Labor’s new cultural policy ‘first step’ in addressing National Gallery of Australia’s $265m shortfall

The National Gallery of Australia ‘protects $7bn worth of art so it’s both a community meeting space and a bank vault,’ director Nick Mitzevich says. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The director of the National Gallery of Australia has said he is optimistic the government will soon address the institution’s $265m funding shortfall, allowing it to repair decades worth of water damage and to avoid job cuts.

The Albanese government has not committed to increasing funding in its May budget but Nick Mitzevich said he was hopeful given that the NGA was included in the federal government’s new $300m cultural policy.