"The debate around taxpayer-funded arts is brutal from my perspective. It feels like we are being constantly asked to choose between public funding in health or education or the arts. I'm not sure that is a fair question. For me, public funding in the arts is about respecting the skill, originality, risk and innovation of an artist: a creative mind. Taxpayer-funded arts should be a conversation about public investment in the arts, the creativity of a generation and the identity of a community. I sound precious when I make these comments but I don't believe the pioneers who established these public funding agencies 40 to 50 years ago in Australia, or Canada for that matter, ever asked if it was a question of healthcare or the arts."
- Sandra Bender, general manager of SBS Subscription TV, talking to media diarist Caroline Overington of The Australian. Meanwhile, former ABC managing director David Hill says of Aunty in The Australian: "I'm concerned that some of the important stuff, like quality Australian drama and social history, is being missed."
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