00:00 It's been touted by museum management as a grand reimagining, but those protesting this
00:06 morning say the reality is very different.
00:10 SA Museum wants to cut 27 jobs from its research division.
00:15 Those workers would then be replaced by 22 positions with a so-called curatorial focus.
00:20 One of the concerns that we have is that this represents a dumbing down and a degradation
00:25 of the work that our members do.
00:27 The opposition, Greens and the Public Service Association among hundreds who gathered at
00:31 Parliament House.
00:32 The potential impact on research a focus for many.
00:35 Bureaucrats are foisting a vision on this museum that doesn't sit with the community.
00:40 It doesn't sit with the volunteers.
00:42 It doesn't sit with the scientists.
00:44 Last week, the museum's chief executive told a parliamentary committee he isn't trying
00:48 to dumb down his research department.
00:50 This isn't about devaluing research.
00:52 This is broadening the responsibilities, role and responsibility for our researchers.
00:58 Also present today, First Nations peoples concerned about the future of the museum's
01:02 Aboriginal Repatriation Program, which has seen hundreds of ancestral remains return
01:07 to country in the last three years.
01:09 The people that are there now, they need to be there because they hold that knowledge.
01:14 They've been doing a lot of work.
01:16 The museum's plan is set to be tested as it faces likely arbitration with the union in
01:21 the Employment Tribunal this week.
01:23 After two long hearings this week, that dispute remains unresolved and will be subject to
01:28 further proceedings in the SAIT.
01:30 A parliamentary inquiry also likely.
01:33 The Statutory Authorities Review Committee, which I sit on, is ready, willing and able
01:37 to hear all sides of this debate and reimagine democracy for our museum.
01:42 Both the museum and the Arts Minister today releasing statements saying they are listening
01:46 to feedback being provided on the proposed plan.
01:49 And a public consultation on the reimagining has been slated to begin next month, giving
01:53 those at today's rally the chance to put their grievances in writing.
01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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