An organisation’s annual report usually offers little more than a sanitised account of the year’s highlights and achievements, accompanied by glossy photographs of smiling executives.
But one thing that is difficult to spin is the remuneration and attendance record of its board. And when it comes to the taxpayer-funded Australia Council for the Arts, there’s one board member whose record of attendance is less than perfect.
Tina Arena – Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s favourite singer – was present for just two out of six board meetings in 2020-21, after attending only four out of nine board meetings in 2019-20.
Arena was appointed to the Australia Council board for a three-year term in March 2019 by then communications minister Mitch Fifield, seven months after Mr Morrison became Prime Minister and just weeks before the election was called. She is paid $36,750 a year in the role.
The seven-time ARIA award winner and Hall of Fame member is one of several arts practitioners serving on the board of the government arts body, including Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael, film director Khoa Do and commentator Rebecca Weisser.
Arena’s management did not respond to multiple inquiries about her absences. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher also declined to comment, with a spokesman saying it was a matter for the Australia Council.
Photo from Scott Morrison’s Facebook page showing him with singer Tina Arena in 2016.Credit: Facebook
In a statement, the Australia Council said: “Board members register their apologies for not being able to attend meetings for a range of reasons including, but not limited to, prior work commitments, family obligations and illness. There is no minimum number of meetings a board member is required to attend. Ms Arena has contributed to the normal work of the board.”
Mr Morrison is a long-time Arena fan, once describing his interest in her music as “bordering on unhealthy”. He saw her in the musical Evita in 2018 and attended her concert in western Sydney on December 14, 2019, the night before leaving Australia for his infamous Hawaiian holiday.
Shortly after becoming Prime Minister he also asked former foreign minister Julie Bishop if she could supply him with Arena’s phone number so he could tell her he would be at the show.
The Australia Council is the government’s principal arts investment, development and advisory body. Last year it made headlines over a $25,000 grant it awarded to performance artist Casey Jenkins for a work that would have involved her inseminating herself on a live-stream video.
The grant was rescinded following negative media coverage, principally from News Corp. Jenkins later commenced legal action against the council, claiming it discriminated on gender, sexuality, marital and pregnancy grounds when it cancelled funding for her project. The case is ongoing in the Federal Court.
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