Media Release: Move for Upper House to Seek Reversal of TMAG and Herbarium Cuts
Move for Upper House to Seek Reversal of TMAG and Herbarium Cuts
8 October 2026
Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb MLC today vowed to take the fight for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and Herbarium to the Parliament and seek a reversal of the state government threatened cuts to senior scientific, curatorial roles and other staffing positions.
“If the Rockliff government fails to see common-sense and immediately call a halt to the proposed short-sighted and destructive cuts to our iconic TMAG and the Herbarium, then the Parliament must intervene,” Ms Webb said.
“When the Upper House sits next month, I will seek a vote calling for an immediate freeze of these threatened TMAG budget and jobs cuts, and instead call for a rigorous examination to be undertaken to identify the necessary investment required to properly secure and place on a sustainable footing the vital work undertaken by these publicly owned institutions.
“TMAG is not a time capsule of static collections, but is instead a time machine linking our past to our present, while also poised as the key to the as-yet unlocked secrets of our future.
“TMAG and the Herbarium were already seriously underfunded. There is no so-called fat to be trimmed, instead the Rockliff government is now threatening to cut into the essential muscles holding together these unique scientific, cultural and heritage institutions.
“Recently, I have had the honour to receive tours of the unique facilities at TMAG and the Herbarium, and I have seen first-hand the extent of their cultural and natural collections and the breadth of future-orientated research currently underway which involves important national and international partnerships.
“It is insanity to risk the critical and acclaimed agricultural, biosecurity, biodiversity, medicinal science, climate and other research underway.
“It is economically irresponsible to risk driving away the acclaimed skills and expertise or renowned researchers and scientists who have contributed to building Tasmania’s reputation and brand.
“It is legally indefensible to gut a public facility to the point it will in all likelihood be unable to fulfil its statutory obligations of at least nine state laws or the relevant Commonwealth regulations.
“I and other MPs are being inundated with messages of horror, bewilderment and utter disbelief from interstate and international research centres and universities, who cannot believe a government is taking an axe to its own renowned facility.
“We are also receiving daily messages of outrage from local Tasmanians, young people, students, established and retired researchers, historians, cultural experts, climatologists and scientists, tourism operators, biodiversity and agricultural experts all highlighting the desecration of heritage and trampling of future opportunities.
“It is incomprehensible for any government to deliberately decide to reduce our capacity for scientific innovation, undermine our cultural heritage, and leave the community poorer. There is a role for Parliament to intervene, and I will seek to ensure it does,” Ms Webb said.
Ms Webb sent a Statement of Support to Thursday’s Friends of TMAG public meeting, as she was unable to attend in person due to a prior Parliamentary Committee site visitation commitment, occurring outside Hobart.
