To the attention of:
• David O'Byrne MP – Minister for the Arts
MY COMMUNITY'S five wishes/expectations are that Launceston City Council, in its current role as the administrator and custodian of the QVMAG collections and infrastructure:
1. Immediately appoint an appropriate standalone governing body – Trustees, Governors, Council, whatever – that has the appropriate powers delegated to it and is representative of and functionally accountable to:
• Local, State and Federal Governments – the funding bodies that provide recurrent and infrastructure funding;
• Sponsors, donors and collaborative research groups/bodies;
in respect to policy making, fiscal responsibility and quality assurance.
2. Consistent with #1, initiate a strategic planning process that:
• Sets out the institution’s purpose for being, its goals/objectives, the rationale for those and the strategies employed to achieve them;
• Includes annual business/enterprise plans for the institution as well as discrete projects and programs;
• Sets out the benchmarks against which performance will be measured and the value of cultural and social dividends can be assessed.
3. Consistent with #1 & 2, initiate a transparent fiscal budgeting and reporting regime that:
• Identifies individual programs and projects covered by the budget;
• Sets out each discrete class of expenditure and income sources as a line item;
• That informs the Community of Ownership and Interest – particularly those who make a financial or in-kind contribution to the institution or it program.
4. Consistent with #1, 2 & 3, initiate a stocktake and operational audit process that:
• Fully document the museum’s human resources and skills base – catalogue all staff and volunteer positions plus the full set of qualifications and experiences all staff and volunteers hold/have irrespective of the position held;
• Establishes a clear overview of the collections held – catalogues significant sets of items, the cultural and other significances of groups of items and the special management needs that need to be addressed.
5. Consistent with all the above, the Launceston City Council, at its earliest convenience, should facilitate the formation of a ‘QVMAG Institute’ known as such, or by some other name, identifying it with the museum, its collections and its research for the purpose of:
• Providing an umbrella under which various groups can gather – that is organisations, friendly groups, networks and individuals with an interest of some kind who/that can directly engage with and/or contribute to the museum enterprise, its programs and projects; and where appropriate its research programs and initiatives;
• Providing a vehicle for a critical discourse and research relevant to local and regional issues – cultural, social and scientific; and
• Establishing a foundation upon which the museum can build an effective marketing program.
No attempt has been made to rank the five initiatives in the wish list. Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that Item 1. would need to put in place to allow for the effective implementation of the next three.
In regard to the first four we submit that there is now a need to adjust the Local Government Act to require that these things to be done given the Tasmanian community's investment in the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's collections – fiscal investment over time plus cultural and intellectual property.
We call upon the Ministers concerned and Launceston City Council to work together towards making the Local Government Act and the museum's governance an exemplar of best practice in regard to the governance of an important cultural asset and the administration of a nationally significant collection and public institution.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Norman
Gregory Parkinson
Lionel Morrell
Greg King
Ken Partridge
• David O'Byrne MP – Minister for the Arts
eMail: david.obyrne@parliament.tas.gov.au
• Bryan Green MP – Minister for Local GovernmenteMail: bryan.green@parliament.tas.gov.au
• Mayor Albert van Zetten – Mayor of LauncestoneMail: mayor@launceston.tas.gov.au
• Robert Dobrzynski – General Manager, Launceston City Council • Launceston's Aldermen – eMail: council@launceston.tas.gov.au
eMail: Robert.Dobrzynski@launceston.tas.gov.au
RE: The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's Governance
A member of the MY COMMUNITY NETWORK has been provided with the opportunity to put up the five things to Launceston City Council that he believed would make the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) a truly and functionally accountable 21st Century community cultural enterprise. MY COMMUNITY believes that the QVMAG now needs to consider its future very carefully, and in a contemporary context, in order to best serve its diverse Community of Ownership and Interest – local, intrastate, national & international – and fulfill its promise as a community cultural enterprise.RE: The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's Governance
MY COMMUNITY'S five wishes/expectations are that Launceston City Council, in its current role as the administrator and custodian of the QVMAG collections and infrastructure:
1. Immediately appoint an appropriate standalone governing body – Trustees, Governors, Council, whatever – that has the appropriate powers delegated to it and is representative of and functionally accountable to:
• Local, State and Federal Governments – the funding bodies that provide recurrent and infrastructure funding;
• Sponsors, donors and collaborative research groups/bodies;
• Its Community of Ownership and Interest – including the Tasmanian Aboriginal community – in respect to the intellectual and cultural property held in trust by the museum; and
in respect to policy making, fiscal responsibility and quality assurance.
2. Consistent with #1, initiate a strategic planning process that:
• Sets out the institution’s purpose for being, its goals/objectives, the rationale for those and the strategies employed to achieve them;
• Includes annual business/enterprise plans for the institution as well as discrete projects and programs;
• Sets out the benchmarks against which performance will be measured and the value of cultural and social dividends can be assessed.
3. Consistent with #1 & 2, initiate a transparent fiscal budgeting and reporting regime that:
• Identifies individual programs and projects covered by the budget;
• Sets out each discrete class of expenditure and income sources as a line item;
• That informs the Community of Ownership and Interest – particularly those who make a financial or in-kind contribution to the institution or it program.
4. Consistent with #1, 2 & 3, initiate a stocktake and operational audit process that:
• Fully document the museum’s human resources and skills base – catalogue all staff and volunteer positions plus the full set of qualifications and experiences all staff and volunteers hold/have irrespective of the position held;
• Establishes a clear overview of the collections held – catalogues significant sets of items, the cultural and other significances of groups of items and the special management needs that need to be addressed.
5. Consistent with all the above, the Launceston City Council, at its earliest convenience, should facilitate the formation of a ‘QVMAG Institute’ known as such, or by some other name, identifying it with the museum, its collections and its research for the purpose of:
• Providing an umbrella under which various groups can gather – that is organisations, friendly groups, networks and individuals with an interest of some kind who/that can directly engage with and/or contribute to the museum enterprise, its programs and projects; and where appropriate its research programs and initiatives;
• Providing a vehicle for a critical discourse and research relevant to local and regional issues – cultural, social and scientific; and
• Establishing a foundation upon which the museum can build an effective marketing program.
No attempt has been made to rank the five initiatives in the wish list. Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that Item 1. would need to put in place to allow for the effective implementation of the next three.
In regard to the first four we submit that there is now a need to adjust the Local Government Act to require that these things to be done given the Tasmanian community's investment in the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's collections – fiscal investment over time plus cultural and intellectual property.
We call upon the Ministers concerned and Launceston City Council to work together towards making the Local Government Act and the museum's governance an exemplar of best practice in regard to the governance of an important cultural asset and the administration of a nationally significant collection and public institution.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Norman
Gregory Parkinson
Lionel Morrell
Greg King
Ken Partridge
MY COMMUNITY TASMANIA invites people with a sense of ownership and interest in the QVMAG to:
- Directly express their interest in writing to the individuals they believe some influence in this matter; or
- Make a comment in comments section below expressing your personal position either in support or otherwise for the propositions put forward in the letter; or
- Make their own representation to the relevant State Govt. Ministers and/or Launceston City Council.
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