only becomes reality when supported by structures that encourage it.
“It is incredibly important that we have a healthy arts environment in the ACT for local and interstate talent to flourish. We have a talented and aspirational arts sector in Canberra who deserve a government which supports them in their ambition and doesn’t super cede it with its own agenda.
“Without stories, music, design, theatre, film, poetry, architecture, or everyday creative expression, society would be less curious, less empathetic, and far less connected. The arts are not an optional extra — they are one of the primary ways a community understands itself, challenges itself, and dreams beyond itself.”
Full text first published in the Canberra Daily, February 11 2026