Creative NZ challenged to get extra $4 million to artists amid overhaul
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Creative NZ has been challenged to get at least $4 million more into the hands of artists as part of a major restructuring that will cut jobs and shift funding decisions to regional partners.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith revealed the target during an estimates hearing at Parliament on Monday, saying the funding agency’s administrative costs had “grown and grown and grown” and that more money should be directed to artists rather than bureaucracy.
The comments came after Labour’s arts spokesperson Rachel Boyack questioned how Creative NZ would deliver on the Government’s creative strategy while proposing to cut 23 roles amid a $1.3 million budget reduction.
Goldsmith told the hearing a new model, under which up to $40m of Creative NZ funding could be distributed through a network of regional partners by 2028 or earlier, would be a more efficient way of operating than maintaining what he described as a “large apparatus in Wellington”.
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“We want to see more of it out the door,” Goldsmith said. He had given the agency’s board the challenge of getting “at least” an extra $4m to artists.
Boyack also questioned the one-month timeframe given for expressions of interest from organisations seeking to become regional partners under the new model.
The debate comes weeks after the Government cut more than $27m from the arts portfolio over four years in Budget 2026, while also providing new funding for initiatives including the domestic screen production rebate, Māori media, and music education.
Goldsmith rejected suggestions the Government was retreating from the arts, saying exempting some agencies from its 2% savings directive would have required deeper cuts elsewhere.
The hearing canvassed a range of other issues, including the Government’s decision to cap the value of donations eligible for a tax credit at $100,000, support for international touring acts through its major events fund, and the planned abolition of the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Goldsmith said he’d heard people’s concerns regarding the donation tax credit changes, when Boyack pressed him on it potentially having a “chilling effect” on cultural organisations like Te Papa that rely on major philanthropy.
Boyack asked whether the Government would ever require a visiting international artist to open their New Zealand show with a local act.
Goldsmith said the Government had considered such a policy, but stopped short of backing a requirement.
To some extent, funding should follow whether people were wanting to engage with particular arts, Goldsmith said. He also acknowledged that artists and arts organisations faced increasing competition for attention from social media platforms.
The arts were not nice to have, but essential, Goldsmith said. “Having a strong cultural framework is very important.”
NZ First’s Andy Foster asked about the more than $10m that has been spent on strengthening the Carillon bell tower at Wellington’s Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage previously disestablished the job of Aotearoa’s only carillonist, Timothy Hurd.
The ministry’s chief executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae told the hearing it was working with the NZ School of Music-Te Kōkī and Wellington City Council to build a pipeline of carillonist talent.
The deadline for strengthening work is May 2027.