Australian governments for some years have been very keen on charging students for any level of tertiary education that they receive. As for the poor cousin, TAFE, here funding is being cut back, at least in Victoria any way.

Why is government spending anything on sport? Especially something like elite level sport? Why aren't these "students" subject to subject to their own HECS style funding, especially when one sees the sponsorship money that follows some of the students and sports?

My own opinion, defund the lot, sell any government owned facilities. If the sports have the money they can buy and continue to run the facilities otherwise... There are already enough bread and circuses in the various professional sporting codes and so-called gaming venues.

The lucky country? Not b....y likely.

Just my 2c worth (and I do not "donate" any of my money to elite sports)

DKit

dkit,
I have stated several here that Art, sport & entertainment should be self funding. No if's no but's. This ensures quality all round.

Ok, let's try this; If I as a carpenter or bricklayer or general tradesman have no perceivable talent & I do a lousy job then I won't get paid or at the least will have great difficulty in getting money for what i did.
On the other side of the coin I could with no perceivable talent throw a bucket of paint onto some linen or howl as if I suffered from severe constipation & then go to the Government & apply for a grant of whatever flavour. Like the german "artist" who's art was regurgitating food onto a cement slab & the Qld Government Bureaucrat morons funded him to the tune of $115,000.-.
Of course if one can muster an "appreciative" audience then the money comes in larger packages, provided in the main by morons who don't even know what they're looking at or listening to. In the really successful cases the Government still forks out huge sums of money for security to keep the morons under control. The sensible citizen gets the privilege of paying more taxes.

'Like the german "artist" who's art was regurgitating food onto a cement slab & the Qld Government Bureaucrat morons funded him to the tune of $115,000.-.'

Champion!

I have a new personal hero.

Pulling off that kind of shenanigan sounds like an art form to me.

I have a new personal hero.
Houllie,
Pray that isn't your real mentality because it's the one of far too many already.

I'm deafened by the silence of the leftie arty-farty brigade. Surely us taxpayers owe you a living ?

The art is in the taking of money and the guise. It's all in the guise and the gall.

It really is an art form. The product is incidental to the actual art of scamming the government in such an amusing way.

We need more people like that showing the Emperor's clothes.

Really what would we do if the bogans were allowed to define what was art? Only the elite know what art is, and it serves a very important purpose in this world.

I think we would be all the poorer without this, and the private entrepreneurs are busy building Titanic mark 2 rather than the Whiz Bang theatre company.

So the government must step in to ensure our 'cultural heritage' has a better façade than Football Meat Pies Kangaroos and Holden cars. Do you want our diplomats to have to cringe more than they already do about Cate Blanchett?

Before we get too excited about your new money-taking champion Houellebecq, I think we need some more evidence…

So far, looking through the entire internettywebiverse, I've only been able to find: "the Beatty outfit funded an artist to the tune of $90,000.- for his art which was regurgitating food onto a cement slab" from individual in November 2007 on OLO.

Like you I do hope it is basically true – as it would allow me to claim all those late night disco exit homages to River Phoenix were unfunded community art installations.

Would the requisite raw materials – basically drugs, alcohol and kebabs – still be tax deductible?

You're right that "The art is in the taking of money and the guise" and I love alliteration but the musical was guise and doles.

As for athletes – that could be solved by prohibiting more than one 'official' attending for every two athletes competing. I think we'd be amazed at how many were suddenly found by administrators to be qualified.