$8 million a year of reappropriated funds will be returned to the Australia Council, but some troubling aspects of NPEA remain.

The past six months will be remembered in infamy as the one of the most turbulent and politically charged periods in the history of the arts in Australia. With the shock announcement of the formation of the new National Programme for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA) in May as part of the 2015/16 Federal Budget, which was set to leach almost $105 million dollars from the Australia Council, former Minister for the Arts George Brandis set into motion a series of events that would disenfranchise almost every arts professional in the country. Today the ensuing months of petitioning, protests, demonstrations, government lobbying and a leadership spill which saw the arts portfolio handed to Senator Mitch Fifield came to a head. However while some of the changes have been well received by the arts community, other lingering facets of the NPEA in the reimagined arts fund have made today’s announcement divisive.

Senator Fifield has been on a PR campaign in recent weeks to heal some of the wounds left by his predecessor. A closer consultation...