Culture is the sum of the values of our society, and the arts are a small window into it.

Different societies have different cultures. It does not make them better or worse than us.

Personally, if I want more culture, I reach for a tub of yoghurt.

It appears that all sites were government based anyway & as such a gross waste of public funding. Real culture is a result of people doing something in their spare time & which unites them not a pushed-down -the-throat bandwagon industry we can ill afford.
Most people haven't a clue what culture is anyway. It definitely isn't all these grand buildings built by & at the expense of countless workers' lives. It also ain't money sports.

Oh no Forrest, (from the link you provided) the cultural portal is going to close on 1 July 2010!!

Culture in Australia is winding down and will officially be declared dead on 01/07/10 ( :~#

We used to have a refined ‘cullltuuure’, of the English upper class variety. This transformed into a ‘culcha’, of the Aussie battler variety. But it has been steadily diluted and homogenised into a worldwide melting pot, under the name of multiculturalism. Or perhaps that should be ‘aculturalism’ (as in no culture of any significance or distinction)!

So now our Ruddiculous government has seen fit to declare culture in Australia non-existent!

Why am not surprised! ( :>/

MWS (that confounded missing word syndrome) strikes again, as it does in just about half of all my posts.

Why am IIIIIIIIIIIII not surprised?

Brain decay is setting in. Oh, my poor head!!

I agree that one country's culture doesn't make it better or worse than another's. But it does aid in rendering a feeling of identity and belonging - even a sense of pride and connection with with wider society, family and ancestors. It is something that goes deeper than reeling off the names of Ned Kelly and Don Bradman.
Why is it that a sizable portion of young Australians have begun in recent times to regularly drink themselves into oblivion and brawl in the streets. This is so commonplace now that we have begun to accept it as normal. Identical behaviour can also be seen on the streets in Britain.
Has this become some sort of rite of passage for many young people in western society? If so, is it in part a lack of a specific cultural identity.
What can we in Australia offer our youth in the form of a rite of passage into adulthood?

Poirot,
I am convinced that it is NOT a lack of cultural identity. I KNOW that the attitude of those brain dead young binge drinkers, druggies etc is a direct & inexcusable result of their parents' attitude towards society in general. These parents run TV stations, they run media, they're in charge of sport, they're business people & they are normal middle & working class people. Get the gist ? It is ALWAYS the MAJORITY of the OLDER generation which is the CAUSE of societal decay. It's the OLDER GENERATION which creates the many idiotic situations for just one reason. GREED ! Give the young some guidance & offer hope instead of saturation dumb ar$ed pursuing of economic Growth. Wake up you old morons & look after your Kids.