Lyle Shelton ties March NSW upper house bid to arts funding row

Family First lead NSW Legislative Council candidate Lyle Shelton says he will move to end Create NSW funding for the Unholy Playhouse if he is elected in the March state poll.

The announcement targets a venue that says on its website it is “supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW”. Shelton argues taxpayers should not fund material that many Christians find offensive.

Its listed events include “The First Rite” and “Sunday Mess”.

Shelton says those titles and productions parody Christian language, imagery and religious traditions, especially Catholic symbols. He has framed the dispute as a question of public funding, not censorship.

“It is completely inappropriate for taxpayers to be forced to subsidise a venue whose entire brand is built around mocking Christianity and, in particular, the Catholic faith,” Shelton said.

According to Shelton, freedom of expression allows provocative art. However, he argues that principle does not require the NSW Government to pay for it through Create NSW.

Shelton criticised the Minns Government. He argued it would not fund a project devoted to mocking the prophet Muhammad or Islamic religious practices.

Because of that, Shelton said Christianity should receive the same respect from public institutions. He also said governments should not use taxpayers’ money to insult the religious beliefs of millions of Australians.

Catholic protest outside venue

Earlier in the week, a large group of Catholics protested outside the venue. Shelton praised the group for kneeling in prayer and singing during what he described as a respectful demonstration.

That protest became part of his case against the grant support. As a result, Shelton has widened his pledge beyond one venue.

If Family First wins representation in the Legislative Council in March, Shelton says he will seek to stop Create NSW funding for projects that deliberately denigrate Christianity or any other faith.

“Taxpayer-funded arts programmes should unite communities and encourage genuine artistic excellence, not subsidise the mockery of people’s religious faith,” he said.

The statement did not include a dollar figure for the support linked to the Unholy Playhouse. Still, Shelton’s criticism centred on the venue’s own public acknowledgement of NSW Government backing through Create NSW.

Family First is contesting the March NSW election with Shelton as its lead upper house candidate. Following that campaign launch, arts funding has become one of the party’s stated election issues.