Australian War Memorial travelling exhibition federal funding cuts short-sighted and unnecessary: CPSU
Federal funding cuts to the Australian War Memorial's travelling exhibitions program have been slammed as a "short-sighted" and "unnecessary" move by the public sector union.
Memorial director Brendan Nelson said he was advised by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) last week that funding would be cut, and travelling exhibitions would end unless private sector support could be found.
He said some exhibitions would continue to their next venue before returning to the Memorial, but others would be packed up after finishing at their current destination.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said the axing of the program was another example of the damage caused by federal funding cuts.
But a spokesman for Veterans' Affairs Minister Senator Michael Ronaldson said the Memorial was advised in May that the program was under review and it was "unfortunate" it had locked in exhibitions in spite of that.
"The department, with its requirement to fund proactive measures to assist contemporary veterans and to fund centenary of Anzac commemorative events, made the decision to discontinue funding its share of the travelling exhibition, pursuant to the MOU," he said.
CPSU spokeswoman Beth Vincent-Pietsch said the union was deeply opposed to the decision.
"The cut seems to be such a short-sighted and unnecessary decision to make in the first place," she said.
"I know that Brendan Nelson is saying that he's going to look to the private sector to find some necessary funding, but this is a crucial national program.
"In a centenary year, we should have the confidence that we can deliver this and the Government needs to step in and fill that shortfall."
Ms Vincent-Pietsch said the pain from the Government's cuts was not restricted to the public service.
"The way that they've delivered these cuts, huge amounts of job cuts being slashed across the service, it does impact on everyday Australians," she said.
"(They're) very short sighted decisions that mean crucial programs, be it cultural ones like this travelling exhibition, or necessary health programs or science programs are being cut and we're losing good people that we won't be able to get back."
'Unfortunate' the Memorial locked in exhibitions
Senator Ronaldson's spokesman said a 2010 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the travelling exhibitions program allowed the Memorial or department to terminate the agreement.
"The AWM was advised by DVA in May that because of the requirement to fund a number of initiatives, the travelling exhibitions programme was under review," he said.
"It is unfortunate if the AWM has chosen to lock in exhibitions having been made aware of that situation.
"This year, the Government has committed $47.8 million to the Memorial, up from $40 million in Labor's budget last year.
"The Government is working closely with the Australian War Memorial and corporate partners to deliver a multi-million dollar national travelling exhibition for the centenary of Anzac.
"We have provided $10 million in seed funding to the Memorial to scope this."
Since 1996, the Memorial has sent 40 travelling exhibitions to venues across Australia and internationally.
The Memorial has estimated that more than 3.8 million people have viewed its exhibitions outside of Canberra.
