SA Museum budget cut again as Libs and Labor trade blame

One of SA’s most important institutions is being squeezed for funding by yet another government, despite having few options left to cut costs.

Reducing the use of freezers, cutting back on security and cleaning, and job losses are all cost savings planned by the SA Museum as it battles a $1.1 million deficit.

The extreme measures have been revealed through Freedom of Information documents released to the opposition.

One board briefing note dated 22 February 2023 warns; “it is very likely that the deficit will be greater than the original forecast of $1.1m” and “All other major expenditure has been examined and reduced where possible including sizeable reduction in security and cleaning costs”.

The museum’s annual government funding grant for next financial year was cut by almost $600,000 and it failed in a bid to have the money restored

Cutting the research and collection supplies budget “by half” and reducing the budgets for functions, publications and stationary are also proposed to try and save funds.

Opposition spokesman for the Arts and Festivals John Gardner. Picture: Matt Loxton

Consumer Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels Picture: Brenton Edwards

Opposition spokesman for the Arts and Festivals, John Gardner, said the museum is a vital part of South Australia’s culture that should be properly funded so it can be enjoyed for many generations to come.

“The cuts we’re seeing at the South Australian Museum send a terrible message that we don’t value its world leading research or its contribution to our cultural heritage,’’ he said.

The Museum has a budget of around $11 million each year, almost all of which comes from the government grant. But it also has cash reserves that can be drawn down in a crisis.

Visitor numbers were cut by half during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, also slashing revenue.

South Australian Museum in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Loxton

The briefing also states that apart from reducing staffing costs, the only other high-cost area to make savings is reducing the use of electricity in the Science Centre – specifically the use of ultra-freezers.

Mr Gardner said; “The South Australian Museum is one of our key cultural institutions, with world-class collections, but Labor is clearly not giving it the respect it deserves”.

Arts Minister Andrea Michaels responded that arts funding had been cut by 5 per cent in the first state budget of the previous Liberal government.

“In comparison, our Government in last year’s budget made modest savings of less than half that across a number of portfolios to allow for our significant investment in health and education, all the while continuing to strongly support the arts in South Australia,’’ she said.

“The Malinauskas Labor Government has nearly doubled the Adelaide Fringe’s funding resulting in its most successful event ever in 2023 with one million tickets sold.

“We have also taken the Adelaide Film Festival to annual, boosted funding for a number of smaller arts organisations and invested $10 million toward supporting the live music industry to recover from the restrictions imposed during the pandemic.”