ARTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FOOTBALL?

Peter Garrett reckons the government's attitiude to art requires adjustment:

Labor MP and former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has branded senior Federal Government ministers as "philistines", whose obsession with sport comes at the expense of the nation's art and culture.

Mr Garrett, federal shadow parliamentary secretary for the arts, singled out Prime Minister John Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello and Health Minister Tony Abbott as examples of the modern-day philistine during a speech today at Monash University in Melbourne.

Mr Abbott's description of Parliament House's art collection as "avant-garde crap" several years ago was but one example of poor attitude demonstrated by the nation's leaders towards the liberal arts, Mr Garrett said.

Much of the stuff being passed off as art is crap.