Lord mayoral candidate Jamal Hakim and his deputy, Esther Anatolitis, also expressed opposition to a sale, warning it would send the wrong message.
“Selling a council stake in a prime cultural venue like the Regent is a retrograde step. Across the world, councils are investing in the arts, not selling them off. We need to stop artists leaving the city, not drive them away by dismantling our creative infrastructure,” Anatolitis said.
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Any sale of the theatre would be conditional on the state agreeing to also sell its stake. The Victorian government said it currently had no plans to sell its share.
The union representing arts workers, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, also criticised Reece’s proposal.
“While the lord mayor has assured MEAA that the Regent would remain as a theatre under any new owner and that 100 per cent of sale proceeds would be delivered to local creative workers and businesses, we believe that when governments look to support the creative sector, it should not be by selling off valued community assets like the Regent Theatre,” the union said.
Reece said on Sunday: “The Regent is one of Australia’s most beloved theatres and it’ll stay that way. Of course we’ll make it a condition of sale that anyone who wants to buy the city’s share has to agree to continue operating it as a theatre, forever.”
Council elections will be held in October.
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