Last week Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright and representatives from the cultural institutions met with the Shadow Minister for Arts and Culture, John Graham MLC.

Issues raised with the Shadow Minister included concerns over the increased corporatization and privatisation in the arts and cultural sphere, poor forethought and planning in terms of funding (particularly an over reliance on funding for capital expenditure and the underfunding for operational expenditure), and a lack of recognition of those on the ground, our brilliant members.

The PSA was also able to highlight our concerns relating to focus of current projects, the move to privatisation of some areas and an overuse of contractor and temporary employment.

The Shadow Minister listened to all that was put to him and indicated his willingness to work with the union, a recognition that the sector needs to be valued and the importance of accessibility to ordinary people.

Delegates at this meeting spoke to their experiences working at the Art Gallery of NSW, MAAS Powerhouse, State Library and Australia Museum.

To ensure that your institution is represented in these discussions moving forward we strongly encourage you to consider taking on the delegate role. To support you in making this decision we have arranged a special session of Delegate Training for Cultural Institution delegates and activist.

All PSA Members are entitled to 12 paid training days every two years.

The training will take place at PSA House 160 Clarence Street CBD, Tuesday 29 November from 9.30am-3.30pm.

If you are interested in signing up for this training, please register your interest HERE and we will follow up with you. Contact Amy Lennox if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing at PSA House!