Opportunity to Submit Feedback on Creative Sector Strategy

Public consultation closes December 15th

Probably not the greatest timing for the entertainment side of the creative sector, a few weeks out from the start of the Summer season, but a draft version of the long-awaited creative sector strategy ‘Amplify: A Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand’ can now be found on the Ministry for Culture and Heritage website.

The strategy covers the creative and cultural sectors in their broadest sense, featuring all art forms including music, as well as museums and galleries, place-based heritage, screen, gaming, fashion, architecture and design.

‘Amplify’ is informed by numerous previous consultations and reports dating back to Covid, so you often feel like you have read this somewhere before. Nonetheless the consultation process is a rare opportunity for the live entertainment sector to influence the direction of the new Government over the next six years and beyond. It is an action-oriented strategy meaning it is worthwhile ensuring that the ‘To Do’ list addresses at least some of the issues facing the live performance industry going forward. The cut off for submissions is this Sunday, December 15^th.

The targets for 2030

The document sets expansive targets, some measurable and some vague, that focus on New Zealand’s presence on the world stage, economic and export growth, and the resilience of the creative sector.

To realise global presence, the Government proposes that by 2030 New Zealand should rank among the top twenty-five nations in the world for culture and heritage soft power. We are currently sitting at thirty.

To achieve economic growth the document sets two targets. At home, more engagement amongst the domestic population in New Zealand arts, culture and heritage, up from seventy eight percent of New Zealanders reporting active participation in the arts, forty-five percent with cultural heritage, and sixty-nine percent with New Zealand-made screen content. Alongside this there is a push for GDP contribution of the arts and creative sector to increase to at least $20 billion, with a focus on exports. In 2024, it was estimated to be $16.3 billion.

By resilience, the Government seems to be focusing more on individuals, at least in terms of targets, aiming for a median income for creative professionals that more closely matches the median income for New Zealanders earning a wage or salary. In 2023, the median total income for New Zealand creative professionals was $37,000 and $61,800 for wage/salary earners.

To reach these targets the Government has identified three strategic pillars – investment, more sustainable career opportunities, and tackling red tape.

Investment

The strategy immediately points out that there is no additional funding coming from Government due to the “current restrained fiscal environment”. Rather, the draft strategy talks about leveraging and maximising the impact of the existing government funding available, as well as identifying other sources of funding.

The existing funding referred to is the approximately $450 million a year from Arts, Culture and Heritage, largely administered through Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Film Commission, and Heritage New Zealand. The strategy also cites accessing funding to support community arts through Internal Affairs, funding for arts organisations that work with at-risk youth, people with mental health challenges, and disabled people via Health and Social Development, MBIE funding for major cultural events, and Ministry of Education funding for arts education.

Each pillar is then broken down into a series of actions. Two actions are key to the investment pillar. Firstly, stimulating investment through growth in cultural exports. Secondly, finding alternative funding sources such as the private sector, local government, iwi and philanthropic funding. How these entities will be encouraged to invest remains open for discussion with the Government report explaining that specific delivery mechanisms have not yet been developed but that “the Government is interested in your input on how funding can be best deployed.”

Maximising the impact of this funding is to be achieved through a range of initiatives including a “structure for central government funding that simplifies access”, cross-government and cross-portfolio initiatives, adjusting immigration visa requirements, global promotion of creative and cultural events, and the ubiquitous research programme and support for collaboration that accompanies all government strategies.

Nurturing Talent

The most detailed actions sit under the ‘Nurturing Talent’ section, much work having been done by creative and cultural sector bodies as we emerged from Covid, and with a number of these actions already largely partly achieved in the live entertainment sector.

The Government aims to partner with creative industry representatives to support skills development of creative professionals, including new sector qualifications, and improving the vocational education system to meet industry needs. Actions also include a creative education work programme delivered through schools, informed by sector partners and forming part of the refresh of the Arts and Toi Ihiihi curricula in 2027.

Innovation and technology, including digital technology is acknowledged as key to remaining competitive on both the local and global stages. There follows a lengthy and jargon heavy explanation that points to the Government currently addressing this elsewhere through a ‘futures-thinking exercise’. This will result in a long-term briefing (LTB) that will feed into the final version of the Amplify strategy. LTBs appear to focus on understanding issues that will affect New Zealand in 2040, and the example digital technologies mentioned as potentially having an impact on the creative sector include AI, robotics, wearables, and immersive technologies.

Reducing Barriers to Growth

Lastly the Government turns to modernising and streamlining government regulation to enable the creative and cultural sectors to thrive. Actions include identifying and updating regulations and legislation that impact the sector and making it easier for businesses and individuals with complex income streams to navigate the tax system.

There is definitely opportunity here for submissions from experienced event professionals to inform a somewhat ambiguous actions list. 

Making a submission

The usual options abound. There is an online survey to complete or contact details if you prefer to write a long form response. If opting for the latter a timely research report has just come out of Massey University ‘Measuring and Articulating the Value of Live Performance in Aotearoa’ that may be worth a read. The report shares data hoping to help the under-resourced arts sector “articulate and advocate for its value to local and central government and funders at a time of economic downturn, in which audiences have less disposable income.”

Amongst many interesting key findings, researchers determined that live performance enabled $17.3 billion in benefits over 12 months and created 60,500 full time equivalent roles across Aotearoa. With a modest $75.5 million Government investment in the live performance sector generating a $209 million tax take, it would appear the Government makes back far more than it spends.

The strategy can be accessed here: https://www.mch.govt.nz/publications/amplify-creative-and-cultural-strategy-new-zealand-draft-2024-2030

The research document can be accessed here: https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/colleges-schools-and-institutes/college-of-creative-arts/college-of-creative-arts-research/measuring-and-articulating-the-value-of-live-performance-in-aotearoa/