A new life for St James Theatre

After years of community organising, Green MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick is thrilled to announce today alongside Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Carmel Sepuloni Government funding for restoration of the St James Theatre in Auckland’s city centre.

“We did it. With many hands, years of work and a whole lot of creative campaigning, we’ve secured the restoration of the St James Theatre, confirming Government funding to match and unlock legacy Council budget commitments,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

“Tāmaki Makaurau is a UNESCO City of Music and the time is now to make the investment necessary to live up to that. We have all of the ingredients - limitless talent, immense passion and creativity, and now, an incredible ‘new’ venue on the horizon - to carve out a unique international identity as a thriving arts and cultural hub. We’ve always just needed local and central Government to recognise and resource it.

“I want to thank the thousands of people who played a part in making this a reality. Those who signed our open letter to the Minister, joined our events to rally support and helped keep the spotlight on the issue. It’s only because of this coordinated effort that today’s announcement happened.

“Across the Mayor’s Office and Ministry, we’ve confirmed that shovels should be able to get in the ground within a year. That means we should hopefully be able to restore this jewel in our Arts Precinct before its 100th birthday in just five years’ time, when tens of thousands of people will also happen to be spilling out of the new CRL stations and a city centre revived by more critical projects like this.

“This right here is proof of concept that organising and sustained campaigning works. It’s a win that will keep up spirits for ongoing organising for an all the more people-friendly city centre,” says Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick.

Action

Protect Nature

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Auckland Issues Announcements

Story

Waka Kotahi miss the boat on community needs for Waiheke ferry services

Auckland Central Green MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, this morning received a long awaited OIA with official advice and consultants’ reports on whether to re...

Auckland flood response report requires urgent action

Auckland Central Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick welcomes the findings of the Auckland Flood Response Review and urges Council to not delay implementing t...

Greens launch submission guide for Auckland Council budget

The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council bu...

Greens launch petition to stop Auckland Council climate action cuts

The Green Party has today launched a petition to stop Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed cuts to climate and environmental programmes that prote...

Hauraki Gulf in urgent need of protection

The Green Party backs the demands of Forest and Bird and calls on the Government to take urgent action to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tī...

Greens urge Government to adopt overdose prevention trial

The Green Party calls on the Government to adopt the proposal from NZ Drug Foundation, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and the Needle Exchange Services Trust ...

Arts and culture

Artists and creatives should be valued and the work they make should be accessible to everyone. But the creative sector has been underfunded for ye...

Green Party welcomes crucial financial support for creatives

The Green Party says new government support for creatives and artists is a vital lifeline for a sector struggling to survive the COVID crisis.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy

The arts and cultural heritage have inherent value as well as economic value, and both contributions should be recognised and supported. The Green ...

Story

Budget comment: Arts funding down in Budget

New analysis shows that while some arts organisations have benefitted from Budget 2016, others have lost out and overall arts and culture funding h...