While Jacinda Ardern received a full-scale official send off from Parliament yesterday, one of the cornerstones of arts culture and heritage future planning was met with a much smaller audience that morning.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) presented its inaugural cultural sector Long-term Insights Briefing (LTIB) to the Social Services and Community Committee at Parliament. 

Briefings, select committees, politicians - we know doesn't sound like the most appealing of phrases to creatives. 

But the simple fact is the future of the creative community was being discussed - directly - in Parliament. Not just being used as a political football at question time to score points and raise hackles.

FYI on LTIB

For those who've missed it, the LTIB - a new requirement of government ministries - is designed to highlight the arts, culture and heritage sector's opportunities for the future of Aotearoa across five priority areas: Te Ao Māori; funding, investment and value; population change; digital technologies; and climate change.  

MCH Chief Executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae explains “we’re grateful to have had the valuable insights of more than 150 organisations and individuals connected to, or with an interest in, the cultural sector contribute to the development of this inaugural briefing. It’s clear from the feedback we received there are numerous hopes for the sector, and I’d like to thank everyone who generously gave their time and shared their perspectives with us.

“Manatū Taonga is committed to working in partnership with Aotearoa’s vibrant, diverse and talented cultural sectors and communities to help ensure policy development in each of the key areas is progressed.”

Select Committee meeting

The Select Committee is made up of nine MPs, six from Labour (Chairperson Angie Warren-Clark, Deputy Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, Liz Craig, Emily Henderson and Terisa Ngobi), two from National (Maureen Pugh and Louise Upton) and one each from Greens (Ricardo Menéndez March) and ACT (Karen Chhour). Simon O'Connor, National's spokesperson for Arts, Culture and Heritage was also in attendance.

After Leauanae set the table with an opening statement, O'Connor jumped in to go on the record that he was "a little bit disappointed" in the LTIB, calling the angles it covered "very broad and very predictable" and "that personally, I don't think it reflects the diverse views of NZ artists." He also questioned why the discussion was "long term and not a red light alarm bell right now." 

Chhour also thought that more communities need to be more strongly represented, highlighting the impact COVID had on events like Diwali and Lantern Festivals, while Ngobi had questions around the disability and rainbow spaces.

Kanongata'a-Suisuiki wanted a breakdown of the 150 sector contributors to the LTIB, Menéndez March quizzed the MCH representatives on what fair pay and remuneration looks like.

Deputy Chief Executive Emily Fabling, one of three MCH representatives presenting to the Select Committee, agreed that it's predictable to anyone in the sector that "they're working in a gig economy, going from one role to the next, sometimes working five roles at a time" and referenced CNZ's remuneration research.

Despite several more Select Committee members having questions they wanted raised, the meeting was called off just shy of 20 minutes - you can watch it for yourself here.

Sector reaction

Jasmine Millet, Head of Creative Industries for Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Alice Shearman, Executive Director for the New Zealand Writers Guild were the only representatives from the sector in attendance.

Shearman (above) told The Big Idea "the 20 minutes offered for the first LTIB of its type to present to a select committee was not a fair allocation of time. 

"The extensive work undertaken by MCH and the massive input that the creative and cultural industries and sub industries invested throughout the consultation and feedback/submission process (throughout COVID!) highlighted the desire of our industries to see a brighter future.

"Our sectors are fatigued in the aftermath of the COVID restrictions. And that includes the fatigue of consistently trying to express the economic, social and wellbeing value and benefits of arts, cultural and creativity to the government and politicians of Aotearoa."

Millet told The Big Idea "I was in Wellington to attend the release of an economic impact study of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth season one the night before – so, great timing to support this kaupapa the next morning.

"A lot of industry groups – including those we work with in Auckland - put their time into informing the Long Term Insights Briefing. It’s important to them – and the whole sector – to know that they’ve been heard, at the highest levels.

"I was really glad to be able to listen first-hand to the presentation plus the Q&A with select committee members. Everyone needed more time to really do it justice but the key points were covered. There’s clearly appetite from the committee to know more and to see our sector flourish.

"I think we need to keep up the advocacy, speaking with a clear voice as much possible as there’s lots more work to be done.

"For now – and in the context of everything else that’s been going on – it felt like a step forward to have our elected representatives engaging with New Zealand’s first ever long-term briefing for arts, culture, heritage and creative. But we need to push on."

Both Shearman and Millet had questions of their own.

Shearman wants to know "how might the Ministry help our creative economy to grow – and contribute more to NZ’s future resilience and prosperity?

"How can we measure our creative economy more accurately? Many of our occupations aren’t covered by existing Stats codes."

Both also looked across the ditch with a watchful eye.

Millet muses "Australia now has a whole-of-government plan for its creative ecosystem from the arts to digital trade and everything in between. This is already starting to impact NZ’s creative talent and businesses, who are being lured there by attractive incentives. 

"How might Aotearoa compete?"

Millet made reference to the economic data for the value of the arts and creative sector - referred to during the committee session:

•    About 3.3 percent of New Zealand’s economy, having grown by about one-third since 2000
•    Generated $10.851 billion in year to 31 March 2021
•    Between 2000 and 2021, the economic contribution of the arts and creative sector more than doubled (+121 percent) in real terms, outstripping the economy as a whole (+70 percent).

Millet continues "It’s a lot and it’s growing -and there are many other ways of thinking about the value, which aren’t measured in dollars or GDP, too.

"The analysis and discussion of Sweet Tooth screen production the night before (covered in this week's Lowdown) illustrated one of the ways this happens – with New Zealanders building experience, honing their craft, having access to equipment and spaces, room for creative licence…and then leading from the front with top roles in costume, production design, cinematography, direction and producing."

So where to from here? 

With this being the first compulsory LTIB -and the next one due in a couple of years - it's up to MCH to turn this information into a better reality for the creative community.

Leauanae states “we were really interested to identify and examine the factors that are likely to shape and transform arts, culture and heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand, and consider how government can help ensure the cultural sector continues to thrive.

“The briefing identifies a range of options open to Manatū Taonga, as a steward of New Zealand’s cultural and creative ecosystem, to lead the design of policy settings that support the Government’s future investment in the sector. 

"For example, supporting capacity and capability building and supporting New Zealand’s diverse communities to tell their stories through arts and culture; considering innovative ways of rapidly delivering funding; and continuing to design funding and investment strategies that support regional and local arts, culture and heritage."