Michael Pettersson has come under pressure over arts funding. Photo: Region.
Just days after the ACT Government announced the successful applicants for almost $21.5 million in multi-year funding for 29 arts organisations, describing it as a 25 per cent boost for the sector, Canberra’s peak literary development body has warned the Territory’s writing community is being left behind.
MARION says the funding offer it received under the Arts Organisation Investment Program saw a cut of 35 per cent, arguing the outcome threatens the organisation’s long-term sustainability and reflects a broader lack of investment in literature.
The ACT Government disputes that characterisation, saying MARION’s funding has not been cut. Instead, it says the organisation received less than it requested following an independent competitive assessment process, while overall funding for the arts has increased significantly.
“To clarify, MARION’s funding offer is 35 per cent less than the amount requested, not their current funding amount,” the spokesperson told Region.
The disagreement has sparked a broader debate over whether Canberra’s literary sector is receiving its share of public arts investment.
“Literature accounts for less than two per cent of the ACT Government’s Arts Organisation Investment Program, and such a drop represents a level of funding that threatens MARION’s longer-term sustainability and survivability,” MARION patron Dr Craig Cormick OAM said.
“This does not sit well with the ACT and region writing community, who too often feel overlooked in arts announcements.”
The organisation says the funding outcome is particularly disappointing given the ACT’s recent literary success.
In the past year alone, writers from the Canberra region have won the Miles Franklin Literary Award, Children’s Book Council awards and the NSW State Library Biography Award, while others have been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and had books adapted for television.
Co-patron Aunty Jenni Kemarre Martiniello OAM said MARION’s achievements, financial recovery and the breadth of support it provided to writers had not been adequately recognised during the assessment process.
“We are calling on artsACT and the minister responsible, Michael Pettersson, to stand by his commitment,” she said, referring to the government’s election promise to increase funding for arts organisations.
She said Canberra’s writing community extended far beyond novelists and poets, encompassing journalism, children’s literature, First Nations writing, multicultural writing, playwriting, screenwriting, editing, family and military history, essays and documentary writing.
Dr Cormick also said the funding decision came at a time when many writers were already grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence.
“Many writers are already feeling angry at how artificial intelligence is being used to exploit or marginalise their work, and this drop in funding only adds to an anger that the ACT Government devalues them as well,” he said.
The ACT Government, however, says the dispute centres on the amount MARION sought rather than a reduction in its existing funding.
“While overall funding to the sector is increasing, funding outcomes vary between organisations based on the assessment of individual applications.”
The spokesperson said funding allocations were determined through an independent industry peer assessment process based on published guidelines.
The government also rejected suggestions that literature was being overlooked, arguing the Arts Organisation Investment Program was only one part of its broader investment in Canberra’s literary sector.
Alongside funding for organisations such as MARION, it pointed to $70,000 in funding for the Canberra Writers Festival, which it said played an important role in showcasing local authors, building audiences and encouraging literary engagement across the ACT.
The sector is also supported through the ACT Book of the Year Awards, competitive arts grants ranging from $5000 to $50,000, year-round funding opportunities of up to $5000, and artist grant programs that provided more than $150,000 directly to writers during 2025-26.
“The government recognises the significant contribution writers make to Canberra’s cultural life and remains committed to supporting litetary development, participation and engagement across the community,” the spokesperson said.
The government said organisations unsuccessful in securing the level of funding they sought would continue to receive feedback through artsACT and could apply for other funding opportunities.
