Dancing with the Bear: the Politics of Australian National Cultural Policy
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Dancing with the bear: the politics of Australian national cultural policy A thesis submitted to fulfil requirements for a degree of Doctor of Social Science Deborah Mills Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2020 1 Statement of originality This is to certify that, to the best of my knowledge the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Deborah Mills 2 Table of Contents Table of Figures 8 Table of Appendices 10 Abstract 12 Acknowledgements 13 Preface 14 Chapter One: Introduction 16 “Art in a Cold Climate” 16 Introducing the case studies 18 The limits of my inquiry 18 Bringing two theoretical frames together 19 Thesis structure: key themes and chapter outlines 22 Chapter Two: theory and method 27 Part One: public policy theory 27 What is public policy? 27 The Advocacy Coalition Framework 28 Neo-liberalism, culture, and governance 30 Part Two: critical cultural studies 32 Cultural studies and cultural policy 34 Is it art or cultural policy? 38 Art as excellence: its genius and distinctiveness 40 Art as industry: challenging excellence/confirming culture’s 42 exchange value De-colonising culture: access and excellence as cultural self 44 determination Part Three: cultural citizenship and arts policy modes 46 Cultural citizenship 46 Arts policy modes 47 Part Four: research method 49 Documentary content analysis 49 Elite Interviews 51 3 Survey 53 Ethics 54 Conclusion: overview of my theory and method 54 Chapter Three: framing Australia’s national cultural policy 56 Neo-liberalism, instrumentalism, and cultural citizenship 56 Creative Nation (1994): instrumentalism and cultural citizenship 56 Creative Australia (2013): instrumentalism and cultural 60 citizenship National Program for Excellence in the Arts/Catalyst (2015): 62 instrumentalism and cultural citizenship Arts policy mode 64 Creative Nation: arts policy mode 64 Creative Australia: arts policy mode 66 National Program for Excellence in the Arts/ Catalyst: arts policy 67 mode Art or Culture? 67 Creative Nation: art or culture? 68 Creative Australia: art or culture? 70 National Program for Excellence in the Arts/ Catalyst: art or 71 culture? How do the policies embody neoliberalism, and 72 instrumentalism? Chapter Four: policy beliefs, their origins, and 74 interpretations How did cultural policy beliefs develop in Australia? 74 Part One: state and civil patronage of excellence in the arts - 76 values and beliefs Evolving interpretations of excellence in Australia 76 Colonial and post-Federation State and civil patronage 76 State patronage from the 1960s 79 The cultural revolutions of the 1960s and 70s 80 State patronage, policy, and cultural pluralism 82 4 Contemporary interpretations of excellence 83 Evolving interpretations of access in Australia 86 Cultural deprivation, cultural distribution, and education 86 Socialism and the cultural frame 86 Socialism, cultural democracy, and cultural policy 88 Contemporary interpretations of access 89 Part Two: embodying policy values 92 Background to the Australia Council’s development 92 The Australia Council: artists’ representative or government’s 95 representative towards the arts? Conclusion: beliefs shaping policy, advocacy, and institutions 98 Chapter Five: mapping the arts advocacy coalitions 100 Picturing national arts advocacy coalitions 100 Who are the peak and national arts advocacy organisations? 106 Cross genre organisations 106 Artform based organisations 109 Communities of interest organisations 115 Asserting cultural pluralism 117 First Nations organisations 117 Culturally diverse community organisations 118 Asserting cultural democracy 120 The evolution of Australian arts advocacy coalitions and their 121 interaction What prompts the establishment of arts advocacy coalitions? 126 Chapter Six: Creative Nation 128 The three case studies 128 Part One: mobilisations and cleavages - the struggle for 128 hegemony Policy core values: access and excellence 129 Policy core preferences: arm’s length funding and peer review 132 Part Two: the development of Creative Nation 135 Keating and the arts sector: the woo and the wow! 135 The insiders 137 5 The Commonwealth Department of the Arts 141 Writing the policy statement 145 Part Three: Creative Nation and policy core beliefs 146 Access 147 Excellence 148 Creative Nation and arm’s length funding and peer review 149 Creative Nation: the aftermath 150 A new paradigm for cultural policy? 152 Chapter Seven: Creative Australia 154 Part One: background 154 New Public Management and the culture wars 154 New priorities in the arts 155 Part Two: mediating the policy debate: the tussles over beliefs 159 Policy commitment and a new policy paradigm 159 The tussle over excellence 162 The tussle over access 165 Arm’s length funding and peer review 169 The legislation 169 Part Three: the development of Creative Australia 171 Tensions in policymaking: the big picture and the funding initiative 171 Working with arts and cultural leaders 174 Joining the dots 175 Finding the money 177 The influence of arts advocacy coalitions on Creative Australia 178 Chapter Eight: power and patronage 182 Part One: The Shock 183 Early rumblings 183 The impact 184 Campaigning 186 Strategy 190 Strategies favoured by arts advocacy coalitions 190 Cleavages 193 Leadership 196 6 Part Two: interpretations of the policy beliefs, access, and 198 excellence The Arts Minister’s interpretation 198 The Ministry’s interpretation 200 Witness testimonials: an overview 201 Witness interpretations of access and excellence 202 Senate Inquiry findings 203 Part Three: support for policy preferences 204 Arm’s length funding: views of the Inquiry witnesses 204 Arm’s length funding: contemporary views 206 Peer review: views of the Inquiry witnesses 208 Peer review: contemporary views 209 Patronage wins 212 Chapter Nine: Concluding remarks 214 Culture, policy beliefs and neo-liberalism 214 The influence of policy frames 215 Policy core beliefs in excellence and access 215 The policy core preferences of peer review and arm’s length 216 funding Neo-liberalism: the framing and development of Australian 216 cultural policy Policy beliefs and Australian cultural policy: the tussles 218 Policy preferences and Australian cultural policy: the tussles 220 Limitations of the research and future lines of inquiry 221 Appendices 223 Bibliography 285 7 Table of Figures Figure 1: Cultural standards by democratic tradition (Adapted from Zapata- 47 Barrero, 2016) Figure 2: Policy modes for the arts adapted from Hillman-Chartrand and 48 McCaughey (1989), and Craik (2007) Figure 3: Contemporary interpretations of the excellence policy belief 84 Figure 4: Contemporary interpretations of the access policy belief 89 Figure 5: Classification of all organisations 101 Figure 6: Constituents: all organisations 102 Figure 7: Constituencies: advocacy and service organisations 103 Figure 8: Individual membership and/or subscriber numbers: all organisations 103 Figure 9: Individual membership and/or subscriber numbers: advocacy and 104 service organisations Figure 10: Number of organisational members: advocacy and service 105 organisations Figure 11: National advocacy and service organisations: total individual 105 constituents Figure 12: Arts genre represented: all organisations 109 Figure 13: Arts genre represented: advocacy and service organisations 109 Figure 14: Length of time advocacy and service organisations have been 122 operating Figure 15: Length of time creative producers have been operating 122 8 Figure 16: Graphic representation of the frequency of coalition interactions 125 Figure 17: Policy goals in the Discussion Paper and the Policy Statement 162 Figure 18: Australia Council Expenditure 2014/15 financial year (Australia 184 Council, 2016, p. 21) Figure 19: Strategies for political engagement: advocacy and service 191 organisations Figure 20: Strategies for political engagement: creative producers 192 Figure 21: Most effective advocacy tools 192 Figure 22: Contemporary interpretations of the arm’s length funding policy 206 preference Figure 23: Contemporary interpretations of the peer review policy preference 209 9 Table of Appendices Appendix 1.1: Interview subjects 224 Appendix .2.1: Matrix of interview subjects 229 Appendix 2.2: Semi-Structured Interview Schedule 233 Appendix 2.3 Introductory Letter Interview 235 Appendix 2.4 Participant Information Statement 237 Appendix 2.5 Participant Consent Form 240 Appendix 2.6 Survey Questionnaire 242 Appendix 2.7: Letter of introduction to survey 245 Appendix 2.8: Selection of survey recipients 247 Appendix 2.9: Survey Respondents 248 Appendix 3.1: Creative Australia funding commitments (Commonwealth of 252 Australia, 1994) Appendix 4.1: Members of the inaugural Australia Council (Rowse, 1985, 255 Macdonnell, 1992) Appendix 5.1: Survey respondents by organisational category 256 Appendix 5.2: Arts Action Australia membership 261 Appendix 5.3: ArtsPeak Membership August 2017 263 10 Appendix 5.4: Key Producers 265 Appendix 5.5: Contact between advocacy organisations 266 Appendix 7:1 Policy by review 271 Appendix 7.2: Submissions reviewed for analysis of responses to Discussion 273 Paper Appendix 7.3: The National Policy Reference Group Membership 276 Appendix 7.4: Overview of Creative Australia Structure 279 Appendix 7.5: Comparisons