Blue Shield Australia has made a submission to the Australian Government’s Department of the Treasury (Budget Policy Division) in advance of the preparation of the 2010 to 2011 Federal Budget.

In light of the closure of the Collections Council of Australia, the Secretariat for Blue Shield Australia is now being managed by the Australian Library and Information Association. The future of this arrangement cannot be assured without funding.

The Blue Shield submission to the Federal Budget, therefore, has requested an annual provision to establish an independent secretariat. Doing so would ensure that Blue Shield Australia can:

• continue to respond in case of emergencies in the region;
• continue to advocate for cultural heritage training for emergency response and defence personnel, and for emergency management training for those working in cultural heritage;
• support ‘MayDay’, an annual event to encourage cultural heritage organisations to review their emergency preparedness;
• support participation of Australian cultural heritage specialists in the international community working on emergency preparedness and response.

Blue Shield Australia has requested a small annual investment to help Australia strengthen its international reputation and to actively support improvement of the emergency preparedness of its cultural organisations.

Click HERE to read the Blue Shield Australia submission to the 2010-2011 Federal Budget.