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.

Artists and creatives should be valued and the work they make should be accessible to everyone. But the creative sector has been underfunded for years, and COVID-19 has left many artists without a paying audience. Many artists and creatives, particularly those just starting out, end up compromising their work or giving up entirely. This robs them of their passion, and denies all of us their contributions to Aotearoa’s social fabric. The Green Party believes in sustainable public funding for the...

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

The arts and cultural heritage have inherent value as well as economic value, and both contributions should be recognised and supported. The Green Party will adequately resource work in the arts, which requires effective communication between Government, funders, the industry, and other stakeholders including tangata whenua, who have the right to protect traditional and contemporary Māori art. We acknowledge that revitalising and celebrating toi Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori is key to ensuring a thriving arts industry, and...

New analysis shows that while some arts organisations have benefitted from Budget 2016, others have lost out and overall arts and culture funding has fallen $217.5 million behind where it needs to be to keep up with rising costs since National came to power, the Green Party said today. “It’s great that the NZSO, Royal NZ Ballet and Te Matatini kapa haka got more funding this year, but frozen Creative NZ funding means many artists and creatives will lose out again,”...