Latest news with #RobertMorgan
AU Financial Review
23-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Controversial Creative Australia chairman retires early
The chairman of federal arts funding body Creative Australia has retired before the expiry of his first five-year term, in a move the government says was unrelated to his role in the Venice Biennale fiasco. Robert Morgan, an advertising and marketing executive, joined Creative Australia's board as chairman in July 2021 on a term due to expire in August 2026, but has now been replaced by his deputy, former Sydney Festival director Wesley Enoch.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Creative Australia chair to retire following Khaled Sabsabi biennale controversy
The chair of Creative Australia is departing the organisation, with the arts minister, Tony Burke, announcing on Friday Robert Morgan's intention to retire. The First Nations playwright and creative director Wesley Enoch will serve as the acting chair and is expected to replace Morgan. Morgan presided over the controversial board meeting in February that voted to withdraw the 2026 Venice Biennale commission from Lebanese-Australian arts Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino. Two weeks later Morgan fronted Senate estimates with Creative Australia's chief executive, Adrian Collette, where the pair gave evidence that the board made the decision to cancel Sabsabi's commission because it feared a 'prolonged and divisive debate'. Both told the Senate hearing they would not resign, despite admitting that the Australian Pavilion could remain empty at next year's biennale as a result of the board's decision. Morgan and the board also faced public criticism from more than 600 of Australia's most recognised writers, publishers and academics in an open letter that accused them of compromising Creative Australia's integrity. The organisation is now in the midst of an independent review examining the governance processes behind the Sabsabi commission and the board's subsequent decision to withdraw it. Announcing Morgan's intention to retire on Friday, Burke said the chair had played a pivotal role in the transition of the Australia Council to Creative Australia, and implementing the Labor government's national cultural policy Revive. In a statement Morgan said his four years in the position had been a great honour. 'I have great confidence Creative Australia will continue to deliver its mandate to support Australia's rich and diverse cultural life for all Australians under Wesley's leadership,' he said. The Guardian has contacted Morgan for further comment.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
On This Day, May 17: Aristides wins first Kentucky Derby
On this date in history: In 1792, 24 brokers met in New York City and formed the New York Stock Exchange. In 1875, Aristides was the winner of the first Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. In 1943, the Memphis Belle became one of the first B-17 to complete 25 missions in World War II, securing the plane and crew's reputations as rockstars. The plane was the subject of a documentary at the time and a film about the crew was made in 1990 starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz and Harry Connick Jr. Ten days after the 25th mission, the pilot, Capt. Robert K. Morgan and co-pilot, Capt. James Verinis, met the king and queen of England, to whom Morgan explained the origin of the plane's name. In 1954, in a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1970, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl set sail from Morocco in a papyrus boat called the Ra II, modeled on drawings of ancient Egyptian sailing vessels. His mission was to prove his theory that ancient civilizations could have sailed to the Americas. He arrived in Barbados 57 days later. In 1973, the U.S. Senate Watergate Committee opened hearings into a break-in at Democratic National headquarters in Washington. In 1987, two Iraqi Exocet missiles hit the frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 seamen. Iraq apologized for mistaking the ship's identity and the Stark's top officers were reprimanded and retired. In 1989, 1 million people demonstrated for democratic reforms in Beijing. The number of students fasting to support the drive reached 3,000. In 1999, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost his bid for re-election when voters chose Ehud Barak, head of the center-left Israel One coalition, to succeed him. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In 2005, Los Angeles voters elected Antonio Villaraigosa as the city's first Hispanic mayor since 1872. In 2007, the United States' "minority" citizenship topped the 100 million mark, about one-third of the total U.S. population, the U.S. Census Bureau said. Hispanics made up the largest group, ahead of Black Americans, 44.3 million to 40.2 million. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the sentencing of a juvenile to life in prison for a non-homicide case, calling the practice unconstitutional, and cruel and unusual punishment. In 2018, the Senate confirmed Gina Haspel to be the first female director of the CIA, ending weeks of speculation over whether her past role in using torture as an interrogation technique would derail her nomination. In 2019, Taiwan became the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. In 2021, Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in western India with sustained winds of 115 mph. The storm would go on to kill 174 people and cause more than $2 billion in damage in India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
