Messages of Support

For four years I was employed at TMAG to raise funds for research, exhibitions, education activities and events. I applied for grants, met with donors and supporters, and stewarded bequests from generous people in Tasmania, and across Australia and the world.

I know first-hand that TMAG has been starved of money and resources for decades. Every year when the budget came down the Tasmanian government provided just enough to keep the lights on and the doors open, which is the barest minimum for a state institution.

TMAG cares for our State collection. It is responsible for helping us to examine and address our collective history. It is a FREE source of knowledge parallel to formal education.

In Australia, there is a contract between the state and its people to support such public cultural institutions. There is an expectation that the government will shoulder the responsibility for their funding.

But research shows that national public expenditure for the arts peaked in 2018 and government spending on culture dropped well below that of our OECD peers. It has barely risen since then.

So TMAG, like many other such places, is compelled to have some income diversification and less reliance on government funding. This pattern of declining public funding forces a reliance on private donors.

Philanthropy is founded on the notion of the love of humankind expressed through deeds of practical benevolence. It is underpinned by trust in the institution or persons receiving the gift.

Trust in the durability of the place, the shared values and priorities of the people overseeing its governance and — most importantly in this context — the curators and experts with whom those donors connect.

Private gifts of art, objects and money have been critical to the existence of TMAG as it has grown in its many iterations.

You might be familiar with the names on the labels in TMAG’s galleries such as Bock, Rees, Glover, Greeno and Gough. But do you know these names?

Mrs JH Clarke: in 1951 she presented to TMAG the famous Portrait of Mathinna (the girl in the red dress) by Thomas Bock.

Miss J Beatie donated a 1904 photo of these very docks where we are sitting right now, revealing the changes to this place across the centuries.

That treasure trove of natural stories at the Herbarium contains pieces that were donated by scientists named Nelson, Scott and Kantivelas. And Jayne Wilson left a bequest to TMAG for a bursary to research those collections.

Then there are the Friends of TMAG — our wonderful organisers — plus the TMAG Foundation, TMAGgots (the former young friends), the volunteer guides and more.

These supporters number in their hundreds and, over the decades, have given countless hours of time, money and good will.

Possibly TMAG’s most highly-reference and reproduced collection item is the painting The Conciliation by Benjamin Duterrau, 1840. It was purchased by the Friends of the Museum with the Board of Trustees in 1945.

All these gifts to the museum happened because the benefactors trusted the Tasmanian government to adhere to its own Act requiring that it exhibit, promote, disseminate and otherwise make available the TMAG collections. And let’s not forget TMAG’s obligation to the Palawa community to reconcile the items that were stolen from their Ancestors to fill these collections.

TMAG has relied on the relationships between its professional staff supported by the kindness of the community, individuals, donors, sponsors and in-kind partners.

Yet there is only so much that the staff can do with community and donor support.

Bold and innovative exhibitions showcasing our state and its stories have died in the development stage due to a chronic lack of resources.

A failure to provide adequate funds for digitisation renders the collection inaccessible to students and researchers in Tasmania and beyond.

For years, water has dripped through the ceilings and into the premises that are meant to protect our collections, whilst also eroding the well-being of the curators entrusted with and deeply committed to their care.

Now, the government seeks to gut it further by banishing the very people who have kept our museum on life support. 

After years of underfunding TMAG, the ease with which this government magicked-up money for professional sport and mining juggernauts is a cruel twisting of the knife.

The Tasmanian Government’s callous cutting of the museum staff jobs is also a betrayal of patrons, benefactors and volunteers in an active and committed community.

And what do we lose by whittling away at this place full of stories and wonder?

Philanthropists and sponsors are not there to do the job of government, and they know that. Donors and collectors will give their precious items and support to other — dare I say it — mainland institutions.

We will lose our ideas, art and natural objects to other places because supporters will quite rightly assume that this government doesn’t care about TMAG.

Tasmania’s iconic and painstakingly curated sources of creativity, curiosity and knowledge will wither and literally fade.

The Tasmanian government must reinstate all staff who have been sacked and — at the very least — provide adequate funding to operate properly. Only by doing so it will honour its contract with Tasmanians of the past, today, and the future.

This is the transcript of a speech given by Dr Stephenie Cahalan, cultural historian and philanthropy expert, at the public meeting organised by the Friends of TMAG in Hobart on 8 October 2026

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming to support TMAG. TMAG is Tasmania’s most significant publicly owned cultural institution and the anchor for cultural tourism in the State. In his State of the State address in March Premier Rockcliff stated that his government was ‘proud of its support for TMAG’ and that investment in arts and culture is good for the visitor economy, for the regions, for the wellbeing and health of Tasmanians and to create a more inclusive economy. So we should have nothing to fear should we?

So what underpins TMAG?

It’s the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Act of 2017 which replaced the previous Act of 1950. Under the Act TMAG has certain statutory obligations which are expressed as ‘Institutional objectives’. I have paraphrased these here to make them more comprehensible:

1. To care for and develop the TMAG collections by acquiring works, objects and specimens;

2. To create exhibitions using TMAG collections and material loaned to the museum

3. To promote the work of the museum

4. To promote and support the educational use of the collections

5. To conduct, support and promote research into the collections, both by TMAG staff and external parties.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. With regard to the positions at the Herbarium and in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Zoology which are threatened by these job cut proposals, the scientists in these positions have essential roles not just in TMAG but across the government and indeed the Tasmanian economy. The knowledge they hold and the advice they give are called upon to assist other government agencies and private citizens to manage a broad range of other legislation. These include:

Threatened Species Protection Act

Nature Conservation Act

Weed Management Act

Biosecurity Act

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act

Poisons Act

Forest Practices Act

Nature Conservation Regulations

Plant Quarantine Act

We have already heard from Sally Bryant about the critical significance of these collections. Another position on the chopping block includes the librarian, a very important role in a research institution. Librarians are information specialists with skills well beyond google searches, Wikipedia or AI.

Just what are the proposed funding cuts and what do they mean? Tony Bonney of Inkhorn Projects has done a deep dive into the 2026 Tasmanian budget papers to see what they indicate about arts funding in general and TMAG in particular.

He found that the funds provided by government to TMAG will fall from $13.5 million in 2026-27 to $9.8 million, in 2027-28, that is a reduction of 27% in a single year. At the same time TMAG has been set performance targets of raising visitor numbers by 6.4% over the same period. Why do visitors come to the museum? Many come for research; most come to view exhibitions. But the proposed job cuts include a designer, photographer and senior exhibition officer — these positions are required to mount exhibitions. They are held by staff with years, even decades of experience in museum practice — you can’t just hire people on contract to fulfil these roles. It does not work. We are already seeing the results: old exhibitions are getting tired, they are changed much less frequently than previously, galleries are closed some days because there just is not the staff or budget to cover illnesses and the like.

The TMAG funding dilemma is mirrored across the Arts and Culture sector. The budget papers estimate that arts and culture contribute nearly $1.1 billion to the Tasmanian economy. In 2026-27 the government will spend $33.4 million across the sector — that means it expects a return of $32 for every dollar it spends. By comparison, sport and recreation, which is a very important part of government expenditure will get $196.7 million — that is almost six times the arts and culture funding allocation. The Australian Sports Commission has found that $7 is returned for every dollar spent in that sector.

I think that discrepancy says it all — the arts and culture dollar has to work nearly five times harder than the sport and recreation dollar. We need the government to take arts and culture seriously, to fund it and TMAG as the State’s leading cultural institution adequately so the sector and TMAG can fulfil what is expected of them.

This is the transcript of a speech given by Ian Terry, former TMAG History and Cultural Heritage Curator, at the public meeting organised by the Friends of TMAG in Hobart on Thursday 8 October 2026

These proposed redundancies cut to the very heart of Tasmania’s unique State collections. Revered institutions such as TMAG, including the Herbarium, are repositories of our environmental and cultural history. They hold the story of where we’ve come from, what’s shaped us, and where we are today.

Our natural collections are not objects sitting in dusty drawers. They are reference libraries and type specimens, with documentation and curation that must keep pace with changing times. New species are being added all the time especially during TMAG discovery expeditions, demonstrating there is so much more to learn about Tasmania’s natural environment. Maintaining and interpreting these collections requires highly skilled, academically trained professionals — real people with experience and dedication.

Tasmania’s flora census is compiled and maintained by the Herbarium, unravelling the taxonomy of plant species as they evolve, new variants emerge, and Tasmania undergoes such rapid ecological change. The Herbarium’s work contributes to the Millennium Seed Bank and is foundational to Tasmania’s plant conservation programs. The same applies to the zoological collections telling the story of colonisation and all new taxa identified since. Their staff including the vertebrate curator and palaeontologist Dr David Hocking and Dr Gintaras Kantvilas, one of the nation’s leading lichenologists, forge links not only across Tasmania but nationally and globally, building a network of collaborative research and professional interchange.

TMAG, established by the Royal Society of Tasmania in 1846 for the public good, has a proud history of renowned scientists, who have maintained these botanical and zoological repositories with excellence and commitment for generations.

Instead of building their capacity, instead of showcasing Tasmania’s scientific excellence, these government cutbacks erode their function, devalue their contribution and send a message that a short-lived budget gain is more important than our state’s heritage.

Only a few months ago, ABC TV featured eight episodes nationally of Tonight at the Museum, showcasing these very collections, a production made possible by thousands of dollars in State Government funding. How ironic is that! The segment with David Hocking featured a thylacine pup in a glass jar, a harrowing sight. Where do you go for information and access to specimens on what has become the world’s most infamous creature encapsulating the story of extinction. Similarly, the segment with Gintaras demonstrating that while lichens may be outta sight and outta mind, they are a fascinating and significant component of our flora diversity.

There is no ‘extravagance’ in these roles or institutions. They already depend heavily on volunteers and ‘Friends of’ groups to help keep them buoyant. Volunteers contribute invaluable time and expertise in ensuring TMAG continues to be a state institution of global importance. When you cut staff to save money, you lose more than people and the services they offer. You lose access and the heart and soul of an organisation — something that goes far beyond a budget line.

These collections and the people who maintain them are Tasmania’s rarest gem. And rarity matters: we pride and promote ourselves on it.

Because when you simply cut a position or close a role. You’ve eroded something that will never be replaced. And this is what these proposed cutbacks will do!

20 September 2026

Dear Premier Rocklif,

We hope you are well.

We are current and past members of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s (TMAG’s) Young People’s Reference Panel (YPRP, the panel). The panel’s purpose is to engage and empower people aged 7 to 17 and help the Museum respond to what maters most to younger generations.

We love volunteering for the museum because we really care. So many Tasmanian children have their first memories at TMAG! It’s the heart of Hobart and we absolutely love it. 

When we heard about your idea of saving money by asking TMAG to cut up to 20 jobs (30% of its people) we felt worried for staff and the existence of programs like the YPRP and the children’s festival Lift Off. If there was no panel how would youth voices be heard? How would TMAG remain relevant to kids? What if governments made cuts like this every couple of years - would our favourite place even continue to be open?

TMAG is not just a place to see exhibitions. It’s a place for learning, creativity, science, festivals, family days, sharing collections, school trips, holiday programs, work experience and so much more. There are always interesting things to do at the museum for free.

But TMAG can’t keep doing all this with less money. It needs money and staff because it has a really important job to do - telling Tasmania’s stories, bringing joy to locals and visitors from around the world, and keeping treasures safe for future generations.

As panel members, we are lucky to see behind the scenes at TMAG and how much work goes into maintaining, preserving, researching and interpreting the collection for future generations. How sad would it be if funding cuts meant that the collections suffered and we didn't have all the cool things in the future!

We also get to work with all the different staff who make the museum run. Being part of TMAG is a very special thing. You can learn a lot, make new friends, have a say, and maybe see your own ideas on the walls. The people who work there are like a family; everyone has a special place, they know and share so much. Anyone who lost their job at TMAG would be missed, especially those who help with all the things for children.

Young people deserve a say in important decisions like this. We are not just here to be taught; we have views and if we were listened to more often we could help prevent sad things happening in our world. The news of the proposed job losses at TMAG has made us feel annoyed, angry, sad and anxious but we hope you agree that money is not always the most important thing.

There is only one TMAG and it’s been here for ages. We are all so lucky to have such a wonderful museum. It is not the role of the museum to make money – TMAG brings thousands of visitors to Hobart and gives everything it does back to the community for free. All we need to do is keep caring for it.

Please listen to us when we ask for no funding cuts to TMAG. Please consider increasing your support for the museum’s amazing staff. Our history, culture and future generations are worth it.

Yours sincerely,

Anneliese A. (14), Miranda A. (13), Erika A. (11), Madeleine P. (13), Ettie T. (12), Everett T. (8).

Dear Premier and Mr Jaensch

I am appalled at the latest news coming out of TMAG with now a further two senior curators being asked to compete for the same job. I do not know who is making these decisions but they obviously have no idea of what these jobs consist of, and the qualifications required to deliver them. This is in addition to the axing of Dr Jean Jarman and Dr Gintaras Kantvilas at the Herbarium, once again both highly qualified and specialised curators.

I write this as a former State public servant in the Premier’s department, in the Department of State Growth and an employee of TMAG. After my retirement in 2007 I started as a volunteer at the Museum as I could see that I could make a contribution to office duties and document entry as the staff there had no chance or time to do this work but it is important work to keep the records up to date and to put on the digital system.

The way I see it the museum may as well close altogether as it will certainly not have the trained and qualified staff to keep it in the manner, required by State law, that it should be kept. 

Would you ask a doctor and an engineer to do the same job? This is what you are asking highly trained staff and curators (plus their volunteers and interns) to do as a result of these (and presumably further) positions being axed. There will be no other jobs for these people in Tasmania so, once again, valuable people will be lost to Tasmania.

Yours faithfully

Pam Stewart

For the last thirty years I have had a very personal connection with TMAG. For ten years I was a staff member working in the galleries and also in admin. During this time I also became a volunteer tour guide. I retired in 2007, but continued volunteering as a tour guide and also working once a week with the Cultural Heritage staff at Rosny, the Museum’s Collection and Research Centre. After almost 29 years, at the end of last year I reluctantly retired from tour guiding, at nearly 84, I didn’t quite have the energy needed. However, I continue to volunteer at Rosny.

I have been in a very unique position to work with staff, engage with the mostly international and interstate visitors enthralled with what we have to offer and to also join with the dedicated volunteers who work across the museum’s many diverse areas, in assisting staff with the remarkable work they do for all of us. It is always a joy to have fellow Tasmanians join the museum tours, often confessing they haven’t visited since schooldays and then being amazed at what they now see. Comments included being so reassured we still have items they remember from those all-important school visits, but also today’s presentation of what the museum does.

Saturdays were usually my tour guiding day, always interesting to see the pattern of what many visitors do. So often they would have been to MONA, or were planning to visit on the Sunday if they were just in Hobart for the weekend. Saturdays were devoted to enjoying Salamanca Market in the morning and TMAG in the afternoon. Over the years, engaging with visitors, it was always interesting to note the MONA effect. Many interstate visitors commented they’d come to Hobart in the early years of MONA, just to have that experience, but visiting TMAG was also included, as much for contrast as any other reason. Repeat visits often also included ‘this time we’re visiting other places in Tasmania’, underlining the importance of cultural heritage.

How often do you visit TMAG, especially in a private capacity? Have you been to the Herbarium? Do you even know where it’s located? It is also under the TMAG umbrella, but located at UTAS, Sandy Bay. It is not open to the public, but visits can be arranged and seeing the extraordinary work conducted there, is just amazing. The small staff are assisted by dedicated volunteers, taking care of the significant collection, but also doing world leading science and research.

There have been many budget restraints during my thirty years of close connection with TMAG and I have observed first hand, the devastating effect this has had on the staff and indeed visitors too. From being open to the public seven days a week, closed Christmas Day, Good Friday and ANZAC Day, this has been reduced to six days per week and closing at 4.00 pm each day, instead of 5.00 pm. The loss of this hour alone, especially during the peak tourist season, has been a huge disappointment to so many. I wish you could witness what I would see on my Saturday tour guiding days, family groups and individuals being turned away because of the closing restrictions of 4.00 pm.

I am once again appalled by the intended cuts to staff in this present climate. This is a totally unacceptable way to treat the highly qualified and gifted staff, who promote and take care of our State collections, many of them working with unique skills in specific areas and working alone, but when their work is denied and the position disappears, we are all the losers. TMAG’s standing and indeed Tasmania’s, in so many areas of important research, risk being damaged irreparably. Likewise, this state’s education system, where the curriculum is enhanced by regular school visits, thanks to the very few dedicated and professional staff, who are responsible for these visits.

During the decades of tour guiding I have done, one example of change and the importance of it, has been in the interpretation of our indigenous culture and history. When I first began guiding, the ‘aboriginal’ gallery was always of great interest, but told a story from a colonial and European perspective, with comments from visitors at the time, often being simply ignorant, ill informed and frankly, shameful. Thankfully this has changed and I wish you could observe – and indeed the aboriginal community too – the very real thirst most visitors today have for knowing more and more about what really happened here and especially the contemporary history as told in the present gallery ‘Ningina Tunapri’ on the ground floor. The title means to give knowledge and understanding. Have you ever visited the top floor of the 1824 Bond Store? From 2013, this installation tells a very challenging and immersive story.

On occasions when we have been able to design a specific tour for visitors, to meet their individual interests, sometimes it might be just colonial art, or dinosaurs if children were included or the thylacine or Tasmanian Devil. However, sometimes with restricted time, visitors would ask for a tour giving just our indigenous history. The other popular gallery was “Islands to Ice”, exploring everything to the south of Tasmania, covering the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. However, for most visitors they would leave being amazed by the sheer complexity and diversity of what we are able to show. This is all now under threat.

TMAG is unique in occupying such an historical site, important in pre colonial years for the first Tasmanians, and important still today in the story it tells. Three of the buildings on site, predate Port Arthur. They are the Commissariat Store, the Private Secretary’s Cottage and the Bond Store. We are unique in being the holders of the State Collection across all disciplines. The staff taking care of this need to be shown more respect and the institution itself should not suffer any more cuts and such an appalling and restricted budget. There is the capacity to do so much more and to tell a bigger story, but resources are needed, not depleted. The human cost of the current proposal is one thing, but the ongoing decline because of it, is reprehensible.

Surely you can find another solution? Perhaps go and visit TMAG and see for yourself.

Judith Longhurst,
Sandy Bay

Dear Jane 

Thank you for taking the time to write and share your concerns regarding the possibility of further job cuts at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. I appreciate your thoughtful email and the important points you raise about the role TMAG plays in preserving and sharing Tasmania's cultural, artistic, historical and scientific heritage.

I have long been a strong supporter of the arts and cultural sector in Tasmania. Over many years I have supported the arts in a range of ways, including through personal financial contributions, attendance at exhibitions, performances and public events, and by speaking in Parliament about the significant value that arts and cultural institutions bring to our communities.

I agree that TMAG is much more than a visitor attraction. It is a critical state institution that safeguards collections of immense importance to Tasmania and provides educational, cultural and community benefits that extend across the entire state. The programs, exhibitions, research, conservation work and public engagement activities you mention all contribute significantly to Tasmania's social and cultural life.

I understand the concerns that further staffing reductions could place additional pressure on both collections management and public programs. Maintaining specialist expertise and institutional knowledge is an important consideration whenever decisions are made about the resourcing of cultural institutions.

I will continue to advocate for appropriate levels of funding for the arts broadly as well as TMAG. TMAG and our other arts organisations are critical to our health and wellbeing and must be recognised as such.

Thank you again for writing and for your ongoing advocacy through the Friends of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. I value hearing from people who are deeply engaged with protecting and promoting Tasmania's cultural heritage, and I appreciate the contribution you continue to make.

Kind regards,

Ruth

Hon Ruth Forrest MLC (she/her)
Independent Member for Murchison
Deputy President
Chair of Committees
Parliament of Tasmania
IWF Australia Member
2025 Inductee - Better Politics Foundation - Politicians’ Hall of Fame for Democratic Innovation

www.ruthforrest.com.au

To the Editor:

I think we all accept that the Tasmanian government needs to address the state’s projected deficit and growing debt as a matter of urgency. However, to take a fiscal knife to the state’s cultural institutions is surely not the way to proceed. The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is facing a cut in the region of 30% of its salary expenses, which will result in the institution losing numerous staff at all levels — 19.7 full-time equivalent positions according to a report in the ABC News app. Some have already gone; as others go it is hard to see how TMAG will be able to maintain its current high standard of operations into the future.

Thankfully, the CPSU has made this a public issue, which, of course TMAG staff have been unable to do. Disingenuously, the government has rejected the union’s claim and stated that TMAG is not required to reduce its staff by 30%. However, it has not denied that TMAG is required to cut its salary budget by something in the region of 30%. The government is therefore playing with semantics when it denies the staffing cuts; moreover, voluntary redundancies and natural attrition are strategies to reduce staffing levels that do not necessarily lead to cuts in the best places or ensure that this important cultural institution, arguably the most important cultural institution in the state, can continue to deliver the service that Tasmanians and visitors alike expect.

It is particularly poignant that cultural institutions like TMAG are again facing the razor while wealthy sports like the AFL and the NBL benefit from government largesse. Of course the stadium will attract visitors to Tasmania; but so do our cultural institutions.

As a committee member of the Friends of TMAG I help organise regular events for our members and the community at large that are invariably well attended. The government’s planned cuts put these events in jeopardy, too, as they can only proceed with the support of TMAG staff.

The barbarians are knocking at the door; we need to defend TMAG and other cultural institutions for our children and grandchildren, because once they have gone or their operations reduced, it will be hard to restore the knowledge and expertise that is lost.

Ralph Crane
Bellerive

Dear Friends of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
  
Thank you for contacting me about the government’s proposed staff and resource cuts to our precious Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). 
 
TMAG is a pillar of our state and must be supported to continue to thrive, not undermined. It holds a special place in the heart of Tasmanians. 
 
I was disappointed to read reports 20 TMAG jobs are on the chopping block and then confused when Deputy Premier Guy Barnett said those reports were false but said that "across government there need to be efficiencies".    
 
As the independent member for Clark, I’m grateful TMAG sits firmly in my electorate. I will add your letter to the many others I’ve received on this issue and advocate on behalf of your view and the others. 
 
It’s infuriating we are fighting to save TMAG as stories of government waste and cost blowouts mount almost daily, and of course while spending on the AFL stadium boondoggle takes priority. 
 
I support sensible budget repair and fair share revenue raising. Undermining TMAG though is not a sensible option.   
 
You can find out more information about how I would approach budget repair and other issues of concern and advocacy at kristiejohnston.com.au or by following me on Facebook. 
 
You may also be interested in how the proposed electoral boundary changes may change who is your local representatives. You can find further information here. 
 
 Thank you for advocating for TMAG. I appreciate you getting in touch. 
 
 Kind regards 
 Kristie 

Dear Mr Jaensch

I am writing to you as a former senior curator of cultural heritage and a current committee member of the Friends of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to voice my deep concern about the mooted cuts to TMAG and its staff. TMAG is a well-loved and trusted Tasmanian institution which has operated for around 180 years.

TMAG, the second oldest museum in Australia, has a statutory requirement to care for and grow the State art, cultural heritage and art collection. It already does this under enormous financial and staffing constraint, working off a budget much smaller than its interstate counterparts. The museum is one of the most visited places in Tasmania, with similar numbers to our most visited national park, Freycinet, and only a few less than the highly promoted MONA and Port Arthur Historic Sites. Thus it not only has cultural, scientific and artistic significance but also is an important driver in the Tasmanian economy.

TMAG runs a vibrant and successful public program, with exhibitions, talks, events and a very popular schools program. Every year thousands of school children from southern Tasmania and elsewhere enhance their education by visiting the museum and taking part in specialist programs run by highly skilled staff. These public programs again fulfil statutory requirements under the 2017 Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Act.

TMAG overachieves in comparison to its mainland counterparts - with its small staff and budget it regularly wins national awards for its exhibitions. Budget constraints have already meant that exhibition turnover has been reduced markedly. The museum’s research collections which are managed by a dedicated staff of curators and collection managers are central to its operations. Many scientific collections require regular maintenance to ensure their longevity - these include botanical and faunal specimens dating to the early nineteenth century and which are regularly used by local, national and international scholars and institutions to research key questions facing us all today. TMAG has a hard-won reputation as an outstanding museum and research facility.

TMAG has recently lost critical staff members, including one of its two art curators and its paper conservator along with other staff, with no sign of their being replaced. 

My fear is that the mooted cuts will further erode the already inadequate staff needed to fulfil its statutory obligations, thus placing its collections, programs and research reputation at serious risk. This is turn is a serious risk to Tasmania’s reputation as a State in which the arts, culture and science are taken seriously and add significant value to the Tasmanian economy and brand as a clever forward thinking State attractive to investors and those looking for a place to relocate to.

I urge to you ensure that TMAG is spared staff and budgetary cuts and indeed receives an increased budgetary allocation to enable it to fulfil its charter.

I thank you for taking the time to consider this important issue and look forward to many more years of a thriving museum and art gallery.

 

Ian Terry
Hobart