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.
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