Having studied a music degree, then #opera in London, I realise the #LNP would consider my training a waste of life. And in a way, it was, if my only metric was financial or employment. But wouldn't change a thing. I have travelled all over the world, sung for royalty...

I've been fortunate to experience a career in the arts, to inspire joy & passion in others with sound... just my voice, my body, my *breath*. I've recreated voices Mozart once heard in his head. Do you know how it feels to sing Strauss over a massive orchestra? I do.

I've wept in dressing rooms because two tiny folds of cartilage in my throat wouldn't do what I wanted. I've struggled with colds on opening nights, sacrificed my social life, battled my weight... studied, listened, learned my craft obsessively to be as good as I could be.

And even then, all that training means little to a man like Scott Morrison, impressed with such small virtues & easy wins. He will never value the arts because there's no certainty in it. We strive for beauty, even while others judge us to have failed. #auspol #arts

Art can't be measured with sales figures or monthly targets, but in memory, emotional impact, resonance. It brings community together, creates shared identity. It reminds us we are not what we do but how we feel about what we do. That we are not immortal. That we ARE immortal.

You have already showed your disdain for what I and so many valuable others do @ScottMorrisonMP by your policies towards artists during this pandemic. To beat the humanities further with uni fee increases is shameful. We should be more ambitious!

Build a vibrant arts AND science community here in Australia. Both depend on students trained to think creatively, critically, curiously, rigorously... qualities essential for a new economy. Australia can be so much more, if you had imagination @DanTehanWannon #auspol #university