Australia's arts, cultural and recreational infrastructure promotes social cohesion and improves liveability.
Arts and cultural assets and spaces such as museums, art galleries or natural assets of cultural value make cities and regions attractive, creative and sustainable.
Recreational infrastructure, such as sporting and community facilities, and open spaces promote positive health and improve social participation.
Together, they enable Australians to share experiences, nurture their physical and mental wellbeing,58 experience a sense of place and celebrate people's local and national identities.
Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, taking part in arts, cultural and recreational activities not only supports wellbeing and community connectedness, it can provide pathways to better education and employment outcomes.59
Across all levels of government, there is an opportunity to align arts, cultural and recreational infrastructure.
Governments need to better understand the sector's current performance and identify opportunities for rebuilding a stronger and more resilient arts, culture and recreation sector post-pandemic. This will help to build stronger communities and increase social and economic benefits.
"Across all levels of government, there is an opportunity to align arts, cultural and recreational infrastructure. "
Priorities should include coordinating infrastructure planning (including promoting the use and development of land for arts and cultural activity) and developing highly targeted community strategies that prioritise arts, cultural and recreational infrastructure.
Some of the issues that could be considered for national, sector-wide analysis and review are:
• infrastructure use, service performance and condition
• assets, expenditure and governance
• operational criticality and resilience.
For more information, see Reform 8.3: Social infrastructure is economic infrastructure too.