One of Melbourne’s most iconic buildings has taken centre stage in the city’s upcoming council election. Lord Mayor Nick Reece has vowed to sell the regent theatre to fund the arts industry if he is re-elected in October. But rivals have slammed the plan and casts doubts over the theatre’s future if the sale goes through.
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00:00The Regent Theatre was built for drama almost 100 years ago, but today, the main show was
00:08off stage, a production of political theatre with a cast of candidates for Melbourne's
00:13Lord Mayor.
00:14The theatre should be sold.
00:16We will oppose the sale of the Regent Theatre.
00:18The Regent's estimated to be worth around $40 million.
00:22The City of Melbourne owns 51%, the State Government 49%.
00:26Lord Mayor Nicholas Rees wants to sell the Council's stake, then use the proceeds to
00:31fund local arts.
00:32It includes support for independent theatres and live music, which desperately needs a
00:38helping hand, and it also includes long-term festivals.
00:43Political rivals have panned the plan.
00:46This should be funded, not through flogging off an amazing asset like the Regent Theatre,
00:52but it should be funded from the operational budget of Town Hall.
00:56The industry is giving mixed reviews.
00:59We could do so much with the kind of money that we're talking about.
01:03The idea of taking funding away from a prize arts venue and putting it towards arts events
01:11doesn't make any sense to me.
01:12It seems like a zero-sum game, really.
01:15It is a grand and precious jewel of Melbourne.
01:18The State Government is staying out of local politics for now, saying while it is committed
01:24to the region's future, it will wait until the Council elections are over before any
01:29sort of discussions begin.