BRUMBY KOSKY AND VAUGHAN DISCUSS SALVADOR DALI LIQUID DESIRE

Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Summary: Victorian Premier John Brumby, Arts Minister Lynne Kosky and National Gallery of Victoria Director Gerard Vaughan discuss Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire.  The Premier also responds to questions about a new public transport ad campaign, the expense of the renovation of Parliament House, Brimbank Council, a proposal for a fast train between Frankston and Geelong, the rock attack on an ambulance, difficulty in seeing green P-plates, and violence in junior sport.
JOHN BRUMBY:    ¡Hola!  Buenos días.  So hello, good morning, yeah.  This will be a fantastic event for Melbourne: Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire, and builds on the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces; built, of course, on what we’re doing this year with Art Deco.  As the Minister for Arts said in her comments today, we’ve seen extraordinary support from Victorians and across Australia for Art Deco 1910-1939; it’s a blockbuster and I think Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire will also be a blockbuster for Melbourne and for Australia.

When you look at the history of Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, it’s been, I think, a triumph for our state.  We’ve seen record crowds, we’ve seen more than 1.1 million people attend over that period of time, and it’s now a blockbuster event, up there with the Tennis Open, the AFL Grand Final, the Grand Prix, and of course the Spring Racing Carnival.

When you think about Salvador Dalí, he was a genius, he was a giant of the…21st Century.  And the painting that will come back here, Memory of the Child-Woman, 1931, has a particular attraction, of course, to Melburnians, having been brought here previously, back in 1939, I think, Gerard?

GERARD VAUGHAN:    ’39, yes it was, October.

BRUMBY:    1939, 1939 by…Keith Murdoch, at the time, and the Herald newspaper.  And it will bring back many memories, I think, to Melburnians and to Australians. 

But to the NGV, to Melbourne Major Events: they’ve done a fantastic job with this event, and you think forward to next year, this event, Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire, and of course Pompeii, the Last Days of Pompeii, this will just be extraordinary for our state in what it offers the local community, but what it will do, too, to draw tourists to Victoria.

And I might ask Lynne and Gerard to say a few words.

LYNNE KOSKY:    This is just a fantastic coup for Melbourne, and the NGV have again excelled themselves.  As part of our Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, we’ve really had very, very high-quality and very sought-after exhibitions, and this is within keeping of the quality that we’ve previously had.  Salvador Dalí is just an extraordinary artist of the 20th Century: he is well known by many – quite extraordinary pieces, quite bizarre pieces – but I know that many people will come to have a look time and time again at the works of Dalí, and we’re very grateful for the different institutions for providing these important pieces of work.

It will be part of Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, it will be part of the very rich calendar that we have during winter in Melbourne and, really, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t come to Melbourne in winter.

REPORTER:    What upset the people of Melbourne last time it came out?

KOSKY:    Sorry?

REPORTER:    What upset the people of Melbourne last time it came out?

BRUMBY:    1939.

VAUGHAN:    1939.  Well, Melbourne was a very conservative place in 1939.  The Director of the National Galley of Victoria refused to have these modern, subversive pictures in the building, and Keith Murdoch had to hire the Melbourne Town Hall to put the exhibition on. 

But, as I said before, these paintings require decoding.  Salvador Dalí was a very complex person, and if you look really hard and think about it, there’s a kind of hidden sexual imagery as well, which some of our conservative Melburnians spotted, in fact.  And, as I said, it was taken off display briefly; there was a great debate about whether it should be taken off display, and it went back on display, so a very interesting episode in the history of taste in Melbourne.  And these sort of things seem to keep playing on, don’t they, into the present time.

REPORTER:    There’s no naked children in the exhibition at all, is there?

VAUGHAN:    I don’t believe so, no.

BRUMBY:    But there’ll also be some great sculptures as well, and so you saw the lobster phone; there’ll be a few of the lobster phone, and…

VAUGHAN:    Yes, yep.

BRUMBY:    It would be great to make a call on the lobster phone.  But this is a great period in Melbourne, obviously, and Wicked on at the moment, and Wicked’s doing extraordinarily well, fantastic forward sales.  We’ve got Melbourne International Film Festival this Friday night, I think, and you think of Art Deco and Melbourne International Festival later this year, it is a very rich and positive time in our state’s history, and wonderful opportunities for people who love art.

REPORTER:    Is there a specific cost to the State Government for this exhibition, or is it just the indemnity that the State Government’s [inaudible]? 

BRUMBY:    That’s a matter I’d have to check with Melbourne Major Events, but I think there’s the indemnity and I think there’s a cost as well to bring the collection together.

REPORTER:    How do we decode the transport advertising campaign?  What message is that trying to convey?

BRUMBY:    Well, I haven’t seen the ads, but I heard one played on radio this morning, and I thought the advertisement was informing Melburnians about the work which was going on.  And we’ve got…we know we’ve got challenges in transport, but we’ve also got major investments which are occurring, and so sometimes they do create delays, particularly on the roads.  So you look at Monash-West Gate, for example: it’s the biggest publicly funded road project in the state’s history, $1.3 billion; it’ll increase capacity by 50 per cent, but it does mean, sometimes, that there’ll be delays for motorists.  So my understanding, as the ad says, that you can go to the Department of Transport website, get information about where road works, public transport works, tram works are under construction, under way, and if you need to use a different route, you can do that. 

But…we’ve got, as I keep saying, we’ve got the biggest population boom in the state’s history: bigger than the post-war migration boom, bigger than the gold rush of the 1850s, so there’s a lot of challenges and demands on our transport system.  So we’re making huge investments, I think Victorians need to be aware of those investments, and they need to be able to plan their transport trips accordingly.

REPORTER:    The Sustainability Commissioner says there needs to be more invested in public transport as opposed to road transport.  Is that where the Government’s looking in the future, or are you still planning making roads?

BRUMBY:    Well, we’ve got big investment in public transport, and, since I’ve become Premier, of course, we’ve put 200 additional services in place – they’re being rolled out – we’ve got the extension of the network, we’ve got the Clifton Hill duplication which is under way, we’ve got the EarlyBird, we’ve got a range of other significant initiatives which were announced in the budget, so all of these things are about big investments in public transport.

We’ve got Eddington in front of us at the moment; we’re looking at all of his recommendations.  And with something like 190 million people each year now using our train system, we’re very conscious that we need more investments, more infrastructure, more rolling stock and more services, going forward, and these are all of the things which we’re examining at the moment.  We want to put these things in place within an orderly framework so that we get best value for money and we provide the best improvement in services to the people of Victoria.

REPORTER:    He wants people to pay for registration for their cars depending on the emissions from their cars: is that something you’d support?

BRUMBY:    Well, it’s…something that we’ve examined in the past and, on the balance of a whole range of issues, decided to leave the system as it is.  And the reason for that, essentially, is that petrol prices are very high at the moment, and if you were to change the registration system at the moment and have people, for example, in both six- and eight-cylinder cars paying more, at a time when petrol is in excess of $1.50 a litre, I think that’s an unnecessary burden on the people of Victoria.  So we looked at this, but we rejected it.

REPORTER:    Is it necessary to reduce emissions, though, that people with these larger cars do have to pay more?

BRUMBY:    Well, I think anybody who’s…filling up the family car during the week or at the weekend knows that there’s pretty significant price signals being sent at the moment.  I mean, petrol is very expensive; it’s close to twice the price it was two years ago.  So, you’ve got very strong price signals, people are changing driving behaviour, more people are using public transport, more people are riding, more people are walking, these are good things, but I think there are plenty of price signals in there at the moment, and I wouldn’t intend to add to those. 

I think, looking forward, the thing that will make the biggest sustainable difference to consumption of petrol by motor vehicles is hybrid vehicles, and that’s why we went out so hard to get the Toyota decision, that’s why I believe in the future you’ll see more and more hybrid vehicles, you’ll see more and more electric vehicles, you’ll see people drive their car home at night, and they’ll be able to plug into the power point, and if they’re a subscriber to renewable energy, wind or solar, that will be virtually carbon-free motoring, and I think that’s where the world’s headed.  And when you do the sums on climate change and reducing emissions, the best way to do it, the most significant way, where you can make change is through hybrid and electric vehicles.

REPORTER:    Dr McPhail has suggested that the Federal Government contribute towards…spending on public transport, instead of just roads and rail: would you like to see the Federal Government contribute to public transport infrastructure?

BRUMBY:    Yes, and I think we’re headed in that direction.  And the single biggest initiative in the federal budget was the Building Australia Fund, $20 billion over four years; that’s for infrastructure, particularly around transport.  I’ve made a number of speeches, in this regard, saying that the Federal Government should be doing that, an urban congestion fund.  I’ve discussed this with the Prime Minister, and I would be very confident that some of the $20 billion in the Building Australia Fund will come Victoria’s way for public transport projects, and I think that will be a great thing because, in the past, we’ve been doing all of the work, we’ve been doing all of the heavy lifting, and to get the Federal Government contributing, will make quite a difference to what we can do in Victoria.

REPORTER:    The Opposition’s branding those ads as propaganda, saying they’re not realistic at all, because there’s no crowded trains, cancelled trains, people cranky on train stations in the morning.  Do you believe they are propaganda?

KOSKY:    Can I just say with the ads: the reason we’ve done the ads, in all of the research we’ve done with commuters, is they say they want information about what’s happening on the system.  They get very frustrated if there’s a disruption, and they don’t know what’s happening.  And, so, the purpose of the ads is to indicate that there will be disruptions because of the work we’re doing on roads and public transport, but they are disruptions for a purpose and there’ll be a better service at the end of it. 

And, as the Premier’s mentioned, there’s a very clear contact point so people can get details in their local area about those disruptions.  But that’s why we’ve put the ads in place: to give better information to commuters; that’s what they’ve been asking us for, and that’s what we’re providing through the ads.

REPORTER:    Premier, the renovation of Parliament House is obviously going to cost into the millions of dollars.  Do you support that?

BRUMBY:    Well, I haven’t seen all the plans actually, so I know that…the working conditions for many MPs are substandard; there’s no doubt about that, and I think for those of you in the media who‘ve seen them you would agree that they are substandard and antiquated, so they need to be improved.  There’s been a program in place over recent years where these have been progressively improved, but there are still many offices and much accommodation for Parliament House staff which is substandard and which, to be blunt, doesn’t meet modern occupational health and safety requirements.

So, I know the President and the Speaker are looking at a program to upgrade accommodation.  I’ve not been briefed on all of that.  I haven’t been advised of the cost of that and, to my knowledge, to date, there’s no single additional budget allocation that would do all of the work within the current period.  But, over time, it is a worthy objective, I think, to be improving the accommodation and…I repeat, the accommodation presently for Parliament House staff and for members of staff is well below what is required to meet occupational health and standard requirements.

REPORTER:    George Seitz has said that he will raise with you the issues of Brimbank Council.  Has he done that?

BRUMBY:    No, he hasn’t.  He hasn’t at the moment, but I’ve obviously seen some of the commentary there, and obviously it’s important that councils and local members work together and do what’s best for their community.  If anybody’s got complaints about local government, there’s an avenue, there’s a process there; whether it’s if a citizen is not happy about something in local government, they can make an official complaint to the Department of Community Development, and that matter will be investigated by the Office of Local Government.

REPORTER:    Are you disappointed that the factional brawl has, sot of, the recriminations are still being paid out over Kororoit?

BRUMBY:    Oh, well, I wouldn’t agree with that assertion; I’m not sure what’s driving this.  I think issues with councils in the western suburbs have been around for longer than I’ve been in public life, I think, from time to time, so I don’t think there’s anything new about that.  But, I repeat, if people have a grievance about local government, then there’s an avenue in which they can express that, and if it’s got substance, it’ll be fully investigated.

REPORTER:    Premier, what did you think of that plan to build a fast train from Frankston to Geelong?

BRUMBY:    Well, I haven’t seen the plans on that, but the information I have is that what’s been proposed is a Maglev-type system.  I did see the Maglev in Germany in 2001: it’s very good technology; it’s the only place in the world it’s in place, commercially operating, is Shanghai to the airport, and I used that, in fact, to have a look at it in my recent visit to China.  So it’s fantastic technology, it runs at about 400 kilometres an hour, but it is very expensive, and I don’t know what the costs would be, but…I doubt you’d get much change out of $15 billion.

And the fact of the matter is, in public transport, we’ve got higher priorities, more immediate priorities.  These are the things that we’re working on through Meeting Our Transport Challenges, and these are the things that we’re working through in relation to the Eddington report.  And these are the things, I think, that would be the priority, and while that may be a project that someone would look at in the future, it’s not something that we’re examining now.

REPORTER:    Dr McPhail has described Melbourne’s public transport system as at breaking point.  Do you agree with his assessment of it?

BRUMBY:    Well, the train system is carrying about…close to 190 million passengers a year – that’s far more than at any other time in our history.  And…in the 1990s, the system was losing patronage, and in the early years of our Government it was growing at two, three, four per cent per annum; that was about the average around Australia.  The last few years it’s been growing at 12 per cent-plus per annum, so you’ve had extraordinary growth in the system. 

So, yes, it is, it’s working at capacity, it’s working at maximum capacity, and that’s why we’re putting every effort into Rod Eddington’s report.  That’s why we announced in the last budget record budget funds for expanding the system.  It’s why we’re doing Early Bird.  It’s why we’re doing the buses from North Melbourne.  It’s why we’re rolling out 200 extra services.  It’s all of those things, but we know there’s a lot of pressure – we’re well aware of that – and that’s why we want to get the Eddington response right so that we can see more investment into this system, more rolling stock, more infrastructure, more services, and a better service to the people of Victoria.

REPORTER:    Premier, there’s been a rock attack on an ambulance in Yarra Junction overnight, and [inaudible] paramedics being attacked.  Are you concerned that people seem to be taking out ambulance grievances on emergency workers?

BRUMBY:    Well, I’m very…I am deeply concerned about that, and I’m deeply concerned about the particular incident, and there’s just no excuse for that behaviour.  And….we’ve had incidents where people have thrown rocks from freeways; we’ve had this incident last night.  There’s no excuse for it, it’s completely unacceptable behaviour, and…I can only send the strongest message possible that it is unacceptable and that it puts people’s lives at risk and, particularly, in this case emergency services personnel who are doing their job.  You know?  They're doing their job, they’re trying to save lives, they’re doing the right things, and it’s just inexcusable and unacceptable behaviour.  I can’t put it more strongly.

REPORTER:    Talking of concerns of…

REPORTER:    Green P-plates – sorry, can I just ask the green P-plates question: they are barely visible at the moment, aren’t they?  Can we do something about that?

BRUMBY:    Well, it’s interesting you say that: I was in the car on Sunday with Rosemary and Nicholas and we were behind a car which was a P-plater, and we, sort of, all noticed at the same time – it was a tinted window and you basically couldn’t see the P-plate; it was very, very hard to see.  This is a system that we’re moving towards because it’s a national system.  This is the system, I think, which has been in place in New South Wales, but the fact of the matter is, with tinted windows in particular, they're very hard to see. 

So I think VicRoads has ordered more plates: they’re new plates; they will sit on the, I’m told, on the outside of the window and be more visible.  And it is important, if you’re a P-plate driver, whether you’re a red plate or a green plate, you’re out there, you’re a relatively new driver, I think other drivers on the road do want to know that you’re a P-plate driver, and police obviously need to know, too, to ensure that the road laws are being properly applied by P-plate drivers.  So they are moving to a better system, and I do agree they’re hard to see at the moment.

REPORTER:    There were concerns raised on radio this morning about violence in junior sport.  Is there anything the Government can do to address that?

BRUMBY:    I’m not aware of any campaigns that are out there, but I think the most important thing is for coaches and for adults to send a message that violence on the sporting field is just as unacceptable as violence off the sporting field.  And sport is about playing together in a team; it’s about…sportsmanship is about working together with your team to get the best result; it’s not about inflicting violence or…slugging someone in the opposing team because you don’t win or you’re not happy with an umpiring decision.

So the best role models, I think, are the ones we see in professional sport: you know, the, sort of, role models we saw a long time ago, people like John Landy who…stops and helps and gets someone back on their feet.  Sportsmanship is a great thing, and it’s a good thing, and the more we can encourage that and inculcate that, the better it’ll be.