Editing Harold Holt (section)

====The arts====
In November 1967, in one of his last major policy statements, Holt announced the establishment of the [[National Gallery of Australia]] and the [[Australia Council for the Arts]]. The National Gallery, which did not open until 1982, was the first arts-related major infrastructure project to be funded by the federal government; previous projects had been funded by state governments or by private subscription. Holt said it would "add significantly to the cultural life of Australia and the national capital".<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/106980131 "Work to begin on National Gallery"], ''[[The Canberra Times]]'', 2 November 1967. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref> The other element of his announcement, the Australia Council for the Arts, was the first national [[arts council]], intended to provide arms-length advice to the [[Prime Minister's Department (Australia)|Prime Minister's Department]] on arts funding.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/106980333 "New council for the arts"], ''[[The Canberra Times]]'', 2 November 1967. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref> [[Rupert Myer]] has suggested that "Holt's legacy ought to be a core belief in, and broad public demand for, the sustained support of cultural activity from all three tiers of government".<ref>[[Rupert Myer|Myer, Rupert]], [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cherish-harold-holts-legacy-so-the-arts-can-flourish/news-story/0a72e3c21d885f2dd523c59db7f3cb42 "Cherish Harold Holt's legacy so the arts can flourish"], ''[[The Australian]]'', 1 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref>