‘Australian nightmare': Crisis we can't ignore
Whether you're for it or against it, it's undeniable that by virtually any metric, Australia is in the midst of an unprecedented experiment with mass immigration.
The figures are striking.
Between 2000 and 2023, Australia's population grew by 40 per cent — the fastest rate of any developed nation.
More than 30 per cent of Australia's population in 2023 was born overseas, for the first time since 1893.
For every one baby born in Australia now, four migrants arrive. And many of those babies are themselves born to migrants.
The overseas-born population bottomed out at 9.8 per cent in 1947 and has been climbing steadily ever since, in almost a V-shaped recolonisation.
The overseas-born population bottomed out at 9.8 per cent in 1947 and has been growing ever since. Picture: ABS
In the 60 years after World War II, net overseas migration — arrivals minus departures — averaged 90,000 per year.
Despite large influxes of migrants from Europe after the war, that figure only reached 150,000 twice in those six decades.
When John Howard kicked off the 'Big Australia' boom in the early noughties, net overseas migration more than doubled from its historical average.
But that was just a taste of what was to come.
After Covid, net overseas migration skyrocketed to an eye-watering record of 536,000 people in 2022-23, dipping slightly to 446,000 in 2023-24.
'We're not against migration,' said Frank Carbone, Mayor of multicultural Fairfield in Sydney's west.
'Migration is the foundation this country has been built on — but it's always been a sensible, regulated policy. At the moment it feels like the policy under Albanese has been unregulated and uncontrolled. It's one of the biggest mistakes I've ever seen in public life.'
The surge has been driven by international students, who make up the vast bulk of temporary migration numbers. A record 197,000 arrived in February alone and there are now more than 850,000 in the country.
Australia's cities are bursting at the seams. Picture: Justin Lloyd
The permanent migration program, currently set at 185,000 places, is a smaller contributor to net overseas migration, since 60 per cent of granted visas are already living in the country — of those, around 25,000 a year are former 'temporary' students.
Today, a new migrant arrives to live in Australia every 44 seconds — that's nearly 2000 people per day, or more than four full Boeing 747s.
All the while, Australia's birthrate continues to fall, now at a record low of 1.5 per woman. The birthrate fell below replacement level of 2.1 in 1976 and never recovered.
With zero net overseas migration, Australia's population would be declining.
But at the current rate, the country is adding nearly a Canberra every year.
The federal budget forecasts another 1.8 million people over the next five years — roughly an Adelaide and a Hobart.
In the next 40 years, Australia's population is officially tipped to grow by 13.5 million — another Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane — to reach 41.2 million by 2065.
And that number, from the Centre for Population's 2024 Population Statement, assumes net overseas migration of only 235,000 per year.
Both major parties have vowed to reduce migration in the face of growing public backlash — Labor by a bit, the Coalition by a bit more — and build more homes.
Mayor Frank Carbone says 'Fairfield is full'. Picture: Richard Dobson
'Australian nightmare'
As hundreds of thousands of migrants arrive every few months, more than half of them settling in Sydney and Melbourne, many young families are leaving.
In Sydney, which now has the second least affordable housing in the world second only to Hong Kong, the exodus in recent years has been stark.
NSW saw net overseas migration of 120,073 (202,781 arrivals and 82,708 departures) in the 12 months to September 30, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In the same period, a net 29,505 people left NSW for other states (81,410 arrivals and 110,915 departures).
Fairfield has been dubbed Australia's 'refugee capital', settling roughly half of the country's humanitarian migrants from countries including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
'All I can say is Fairfield's full,' said Mayor Carbone, an independent.
'There isn't an empty house, there's nothing available for anybody. Fairfield is on the outskirts — I can only imagine what it's like everywhere else.'
Mr Carbone said every country 'needs a migration policy but it needs to be a sensible, sustainable policy'.
'What we've had over the past few years with more than one million people coming in has had a huge impact on the quality of life for every Australian,' he said.
Fairfield has been dubbed Australia's 'refugee capital'. Picture: Fairfield City Council
'It's put pressure on housing, pressure on rents and general cost of living. Quite clearly the government has made a huge mistake, because what I see in the street is people competing for the most important things in life that we need and should all be able to have — housing, food, energy.'
Mr Carbone said those necessities had grown unaffordable for working people, pensioners and 'even for those migrants who've come in and the government's just dumped at our doorstep'.
'It's quite clear with the huge increase that the government has brought in that this has put our economy out of step,' he said.
'I'm not talking about the bottom line or the GDP. It might suit Treasury to have higher numbers but it doesn't suit our community. Everyone realises we can't build enough houses to accommodate one million coming in overnight.'
Growing up in Fairfield, Mr Carbone said it was a place immigrants would settle 'but it was a place of opportunity as was the whole country, where you knew if you worked hard you could build a better future and you could have home ownership'.
'They've turned the Australian dream of owning a home and raising a family into an Australian nightmare quite simply because they were more worried about the bottom line,' he said.
A long rental inspection queue on the Gold Coast. Picture: Bronte Elsmore/TikTok
Housing's big squeeze
Labor has promised to build 1.2 million new homes by 2029, or 240,000 a year.
The Coalition claims it will build 500,000 homes 'more quickly' under its plan.
Labor is aiming to bring net overseas migration of 230,000 over the long-term, and is forecasting 260,000 this financial year.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton vows the Coalition would slash numbers to 160,000 'straight away'.
'At the moment the forecast net overseas migration for the next five years comes to an outcome below the number of additional houses that the government has said in its plan it will build,' said Dr Abul Rizvi, former deputy secretary of the Immigration Department.
'If those two forecasts are realised we will actually have a surplus of houses. That's the crucial question.'
Dr Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP, insists tying immigration to housing capacity is 'just a statement of the obvious'.
He argues solving the housing crisis will require both cutting back demand by lowering immigration, at the same time as boosting supply.
'The problem is that with immigration at one stage being above 500,000 and population growth of about 650,000, in that situation you need to build about 250,000 homes a year,' he said.
Australia currently builds about 180,000 homes a year — including houses and units — 'if we're lucky', with the past few years seeing around 160,000 to 170,000 completions.
Labor has promised to build 1.2 million homes by 2029. Picture: David Gray/AFP
'The highest we ever got to was about 225,000 in the unit building boom between 2015 and 2019,' Dr Oliver said.
The rate of new home building since Covid has been nowhere near fast enough.
In 2023-24, building approvals fell by 8.8 per cent to just 158,690 new starts, the lowest level in more than a decade.
Assuming an average of 2.5 people per household, Australia had a shortfall of 62,000 homes to accommodate population growth last financial year — although this was an improvement on 2022-23, when the shortfall was 110,000.
The undersupply was greatest in Western Australia where just 48 per cent of new homes needed were built, followed by the Northern Territory (56 per cent), Queensland (61 per cent), NSW (74 per cent) and Victoria (82 per cent). Only Tasmania and the ACT built enough homes to keep up.
'The government is forecasting population growth to fall over the coming years to a level at which it should be possible to construct enough new housing,' PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said.
'The difficulty, however, will be making up for the deficit in new homes built in recent years. The government is focused on increasing supply, however it's not an immediate fix. Building homes where people want to live is critical but will take time.'
Australia has built up a shortfall of 200,000 to 300,000 homes. Picture: Getty Images
Starting from when annual net overseas migration spiked in the second half of the 2000s — without a corresponding increase in home building — Australia has built up a chronic shortage of housing that gets bigger every year.
'That led to this ongoing trend of chronically high home prices in relation to people's income,' Dr Oliver said.
AMP estimates the current shortfall is between 200,000 to 300,000 dwellings.
'Basically if you get [net overseas migration] back to about 200,000, and allowing for population growth and demolitions, you're probably needing to build about 180,000 dwellings in that situation anyway,' he said.
If immigration is cut back to 200,000 and 240,000 homes per year are built, 'over five years I reckon we probably would have gotten on top of the housing shortage'.
'After that point then we should calibrate the level of immigration to the capacity of the home building industry to supply homes,' he said.
'Longer term we need to try and decentralise to take pressure off our capital cities. We did start to see a mini version of that through the pandemic when working from home allowed more people to move to regional centres. That sort of stopped in its tracks when people were told to come back to the office.'
AMP's Shane Oliver says tying immigration to housing is 'obvious'. Picture: Supplied
Experts have warned that the signature housing policies from the major parties — Labor has proposed 5 per cent deposits for all first home buyers, the Coalition would allow accessing superannuation — would simply increase demand.
'It just makes the situation worse and pushes the price up,' said Dr Oliver.
'The only beneficiaries are old people like me. Maybe it benefits the 11 million voters who already have a house, but it's not a long-term sustainable situation. Probably the single biggest cause of social dissatisfaction in Australia is this gap between the haves and have-nots with respect to housing. You have to get it fixed.'
A report from REA Group last month found rental affordability in Australia had plunged to its lowest level on record.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, rents nationally are up 48 per cent, far outstripping income growth of 19 per cent.
NSW renters face the worst affordability of any state — median advertised rents in Sydney have surged by $230 since Covid to $730 per week, or nearly $12,000 extra a year.
Several studies have sought to debunk any link between international students and the rental crisis.
Official data shows, however, that recent migrants, both permanent and temporary, are more likely to be renters. According to the ABS, 60 per cent of recent permanent arrivals rented in the five years to 2021, and Census data in 2021 showed 65 per cent of temporary migrants were renters.
Most immigrants 'don't go into home building'. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images
'More immigrants to build homes'
Dr Oliver said commentators 'get tangled in knots saying we need more immigrants to build the homes' but the numbers simply didn't add up.
Migrants, and particularly international students, are less likely to work in construction than most other industries.
So the problem is one of both supply and demand. Migration contributes to both — but at the moment, too much from column B, too little from column A.
'Most don't go into home building,' Dr Oliver said.
'You [could] skew the visa requirements under the skilled category to give preference to people with home building skills … but most of the time we find the net impact is one that worsens the undersupply problem when immigrants arrive. I think immigration has been a very good thing for Australia, but you need to get the balance right.'
Master Builders Australia (MBA) forecasts the construction industry will need an additional 130,000 workers to meet Labor's 1.2 million home target 'by the skin of its teeth'.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) puts the shortfall at 83,000 tradies.
Home building times have doubled in 10 years. Picture: Brenton Edwards/NCA NewsWire
Industry groups argue some of those workers will need to come through skilled migration.
Unlike New Zealand, Canada and the UK, Australia has no dedicated trade visa stream.
MBA has called for streamlining visa pathways, embracing mutual recognition of qualifications from overseas, lowering English-language requirements for some non-licensed trades, and offering fast-track to permanent residency.
Even if demand is reduced by lowering immigration, building more homes, as both parties have promised, won't be easy.
Increasing state and local red tape, labour shortages — particularly apprentices — rising materials costs and record numbers of developers going under have made it harder than ever to build new homes.
Approval times have blown out, and the time it takes from approval to completion has roughly doubled compared with 10 years ago.
A block of units now takes an average of 2.8 years to build, while stand-alone houses take about one year and four months, compared with seven months in 2015.
The HIA says it may as well be called a 'house and tax package'. Picture: HIA
The HIA, in a report last month, found half the cost of a new house and land package in Sydney was government taxes, regulatory costs and charges — to the tune of $576,000.
For a new apartment that number was $346,000, or 38 per cent of the cost.
Housing taxation has doubled in just five years, according to the HIA analysis, at precisely the worst time.
'It is incongruous that governments set home building targets, while at the same time tax new home building even more,' HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said.
Dr Oliver said the HIA's analysis was correct.
'[Tying immigration to housing capacity] does sound a bit like central planning but the problem is the housing industry has been so affected by government intervention — [it would be] just a more rational form of government intervention,' he said.
'Immigration is something that's always controlled by the government, and so is the ease with which people can build homes. It's just a statement of the obvious.'
frank.chung@news.com.au
Originally published as 'Australian nightmare': Crisis we can't ignore
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Sydney Morning Herald
8 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
In a first, the city's biggest cultural institutions are run by women
The appointment of Maud Page as the Art Gallery of NSW's first female director in 154 years marks a historic moment for the state's six galleries and museums. All are now headed by women: Annette Pitman leads Museums of History of NSW; Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, the State Library of NSW; Kim McKay, the Australian Museum; Louise Herron, the Sydney Opera House; and Lisa Havilah, the Powerhouse Museum. Last year, their cultural institutions welcomed more than eight million visitors, commanded operational budgets of more than $600 million and employed 2200 full-time staff. They lead in the tricky aftermath of COVID, which temporarily shut their doors, reshaped public buying habits globally and played havoc with the costs of doing business. Audiences are changing, at once more informed, and increasingly sophisticated but also weaned on novelty; time poor and distracted. Their museums and galleries are under pressure to leverage technology and enhance visitor experience, without turning their halls into places of entertainment, or quasi-wedding venues. Many occupy heritage sites built at the high watermark of the British Empire, their collections over-represented when it comes to the works, perspectives and deeds of white men, and all the while their budgets are under pressure, as they seek new funding streams that can bring ethical dilemmas. Spectrum sat down with the leaders in the boardroom of the Australian Museum to talk budgets, philanthropy and future directions. Annette Pitman, you lead Museums of History of NSW, but before that, you were chief executive of Create NSW, and you have had the benefit of sitting in on countless budget meetings. Can you set the scene: What is the reality of the financial climate that the state's major galleries and museums currently find themselves in? Annette Pitman: I think we are in a period of unprecedented demand for what we do. The pandemic really made people appreciate what cultural institutions provide and appreciate the gathering that happens around culture in these spaces. We are incredibly nimble at doing really cutting-edge and meaningful things with small budgets. So we are in a period where we'll have to be at our most creative. Are cultural institutions out of the woods post-pandemic, Louise Herron? Louise Herron: Our audience statistics suggest many of the worst of the COVID impacts are behind us. Even in the current cost-of-living crisis, people will still save up and go to see the performers they love. Since COVID, we have become more intentional and analytical about what we do. People got out of the habit of going out, so we need to be even more conscious of who we are trying to attract – be that children, Pasifika people, contemporary music fans. We keep working to let people know we do a lot more than opera, though opera still accounts for a bit more than 10 per cent of tickets sold. Kim McKay: The fact that we are free for all to come into and enjoy the museum (yes, you pay for special exhibitions and programming) is especially important in a cost-of-living crisis and tight budgets. It's a way to level the playing field. I see migrant families, three generations in the one family coming in together because all people want their kids to be exposed to knowledge and learning. The Australian Museum brings in one and a half million people a year but imagine if we could reach 10 million people. The Holy Grail for cultural institutions is the 18 to 30-year-olds. How does the Art Gallery of NSW engage with these young adults? Maud Page: Our youth engagement strategy begins in early childhood. [We] do that through artist-led children's programming, like Hive Festival, which attracted more than 28,000 visitors over one weekend in January. If you bring in children, you bring in their aunties, their cousins, their grandparents and their parents and you provide an experience that resonates with all ages. The magic has to come from education, but people don't want to be dictated to any more. They want to be enthralled. So in our case, it is all about stepping into experimental music like Grammy Award-winning artist Solange in 2023 and ARIA award-winning Northern Territory rock band King Stingray, who last month attracted more than 6000 visitors to the Art Gallery in one night. And yet, your gallery has been accused in the Murdoch press of being too woke. Maud Page: It is a very reductive description of what we do, and I would say every single institution around this table is open and generous and welcoming to everyone. The art gallery showcases such a broad spectrum of artistic voices and contemporary and historical art that offers an enriching experience for all visitors. Writing and reading are somewhat old-fashioned ideas in the internet age, Caroline Butler-Bowdon. How does the state's oldest library survive? Caroline Butler-Bowdon: Books and stories are just as relevant today and remain at the heart of libraries. But libraries have always evolved, and today they're also places for creativity, lifelong learning and social connection. People used to go to cathedrals and other sorts of places for a sense of connection but these days they are coming to our institutions for the same experience. We work with the Sydney Writers' Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Mardi Gras and it's through partnerships and collaboration that we build audiences, we diversify our audiences. We've had a 25 per cent growth in visitation in one year. The core ingredients are essential services, magical experiences and everything in between using social media to share stories, to share our research and depth and drive audiences. Louise Herron: You definitely need to have a clear ambition and ours is to be Everyone's House. Last night, one of Australia's heaviest metal bands, Parkway Drive, played to a sold-out Concert Hall of 2500 people, backed by a full symphony orchestra. Almost 80 per cent of the audience was new to the Opera House. Some people were so disappointed to miss out on tickets that they came anyway and stood on the Forecourt during the concert, many in black tie. We're looking for artists or genres that will bring new audiences to the Opera House. And if one of our organisations connects with a new community, it helps all of us. Lisa Havilah, you are building a cultural institution from scratch on the banks of the Parramatta River. If you build it, will the crowds come? Lisa Havilah: One of the reasons the museum at Parramatta is designed to be so vertical is to give as much green space as is possible back to the community and wrapping around each of the exhibition spaces with public space that will lead to an open rooftop. It's in the mix of public space, exhibition space, amenity and experience that we hope to make the museum a part of somebody's everyday life. We are creating exhibitions that people can immerse themselves in in new ways, like working with architects, presenting the collection in new ways that engage young audiences. Because you might come to an exhibition, you might come to have dinner, you might come to just sit in the garden or you might come with your family to sit on the riverbank. Loading So, why do you say the traditional show-and-tell model of programming is on the way out? Lisa Havilah: Museums need to change and move more than they used to. Exhibitions need to change. Stories need to shift and become more relevant. Historically, museum exhibitions have been very didactic, presenting one position on an object or one story. So it's about giving space for people's perspectives, their own histories and memories. Kim McKay: In our early years, our institutions didn't engage with First Nations people. It's very different now. Why should we speak for First Nations people when they can speak for themselves? Museums of History of NSW cares for 12 house museums, and a written archive that dates to 1788, the arrival of the First Fleet. Annette Pitman, how do you avoid romanticising the past, and how do you represent an Australia that has changed since the foundational times of those house museums? Loading Annette Pitman: History is messy, right? It's a multidimensional thing and no matter what topic we might be talking about, with the hindsight of time, we come to understand it differently. I think the public understands this, especially today when we see so much manipulation of the truth. There is value to be found in the information we hold about our past. We're partnering with the Aboriginal Languages Trust on a wonderful program that supports First Nations teams to go through our archives and identify references to culture and language that aren't known. So there are ways we can engage without sugar-coating what's happened and that's our duty as a public institution. Museums and galleries pitch themselves as places of public trust at a time of misinformation, but do you run the danger of turning culture into a commodity? Annette Pitman: 'I don't think there is anything wrong with making quality content entertaining. We just had a kids program called Beautiful waterways, Stinky Sewers that drew 7000 kids from all over NSW who came to the Tank Stream and learn the history of public sanitation. I think we're clever enough to navigate that line. How is your upcoming Lego Relics show relevant to the world of natural science, Kim McKay? Kim McKay: Lego is an accessible brand and learning toy, and it is not just for children, it's for adults too, and it puts science in a different context. While people are here, they will go into our other galleries and see Wild Planet, or Surviving Australia, or see the First Nations gallery. Is it effectively a switch and bait tactic then? I wouldn't call it that. I would call it understanding our audiences in such a way as we can deliver different things at different times. But does concentrating on immersive experiences come at the expense of heft and depth, Lisa Havilah? No, it's in addition to. It's a new lens. That whole definition of learning or engaging with an idea, or having empathy and connection comes from storytelling and entertainment. That's the institutions' Janus-faced nature, having to always look forward and always having to look back, and finding new ways to connect people with ideas. Annette Pitman: I think the decisions we make about our own staffing has a lot to do with what audiences we engage. We can tap into communities that are more diverse if our organisations are more diverse. I don't think we should see ourselves in competition with each other. Sydney is an international city and we can help each other. Lisa Havilah Isn't the other danger in your attempts to diversify and reach new demographics that you risk cannibalising each other's audiences? Lisa Havilah: I don't think we should see ourselves in competition with each other. Sydney is an international city and we can help each other. Kim McKay: We have 11.5 million people visit our website each year, and I am happy to point them to other institutions as well. The collaboration between us is illustrated by the Sydney Cultural Walk map where we're promoting each other. Our city is extraordinary because most of the key cultural institutions are found along Macquarie Street, the Domain and Hyde Park, forming a cultural connection link on the eastern side of the city. You could compare it to Museum Island in Berlin. So, Maud Page, is the era of the Impressionist blockbuster dead or behind us? [This interview took place before the gallery announced a restructure to save the institution $7.5 million annually]. Maud Page: The era of the Impressionist blockbuster is not over, but it has certainly evolved. While Impressionism remains beloved, our audiences also have a growing appetite for new work that engages with contemporary issues and ideas. We want to fulfil both desires and are striking that balance in a range of ways, like showing the work of underrepresented women artists in Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940, alongside bold and immersive new work from artists like Mike Hewson, which will draw younger audiences and families in unexpected settings. You are accused of having too many works by dead white men in your collection. Do you? And if so, how do you correct that? Like most collecting institutions around the world, the Art Gallery's 154-year-old art collection includes significantly more works by men than women. Today, we are diversifying the collection through new acquisitions and commissions and re-examining and reframing our existing collection to highlight underrepresented women artists and achieve greater representation of contemporary and historical art by women artists in our exhibition displays. Crucial when you have 98,000 school kids visiting a year – they demand it. And that's why you have to respect everyone. You never know whose heart you're touching and what that might lead to. Louise Herron The State Library of NSW was the recipient of a bequest from a man named Neville Halse, who gave away his fortune of $2.8 million. As competition intensifies for government funding, does the library and other museums need more Neville Halses? Loading Caroline Butler-Bowdon: Philanthropy is key. The library has been built on a long-standing tradition of philanthropy. Think David Scott Mitchell, Sir William Dixson, Jean Garling. But it's also those people where the library makes a difference in their daily lives. Neville Halse was one of those. It's important to us to attract all different types of donors. And that was one we didn't expect. Louise Herron: And that's why you have to respect everyone. You never know whose heart you're touching and what that might lead to. And the government wants to know the community cares not only about coming to the show, but also about the institution. When people put their own money in, it shows they really care. Is the downside of philanthropy that it comes with strings attached? And that it tends to fund bricks and mortar, not the magic that happens inside the building? How does the library balance questions of donor influence? 'The library's mission has always been clear: to serve our diverse public. Philanthropy is helping us create the kind of library our readers and visitors need, not just for today, but for the next 200 years. Yes, funding sometimes supports building projects, but for us, it's more than that. It's about funding research fellowships. It's about funding access to our collections through digitisation and public programming. It's also about providing spaces for people to study, work and be together. Kim McKay, you're given 10 minutes with Mike Cannon-Brookes, a prominent tech billionaire and co-founder of Atlassian. What would you say? Well, first, before meeting any philanthropist you have to do your research and a number of big tech entrepreneurs are interested in science and the application of technology. The Australian Museum has been around for a long time, and we'll be here for a long time into the future. We could talk about a legacy gift to engage young people in science for the next 200 years. Louise Herron: Can I come in here? He absolutely loves renewable energy. The Opera House is already carbon-neutral. We want to be climate positive by 2030, and we have a brilliant plan to do so. We just need to fund it. Mike Cannon-Brookes, give me a call.
The Age
8 minutes ago
- The Age
In a first, the city's biggest cultural institutions are run by women
The appointment of Maud Page as the Art Gallery of NSW's first female director in 154 years marks a historic moment for the state's six galleries and museums. All are now headed by women: Annette Pitman leads Museums of History of NSW; Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, the State Library of NSW; Kim McKay, the Australian Museum; Louise Herron, the Sydney Opera House; and Lisa Havilah, the Powerhouse Museum. Last year, their cultural institutions welcomed more than eight million visitors, commanded operational budgets of more than $600 million and employed 2200 full-time staff. They lead in the tricky aftermath of COVID, which temporarily shut their doors, reshaped public buying habits globally and played havoc with the costs of doing business. Audiences are changing, at once more informed, and increasingly sophisticated but also weaned on novelty; time poor and distracted. Their museums and galleries are under pressure to leverage technology and enhance visitor experience, without turning their halls into places of entertainment, or quasi-wedding venues. Many occupy heritage sites built at the high watermark of the British Empire, their collections over-represented when it comes to the works, perspectives and deeds of white men, and all the while their budgets are under pressure, as they seek new funding streams that can bring ethical dilemmas. Spectrum sat down with the leaders in the boardroom of the Australian Museum to talk budgets, philanthropy and future directions. Annette Pitman, you lead Museums of History of NSW, but before that, you were chief executive of Create NSW, and you have had the benefit of sitting in on countless budget meetings. Can you set the scene: What is the reality of the financial climate that the state's major galleries and museums currently find themselves in? Annette Pitman: I think we are in a period of unprecedented demand for what we do. The pandemic really made people appreciate what cultural institutions provide and appreciate the gathering that happens around culture in these spaces. We are incredibly nimble at doing really cutting-edge and meaningful things with small budgets. So we are in a period where we'll have to be at our most creative. Are cultural institutions out of the woods post-pandemic, Louise Herron? Louise Herron: Our audience statistics suggest many of the worst of the COVID impacts are behind us. Even in the current cost-of-living crisis, people will still save up and go to see the performers they love. Since COVID, we have become more intentional and analytical about what we do. People got out of the habit of going out, so we need to be even more conscious of who we are trying to attract – be that children, Pasifika people, contemporary music fans. We keep working to let people know we do a lot more than opera, though opera still accounts for a bit more than 10 per cent of tickets sold. Kim McKay: The fact that we are free for all to come into and enjoy the museum (yes, you pay for special exhibitions and programming) is especially important in a cost-of-living crisis and tight budgets. It's a way to level the playing field. I see migrant families, three generations in the one family coming in together because all people want their kids to be exposed to knowledge and learning. The Australian Museum brings in one and a half million people a year but imagine if we could reach 10 million people. The Holy Grail for cultural institutions is the 18 to 30-year-olds. How does the Art Gallery of NSW engage with these young adults? Maud Page: Our youth engagement strategy begins in early childhood. [We] do that through artist-led children's programming, like Hive Festival, which attracted more than 28,000 visitors over one weekend in January. If you bring in children, you bring in their aunties, their cousins, their grandparents and their parents and you provide an experience that resonates with all ages. The magic has to come from education, but people don't want to be dictated to any more. They want to be enthralled. So in our case, it is all about stepping into experimental music like Grammy Award-winning artist Solange in 2023 and ARIA award-winning Northern Territory rock band King Stingray, who last month attracted more than 6000 visitors to the Art Gallery in one night. And yet, your gallery has been accused in the Murdoch press of being too woke. Maud Page: It is a very reductive description of what we do, and I would say every single institution around this table is open and generous and welcoming to everyone. The art gallery showcases such a broad spectrum of artistic voices and contemporary and historical art that offers an enriching experience for all visitors. Writing and reading are somewhat old-fashioned ideas in the internet age, Caroline Butler-Bowdon. How does the state's oldest library survive? Caroline Butler-Bowdon: Books and stories are just as relevant today and remain at the heart of libraries. But libraries have always evolved, and today they're also places for creativity, lifelong learning and social connection. People used to go to cathedrals and other sorts of places for a sense of connection but these days they are coming to our institutions for the same experience. We work with the Sydney Writers' Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Mardi Gras and it's through partnerships and collaboration that we build audiences, we diversify our audiences. We've had a 25 per cent growth in visitation in one year. The core ingredients are essential services, magical experiences and everything in between using social media to share stories, to share our research and depth and drive audiences. Louise Herron: You definitely need to have a clear ambition and ours is to be Everyone's House. Last night, one of Australia's heaviest metal bands, Parkway Drive, played to a sold-out Concert Hall of 2500 people, backed by a full symphony orchestra. Almost 80 per cent of the audience was new to the Opera House. Some people were so disappointed to miss out on tickets that they came anyway and stood on the Forecourt during the concert, many in black tie. We're looking for artists or genres that will bring new audiences to the Opera House. And if one of our organisations connects with a new community, it helps all of us. Lisa Havilah, you are building a cultural institution from scratch on the banks of the Parramatta River. If you build it, will the crowds come? Lisa Havilah: One of the reasons the museum at Parramatta is designed to be so vertical is to give as much green space as is possible back to the community and wrapping around each of the exhibition spaces with public space that will lead to an open rooftop. It's in the mix of public space, exhibition space, amenity and experience that we hope to make the museum a part of somebody's everyday life. We are creating exhibitions that people can immerse themselves in in new ways, like working with architects, presenting the collection in new ways that engage young audiences. Because you might come to an exhibition, you might come to have dinner, you might come to just sit in the garden or you might come with your family to sit on the riverbank. Loading So, why do you say the traditional show-and-tell model of programming is on the way out? Lisa Havilah: Museums need to change and move more than they used to. Exhibitions need to change. Stories need to shift and become more relevant. Historically, museum exhibitions have been very didactic, presenting one position on an object or one story. So it's about giving space for people's perspectives, their own histories and memories. Kim McKay: In our early years, our institutions didn't engage with First Nations people. It's very different now. Why should we speak for First Nations people when they can speak for themselves? Museums of History of NSW cares for 12 house museums, and a written archive that dates to 1788, the arrival of the First Fleet. Annette Pitman, how do you avoid romanticising the past, and how do you represent an Australia that has changed since the foundational times of those house museums? Loading Annette Pitman: History is messy, right? It's a multidimensional thing and no matter what topic we might be talking about, with the hindsight of time, we come to understand it differently. I think the public understands this, especially today when we see so much manipulation of the truth. There is value to be found in the information we hold about our past. We're partnering with the Aboriginal Languages Trust on a wonderful program that supports First Nations teams to go through our archives and identify references to culture and language that aren't known. So there are ways we can engage without sugar-coating what's happened and that's our duty as a public institution. Museums and galleries pitch themselves as places of public trust at a time of misinformation, but do you run the danger of turning culture into a commodity? Annette Pitman: 'I don't think there is anything wrong with making quality content entertaining. We just had a kids program called Beautiful waterways, Stinky Sewers that drew 7000 kids from all over NSW who came to the Tank Stream and learn the history of public sanitation. I think we're clever enough to navigate that line. How is your upcoming Lego Relics show relevant to the world of natural science, Kim McKay? Kim McKay: Lego is an accessible brand and learning toy, and it is not just for children, it's for adults too, and it puts science in a different context. While people are here, they will go into our other galleries and see Wild Planet, or Surviving Australia, or see the First Nations gallery. Is it effectively a switch and bait tactic then? I wouldn't call it that. I would call it understanding our audiences in such a way as we can deliver different things at different times. But does concentrating on immersive experiences come at the expense of heft and depth, Lisa Havilah? No, it's in addition to. It's a new lens. That whole definition of learning or engaging with an idea, or having empathy and connection comes from storytelling and entertainment. That's the institutions' Janus-faced nature, having to always look forward and always having to look back, and finding new ways to connect people with ideas. Annette Pitman: I think the decisions we make about our own staffing has a lot to do with what audiences we engage. We can tap into communities that are more diverse if our organisations are more diverse. I don't think we should see ourselves in competition with each other. Sydney is an international city and we can help each other. Lisa Havilah Isn't the other danger in your attempts to diversify and reach new demographics that you risk cannibalising each other's audiences? Lisa Havilah: I don't think we should see ourselves in competition with each other. Sydney is an international city and we can help each other. Kim McKay: We have 11.5 million people visit our website each year, and I am happy to point them to other institutions as well. The collaboration between us is illustrated by the Sydney Cultural Walk map where we're promoting each other. Our city is extraordinary because most of the key cultural institutions are found along Macquarie Street, the Domain and Hyde Park, forming a cultural connection link on the eastern side of the city. You could compare it to Museum Island in Berlin. So, Maud Page, is the era of the Impressionist blockbuster dead or behind us? [This interview took place before the gallery announced a restructure to save the institution $7.5 million annually]. Maud Page: The era of the Impressionist blockbuster is not over, but it has certainly evolved. While Impressionism remains beloved, our audiences also have a growing appetite for new work that engages with contemporary issues and ideas. We want to fulfil both desires and are striking that balance in a range of ways, like showing the work of underrepresented women artists in Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940, alongside bold and immersive new work from artists like Mike Hewson, which will draw younger audiences and families in unexpected settings. You are accused of having too many works by dead white men in your collection. Do you? And if so, how do you correct that? Like most collecting institutions around the world, the Art Gallery's 154-year-old art collection includes significantly more works by men than women. Today, we are diversifying the collection through new acquisitions and commissions and re-examining and reframing our existing collection to highlight underrepresented women artists and achieve greater representation of contemporary and historical art by women artists in our exhibition displays. Crucial when you have 98,000 school kids visiting a year – they demand it. And that's why you have to respect everyone. You never know whose heart you're touching and what that might lead to. Louise Herron The State Library of NSW was the recipient of a bequest from a man named Neville Halse, who gave away his fortune of $2.8 million. As competition intensifies for government funding, does the library and other museums need more Neville Halses? Loading Caroline Butler-Bowdon: Philanthropy is key. The library has been built on a long-standing tradition of philanthropy. Think David Scott Mitchell, Sir William Dixson, Jean Garling. But it's also those people where the library makes a difference in their daily lives. Neville Halse was one of those. It's important to us to attract all different types of donors. And that was one we didn't expect. Louise Herron: And that's why you have to respect everyone. You never know whose heart you're touching and what that might lead to. And the government wants to know the community cares not only about coming to the show, but also about the institution. When people put their own money in, it shows they really care. Is the downside of philanthropy that it comes with strings attached? And that it tends to fund bricks and mortar, not the magic that happens inside the building? How does the library balance questions of donor influence? 'The library's mission has always been clear: to serve our diverse public. Philanthropy is helping us create the kind of library our readers and visitors need, not just for today, but for the next 200 years. Yes, funding sometimes supports building projects, but for us, it's more than that. It's about funding research fellowships. It's about funding access to our collections through digitisation and public programming. It's also about providing spaces for people to study, work and be together. Kim McKay, you're given 10 minutes with Mike Cannon-Brookes, a prominent tech billionaire and co-founder of Atlassian. What would you say? Well, first, before meeting any philanthropist you have to do your research and a number of big tech entrepreneurs are interested in science and the application of technology. The Australian Museum has been around for a long time, and we'll be here for a long time into the future. We could talk about a legacy gift to engage young people in science for the next 200 years. Louise Herron: Can I come in here? He absolutely loves renewable energy. The Opera House is already carbon-neutral. We want to be climate positive by 2030, and we have a brilliant plan to do so. We just need to fund it. Mike Cannon-Brookes, give me a call.
The Advertiser
24 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Building pause as $36 million national museum project hits funding shortfall
A bumper $36 million cultural landmark project for western New South Wales is facing a funding shortfall, forcing the build to stop. The Australian Opal Centre has hit an unexpected roadblock, with construction of the building approximately 80 per cent complete. Raymond Griffin, chairperson of the Australian Opal Centre Limited (AOCL), explained the project in Lightning Ridge has faced financial challenges stemming largely from the ongoing influence of COVID-19 on the construction industry, combined with the inherent difficulties of building in a remote location. "Like many projects across Australia in recent years, our project has been impacted by the long tail of COVID's affect on the construction sector," he said. "Combining this with the difficulties of constructing in a remote location and our project has faced a range of cost increases as the build progressed. Our shortfall is in the vicinity of $3 million," Mr Griffin said. This isn't the first time the project has been brought to a standstill when tenders for stage one of the project were called in 2021, then put on hold when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project unaffordable. The NSW Government provided funding to address project costs and allowed it to proceed. Despite these challenges, AOCL has been diligent in managing its obligations. Mr Griffin confirmed the decision to pause the construction was made in conjunction with builders. "All payments due to the builder have been paid by the Australian Opal Centre Limited (ACOL). No money is owed by AOCL to the builder - we're fully up to date," he said. "We're working with our builder on recommencing as soon as possible once we have secured the additional funding." Originally, stage one of the centre was planned to open to the public in 2024. However, with the current pause, the timeline has shifted. "If we are able to secure the additional funding by the end of this year, the latest expectation is for a mid-2026 completion and opening as soon as possible thereafter," he said. The Australian Opal Centre's total projected cost is around $36 million. AOCL is actively seeking additional funding, including government grants and other sources, to bridge the $3 million gap. "We are presently in discussion with a range of potential funding sources," he said. When asked about the significance of the centre, Mr Griffin said it would bring both economic and social benefits to the region's economy. "It will be a nationally significant structure that will deliver a compelling visitor experience that showcases an internationally significant collection of opalised fossils," he said. The centre aims to tell captivating stories about the region's deep-time paleontological history, the unique opal deposits, and the communities founded on opal mining. "We're very much looking forward to telling those stories and more in the Australian Opal Centre as soon as possible," he said. Mr Griffin is also encouraging people who would like to help with the project to donate. Each donation is tax-deductible, and ways to help can be found here. A bumper $36 million cultural landmark project for western New South Wales is facing a funding shortfall, forcing the build to stop. The Australian Opal Centre has hit an unexpected roadblock, with construction of the building approximately 80 per cent complete. Raymond Griffin, chairperson of the Australian Opal Centre Limited (AOCL), explained the project in Lightning Ridge has faced financial challenges stemming largely from the ongoing influence of COVID-19 on the construction industry, combined with the inherent difficulties of building in a remote location. "Like many projects across Australia in recent years, our project has been impacted by the long tail of COVID's affect on the construction sector," he said. "Combining this with the difficulties of constructing in a remote location and our project has faced a range of cost increases as the build progressed. Our shortfall is in the vicinity of $3 million," Mr Griffin said. This isn't the first time the project has been brought to a standstill when tenders for stage one of the project were called in 2021, then put on hold when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project unaffordable. The NSW Government provided funding to address project costs and allowed it to proceed. Despite these challenges, AOCL has been diligent in managing its obligations. Mr Griffin confirmed the decision to pause the construction was made in conjunction with builders. "All payments due to the builder have been paid by the Australian Opal Centre Limited (ACOL). No money is owed by AOCL to the builder - we're fully up to date," he said. "We're working with our builder on recommencing as soon as possible once we have secured the additional funding." Originally, stage one of the centre was planned to open to the public in 2024. However, with the current pause, the timeline has shifted. "If we are able to secure the additional funding by the end of this year, the latest expectation is for a mid-2026 completion and opening as soon as possible thereafter," he said. The Australian Opal Centre's total projected cost is around $36 million. AOCL is actively seeking additional funding, including government grants and other sources, to bridge the $3 million gap. "We are presently in discussion with a range of potential funding sources," he said. When asked about the significance of the centre, Mr Griffin said it would bring both economic and social benefits to the region's economy. "It will be a nationally significant structure that will deliver a compelling visitor experience that showcases an internationally significant collection of opalised fossils," he said. The centre aims to tell captivating stories about the region's deep-time paleontological history, the unique opal deposits, and the communities founded on opal mining. "We're very much looking forward to telling those stories and more in the Australian Opal Centre as soon as possible," he said. Mr Griffin is also encouraging people who would like to help with the project to donate. Each donation is tax-deductible, and ways to help can be found here. A bumper $36 million cultural landmark project for western New South Wales is facing a funding shortfall, forcing the build to stop. The Australian Opal Centre has hit an unexpected roadblock, with construction of the building approximately 80 per cent complete. Raymond Griffin, chairperson of the Australian Opal Centre Limited (AOCL), explained the project in Lightning Ridge has faced financial challenges stemming largely from the ongoing influence of COVID-19 on the construction industry, combined with the inherent difficulties of building in a remote location. "Like many projects across Australia in recent years, our project has been impacted by the long tail of COVID's affect on the construction sector," he said. "Combining this with the difficulties of constructing in a remote location and our project has faced a range of cost increases as the build progressed. Our shortfall is in the vicinity of $3 million," Mr Griffin said. This isn't the first time the project has been brought to a standstill when tenders for stage one of the project were called in 2021, then put on hold when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project unaffordable. The NSW Government provided funding to address project costs and allowed it to proceed. Despite these challenges, AOCL has been diligent in managing its obligations. Mr Griffin confirmed the decision to pause the construction was made in conjunction with builders. "All payments due to the builder have been paid by the Australian Opal Centre Limited (ACOL). No money is owed by AOCL to the builder - we're fully up to date," he said. "We're working with our builder on recommencing as soon as possible once we have secured the additional funding." Originally, stage one of the centre was planned to open to the public in 2024. However, with the current pause, the timeline has shifted. "If we are able to secure the additional funding by the end of this year, the latest expectation is for a mid-2026 completion and opening as soon as possible thereafter," he said. The Australian Opal Centre's total projected cost is around $36 million. AOCL is actively seeking additional funding, including government grants and other sources, to bridge the $3 million gap. "We are presently in discussion with a range of potential funding sources," he said. When asked about the significance of the centre, Mr Griffin said it would bring both economic and social benefits to the region's economy. "It will be a nationally significant structure that will deliver a compelling visitor experience that showcases an internationally significant collection of opalised fossils," he said. The centre aims to tell captivating stories about the region's deep-time paleontological history, the unique opal deposits, and the communities founded on opal mining. "We're very much looking forward to telling those stories and more in the Australian Opal Centre as soon as possible," he said. Mr Griffin is also encouraging people who would like to help with the project to donate. Each donation is tax-deductible, and ways to help can be found here. A bumper $36 million cultural landmark project for western New South Wales is facing a funding shortfall, forcing the build to stop. The Australian Opal Centre has hit an unexpected roadblock, with construction of the building approximately 80 per cent complete. Raymond Griffin, chairperson of the Australian Opal Centre Limited (AOCL), explained the project in Lightning Ridge has faced financial challenges stemming largely from the ongoing influence of COVID-19 on the construction industry, combined with the inherent difficulties of building in a remote location. "Like many projects across Australia in recent years, our project has been impacted by the long tail of COVID's affect on the construction sector," he said. "Combining this with the difficulties of constructing in a remote location and our project has faced a range of cost increases as the build progressed. Our shortfall is in the vicinity of $3 million," Mr Griffin said. This isn't the first time the project has been brought to a standstill when tenders for stage one of the project were called in 2021, then put on hold when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project unaffordable. The NSW Government provided funding to address project costs and allowed it to proceed. Despite these challenges, AOCL has been diligent in managing its obligations. Mr Griffin confirmed the decision to pause the construction was made in conjunction with builders. "All payments due to the builder have been paid by the Australian Opal Centre Limited (ACOL). No money is owed by AOCL to the builder - we're fully up to date," he said. "We're working with our builder on recommencing as soon as possible once we have secured the additional funding." Originally, stage one of the centre was planned to open to the public in 2024. However, with the current pause, the timeline has shifted. "If we are able to secure the additional funding by the end of this year, the latest expectation is for a mid-2026 completion and opening as soon as possible thereafter," he said. The Australian Opal Centre's total projected cost is around $36 million. AOCL is actively seeking additional funding, including government grants and other sources, to bridge the $3 million gap. "We are presently in discussion with a range of potential funding sources," he said. When asked about the significance of the centre, Mr Griffin said it would bring both economic and social benefits to the region's economy. "It will be a nationally significant structure that will deliver a compelling visitor experience that showcases an internationally significant collection of opalised fossils," he said. The centre aims to tell captivating stories about the region's deep-time paleontological history, the unique opal deposits, and the communities founded on opal mining. "We're very much looking forward to telling those stories and more in the Australian Opal Centre as soon as possible," he said. Mr Griffin is also encouraging people who would like to help with the project to donate. Each donation is tax-deductible, and ways to help can be found here.
