ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will look at examples of government censorship and intervention by politicians in relation to the arts. Governments have always exerted ‘control’ in terms of what information is allowed to be public. We may think of ‘censorship’ as something that occurs in a ‘one party state’, and not in a democracy. However, in the Australian case, widespread censorship was imposed by governments at Federal and State levels for 70 years after Federation. Further censorship still exists. It just varies in terms of the targets and the scope. The history of political interference in decision making in the arts too, is perhaps more common than might be imagined, given the seeming political disinterest. The motivations by politicians to interfere are variable; sometimes they are wanting to exert control, at other times they may want to show preference for certain arts practices, or want to influence funding outcomes in order to reward political friends. Arts and politics are directly connected; hence politicians are likely to get involved, even if the amounts of money involved are trivial in terms of any overall government budget.
