South Australian Libs promise support for live music

As South Australia’s elections loom this week, the Opposition Leader and Arts Minister Steven Marshall promised money from the $850,000 Community Development Fund to expand the state’s live music industry.

The Liberal Party’s ten-year strategic arts policy, unveiled on the weekend, called for the setting up of an arts-based high school.

The ruling Labor Party has already committed more than $3 million over the next four years for a Creative Centre and a Music Development Office at St Paul’s complex in Adelaide.

Premier Jay Weatherill (who told TMN that he used to sneak into music venues underage) said the Music Development Office "will sit within a broader Creative Centre and would combine the expertise and programs of Arts SA and DMITRE [Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy] to provide targeted strategic support to the contemporary music industry."