$73 million for "the Arts" in WA

It is amazing the speed with which a result can appear after a bad show at the polls. Where has the support been? will it continue after the next state election? the past governments of both persuasions have crucified then totally ignored the arts in this state for the past 15 years. Will we end up with an affordable venue for local theatre to perform and excel or will we end up with a venue that only the Festival can afford. A one off token is not what we need, we need continued support and promotion the elevate the level of theatre so that people don't think the money is going to the toffs, which is unfortunately the way the majority view theatre. We have over the years backed ourselves into a closed shop elitist corner and that is how we are viewed, we need to break out of this cocoon and as Neville says it is up to us, but unless this funding is long term it will fail, because the the closed shop minded power brokers in the industry will feather their own nests, as happened in the past when the expenditure for show bore no relation to the projected box office.