Oh, and another thing... no resale royalties for Australia either

The Government, in the budget, has quietly shelved proposals for a resale royalties scheme - despite recent introduction in the UK and a recent private members' bill. The idea has gone because 'It would bring little advantage to the majority of Australian artists whose work rarely reaches the secondary art market and would also adversely affect commercial galleries, art dealers, auction houses and investors.' Hat tip: Warwick Rothnie.

update: the National Association for the Visual Arts is very disappointed. To quote their press release:

Despite the fact that no government funds would be involved, last night the Government announced it would not give its support. The Resale Royalty would have meant that artists would be entitled to a small percentage payment on each resale of their art works, so they could participate in the increase in value of their work as their reputation grows. Tamara Winikoff, Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) said today “After patiently asking for fifteen years, artists in Australia are saddened and perplexed about why the Government will not grant them a royalty right comparable with that enjoyed for so many years by writers and musicians”. “With so many visual artists, especially Aboriginal artists, living below the poverty line, even modest amounts of money would make a big difference. If the threshold sale price on which the right was granted was set low, the majority of artists would benefit,” Winikoff continued. “It is a gesture the government could afford to make at a time when auction houses and private investors have been making record profits from the resale of artists’ work. It is reprehensible that they begrudge this tiny percentage going back to the creators who are the underpinning of their industry.”