The former Arts Minister Senator George Brandis has been much reviled by the arts sector. In 2015 he inflicted an $87.1 million cut over four years by reducing uncommitted funding to arts program administered by the Attorney‑General’s Department, the Australia Council and Screen Australia, including a $28 million cut to the Australia Council.
But even worse, in the minds of many, was the decision in 2016 to remove $104.8 million over four years from the independent, peer-reviewed Australia Council and redistribute it through the National Program for Excellence in the Arts, situated in the Ministry.