How has Mitch Fifield fared so far in Arts & Communications?

The huge collective sigh of relief from the arts, music and communications sectors when it was announced Senator Mitch Fifield was taking over these portfolios, might have been a tad premature, going on his first week on the job.

All indications are that George Brandis’ National Programme for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA) is not about to be confined to the scrapheap. In an interview with RN Drive’s Patricia Karvelas, Fifield acknowledged, “Obviously I hear what some organisations are saying. (But) the $26 million that George has set aside is actually to support small and medium organisations.” He added, “We’re looking to see if we can do some innovative and different things. That’s the objective.”

Putting on his Communications Minister hat, he admitted, “I have not sat down to examine closely the copyright issues… but it is certainly on the agenda.”

The IT sector would certainly be looking at him rolling back the introduction of the cutting off access to overseas copyright infringement sites and stopping the introduction of the ‘three strikes’ warning scheme. Or at the very least, working out who’s going to pay for the process.

The Minister is also to talk to the ABC about a three-year funding plan. But clatter, clatter, clatter. That was the sound of the ABC’s hope of being able to claw back some of the $254 million being cut, riding off into the sunset. Fifield has made it clear that he expects the ABC to be a more efficient “steward” of public money.