Federal government 'big fans' of Nick Cave

Australian rock musician Nick Cave has found a new set of somewhat unlikely fans after he called for the ousting of a "bad seed".

The federal government is apparently "big" Cave fans, despite the alternative rocker's part in an open letter calling on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to ditch former arts minister George Brandis.

Cave and 350 other Australian artists slammed Senator Brandis for his changes to arts funding, specifically the Book Council of Australia which was formed by the minister's office.

Mr Turnbull appointed a new arts minister, Mitch Fifield, who on Monday confirmed the coalition's admiration for the singer, songwriter and producer.

"I'm sure like every colleague on this side of the chamber, we are big Nick Cave fans," he told the upper house during question time.

He went on to explain his extensive Cave knowledge using a recent example of a radio interview when he was played an excerpt of a track and correctly guessed the rocker.

Senator Fifield had been asked if he agreed with the 350 artists concerned about the independence of the funding arrangements.

Manager of opposition business Clare Moore raised a point of order, claiming Senator Fifield's trumpeting of his Cave expertise strayed far from the actual question.