Minister John Graham’s response to the plight of the Italian Forum Cultural Centre in Leichhardt is a textbook example of bureaucratic indifference and political lethargy. After six months of waiting, the community received a reply that is not only late but also devoid of substance—a patronising pat on the head for their concerns, followed by a generic invitation to scour government websites for funding scraps.
The Italian Forum and its Cultural Centre were once a vibrant heart of Sydney’s Italian community, gifted to the people by a government that valued cultural heritage and public space. Today, it stands hollowed out, mismanaged, and neglected—a shadow of its former self. The community has long pleaded for intervention, not just for the sake of nostalgia, but to safeguard a living piece of multicultural history. Instead, what they get is a form letter referencing the “Creative Communities” policy—a sweeping ten-year vision that, while laudable in ambition, does nothing to address the immediate crisis at hand.
Where is the urgency? Where is the commitment to action? The Minister’s response amounts to little more than a shrug, advising locals to keep an eye out for future funding rounds as if this were a minor inconvenience rather than the slow death of a cultural landmark. The Italian Forum’s decline is not due to a lack of passion or ideas from the community—it is the result of years of mismanagement, broken promises and a failure of all levels of government to provide more than funding support.
To suggest that the solution is for locals to “sign up for the Create NSW newsletter” is insulting. It is the responsibility of government, not volunteers or small business owners, to ensure that public cultural assets remain accessible and vibrant. The Minister’s letter does not acknowledge the gravity of the situation, nor does it offer any concrete steps or leadership to reverse the Forum’s Cultural Centre fortunes. Instead, it reads like a scripted deflection—an attempt to pass the buck rather than take ownership of a problem that, by all accounts, requires bold and immediate action.
The message to the Italian-Australian community and all who care about Leichhardt’s cultural legacy is clear: you are on your own. For a government that claims to champion the arts and multiculturalism, this response is not just poor—it is frankly pathetic. The Cultural Centre deserves better. The people of Leichhardt deserve better. And the Minister should perhaps ask himself why he has chosen to offer so little, so late. (M.T)
