Question: Some people feel that public money should not be spent on cultural amenities, such as museums, theaters and art festivals. How important do you think these things are to society as a whole ? Are there any areas which are more important for the government to fund.

With the rise of online technologies,

such

as streaming services, online

art

exhibitions and web galleries, people have started to raise their disapproval of public money being used for

art

and cultural

amenities

, more specifically theatres, museums and festivals. But I firmly believe that these

amenities

are still the perfect Showgrounds for all the artists involved in making

art

.

Firstly

, all these

art

theatres and festivals have been going around for centuries.

Furthermore

, many of the renowned artists from the past,

for example

, William Shakespeare and Picasso, were able to prevail throughout the globe with the help of these

amenities

.

Similarly

, many people still prefer to go to a physical opera rather than listening to them on any device.

Moreover

, the preservation of our culture and tradition is more dependant on the survival of these

amenities

than any of us have perceived. If the government stops or even curtails the funds, not only the

art

will cease to exist but

also

the identity of the society will lose its originality and authenticity.

For example

, if the Australian government decides to channel the fund elsewhere from the

art

sector, the ancient heritage carried on by the Aboriginal people will be lost soon.

Secondly

, there are always different sectors that require more funds to improve the services,

for instance

, due to Covid-19 many have petitioned to have more of the taxpayer's money to be channelled towards research and development of viral diseases prevention. On top of that, I too support

this

notion and feel more needs to be done but not at the expense of budget-cut from the

art

sector. Defence is one other sector where more money can be poured in. In conclusion, priorities always change and that's the ubiquitous fact.

However

, just because a building housing a museum doesn't seem to hold too much significance doesn't mean we should stop funding them as they represent the history and our culture, it should always be incorporated into the national budget.