The unofficial grant to the Australian World Orchestra was made just days before the former Minister for the Arts was replaced.

Just as the dust seemed to be settling on Senator George Brandis’s contentious tenure as Minister for the Arts, yet more controversy has arisen as it has emerged today that in his final days in charge of the arts portfolio the Senator discreetly handed $2.42 million to the Australian World Orchestra. The grant was made on September 17, three days after the Liberal Party leadership spill, which saw former Prime Minister Tony Abbott ousted, and three days before it was formally announced that Senator Mitch Fifield would replace Senator Brandis as the Minister for the Arts.

The furtive back-hander, one of a number grants Senator Brandis made to the AWO and other favoured organisations without following any official administrative or assessment process, will raise even more eyebrows as the former Arts Minister’s then policy adviser, Michael Napthali, was once on the board of the AWO. Napthali, who is currently the Cultural Advisor to Prime Minister Turnbull, resigned his position on the AWO board when he was appointed to Senator Brandis’s staff, and there is no specific suggestion that he was directly involved in the decision to fund the AWO. However this most recent sum is the latest of three grants received by the orchestra this year at Senator Brandis’s discretion, coming to a total of $3.75 million.

Zubin Mehta conducts the AWO during their India Tour earlier this year.

The Australian World Orchestra is one of the nation’s most accomplished and high calibre musical institutions which has been a lightning rod for attracting enthusiastic music lovers and distinguished conductors alike. Founded by conductor Alexander Briger, its ranks are made up of Australia’s finest orchestral musicians working in world-class orchestras both in Australia and internationally. Some of the greatest maestros of the age have directed the AWO including Simone Young, Sir Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta who recently conducted the AWO during the first tour of an Australian orchestra to India.  

During his time as Arts Minister, Senator Brandis repeatedly showed a disdain for the open application and peer review process used by the Australia Council, using Government funds to subsidise organisations he deemed as worthy. In addition to his one-man assault on the Australia Council with the announcement of the now abandoned National Programme for Excellence in the Arts in the Federal Budget, the former Arts Minister awarded Melba Records, a for-profit classical record company, $275,000 in September 2014. Despite the boutique label receiving some $7 million in government grants since 2004 it has consistently failed to register significant financial success and in recent years had registered poor sales records and financial statements.

Before this, Senator Brandis awarded $1 million to the Australian Ballet School, which boasted among its board members the wife of a former Howard government cabinet minister. An answer as to the government’s position on this string of under-the-table financial donations made without any measurable accountability is proving to be elusive. The office of Senator Brandis is referring the matter to the current Minister for the Arts, while Senator Fifield’s office are denying any responsibility as the grants were made during Senator Brandis’ time at the Ministry.