I have been chair of the Arts portfolio at City of Melbourne for 7 years. In all of that time I have insisted on independence in arts funding assessment from politicians. The recent COVID-response arts grants program was no exception.

I've been reluctant to comment on the Clementine Ford debate over the last 24 hours because I don't want to add fuel to the fire and my energy for this culture wars crap is low. But in response to fears from artists that Council may be engaging in censorship, here we go:

1/ The decisions to award grants have been finalised and they will not be undone. Above and beyond the politics of the day, recouping funds is not even a legally available option.

2/ The decisions to award grants were undertaken by external assessors assisted by Council staff in accordance with the grants guidelines unanimously adopted by the Council.

3/ We have never sought to regulate the speech of grants recipients unrelated to the grant in question. I encourage everyone to think through the consequences of Council entering this space, becoming the arbiter or taste and offence. There are other laws that govern speech.

4/ Ms Ford's application met the criteria strongly. It is entirely inappropriate to retrospectively apply special criteria to one applicant.

So where to from here? The Lord Mayor requested, and the CEO agreed, to review the COVID-response arts grants program. A post-program review of what went well and what needed improving was something we planned to do regardless as a matter of good practice.

This review will not and cannot undo any grant decision made, but - like all reviews into our grants programs - it can consider whether the policy settings were ideal and were implemented well. This will not be a trojan horse for the censorship of artists or the arts.

While the timing of the request for a review gives rise to fears within the sector that the City of Melbourne's approach to arts funding is about to fundamentally change, that is not the case. Our Creative Funding Framework was adopted in August 2019 after sector consultation.

Arts Grants are frequently controversial. It is incumbent on politicians to uphold the integrity of the processes that are set up, knowing that they like others will disagree with some individual outcomes.

Government either funds the arts through accountable, open and independently-assessed programs, or through political selection. The former supports a diverse arts ecosystem and the latter produces blandness. I will keep fighting for the former, a City of Melbourne strength.