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April 4th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Brisbane’s upset arts community is launching a “very strong push” to continue the axed Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards under a new title.
Author Matthew Condon said the decision to scrap the awards was “spectacular in its idiocy” and described the $244,000 prize money as a pittance.
But Premier Campbell Newman defended the decision, saying “we will be making no apologies for going into all areas of government and cutting out things that right now are preventing more frontline police, more fire fighters, more nurses, more doctors”.
Mr Condon said he suspected the amount was similar to Queensland mining magnate and Liberal National Party benefactor Clive Palmer’s “cocktail onion bill for the year”.
In the light of Mr Newman’s decision to axe the awards, Mr Condon said the arts community would rally to fill the void.
“The nominal title at the moment is the Queensland Literary Awards,” told ABC Radio National’s Books and Arts Daily program.
Mr Condon said University of Queensland Press publisher Greg Bain had pledged that he would continue to publish winners of the awards for indigenous writers and emerging writers.
That was confirmed by UQP this morning.
“That’s a very, very strong indication that this community up here is upset and that it will not let these awards die due to a bureaucratic decision,” Mr Condon said.
Mr Condon said the awards were not about the prize money but were about supporting writers, fostering careers and culture.
Mr Newman has been accused of cutting off a vital channel, relied on by indigenous writers to get their stories into national and international markets.
Writers and literary figures have savaged Mr Newman’s decision to axe the Premier’s Literary Awards to save taxpayers $244,000.
Among the awards to go is the $20,000 David Unaipon award for unpublished indigenous writers.
Mr Newman said it was his job to scrimp and save after Labor left the state’s finances in a “diabolical” condition.
“I hope we can restore funding in the future but I make no commitment today,’’ he told reporters in Hervey Bay.
“We will be making no apologies for going into all areas of government and cutting out things that right now are preventing more frontline police, more fire fighters, more nurses, more doctors. That’s the priority right now.’’
He said axing the awards was a sad, but necessary move, but indigenous author Sam Watson was scathing.
“It [the award] is critical to the development of emerging indigenous writers,’’ Mr Watson said.
Rabbit Proof Fence author Doris Pilkington won the award in 1990 as well as Mr Watson’s son, poet Sam Wagan and daughter, novelist Nicole.
Mr Watson said the awards had created national and international readerships for indigenous stories and had brought dollars back into the industry.
‘‘Mr Newman spoke about jobs, jobs, jobs. But by downsizing the publishing industry he’s going to put people out of work and create a situation where some of our publishers may have to go offshore and we will lose those skills,’’ he said.
‘‘Stopping the awards is not going to make any real impact on the budget’s bottom line, which is billions of dollars in the red. It is just mean-minded penny pinching.’’
Lady Jane Edwards, who has chaired the awards since their inception in 1999 and is the wife of former Liberal politician and Deputy Premier Sir Lllew Edwards, said she would lobby for the reinstatement of the awards once the government’s budget review was complete.
“We will be banging on their door saying please consider reinstating these awards as quickly as you can’’ she told ABC radio.
Publisher Sue Abbey, who helped establish the Unaipon award, said it was a big loss.
She said the University of Queensland would continue to publish the winners of the Unaipon award and the Emerging Queensland Writers Award, but there would no longer be any prize money or associated promotions.
– with AAP
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