Paul Fletcher

The Honourable Paul Fletcher MP has served as Australia’s Minister for Arts since 2019, and has seen the sector through the immense challenges of 2020. His passion for the arts stretches back to his university days, when he co-wrote several plays, including The Fax of Life with co-creator of ABC’s Rake, Peter Duncan and former Opera Australia CEO Craig Hassall. In this conversation with our Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini, Minister Fletcher reflects on Australia’s artistic spirit, the rationales for funding the arts, how technology can make the arts more accessible to more Australians, and how the arts intersects with other areas of his portfolio: communications, urban infrastructures and cities.