CANNES: Hollywood star Cate Blanchett on Friday hit out at multi-million-dollar planned cuts to Australia’s television and film funding body, slamming the move as “short-sighted.” The Australian government unveiled a tough budget this week that saw huge cuts to health and education spending, as well as slashed spending for arts and cultural activities, including Screen Australia.

Culture is “a huge economic driver at home and I think it’s very short-sighted,” the Australian actress told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival where she was promoting animation movie “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” in which she is the voice of one of the main characters.

“It’s not only a potent industry that feeds Australia at home. Culture generally for any nation is a piece of soft diplomacy, it’s a way that we understand the way the mindset of a country works.”