As a new government is sworn in down in Kamberri (Canberra) this week, many in the arts sector are excited by the prospect of a ceasefire in the long and tiresome war on arts and culture that has characterised the last nine years. An unprecedented level of hostility from government has seen a decade of damage control, managing harsh cuts and sudden shifts at the whims of ministers; the absence of any cultural policy at all from the LNP spoke volumes about their priorities, even before the skimming of public money, corporate appointments, interventions in Australia Council decisions, and so on.

So it’s interesting to note that, unusually in its history, the arts and artists were largely absent from Labor’s election campaign. Criticised for having a ‘policy to develop a policy’ approach, prospective (and former) Arts Minister Tony Burke left his announcement to the final week and kept his promises fairly vague. It’s no wonder there were few public endorsements from musicians, writers, and actors for Labor this time around.