Which party offers the best policy for NZ music?
Posted: Sat Sep 3, 2005 10:49 am

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National's 2005 Arts, Culture & Heritage Policy

More Info: http://www.national.org.nz/

Nurturing a Creative New Zealand

Arts and Culture play a critical role in a free, tolerant and civilised society. They are essential foundations for progressive and vibrant communities, providing a link to our past, an insight into our present and inspiration for our future. The excellence, diversity and vibrancy of New Zealand’s arts and culture underpin our uniqueness, contributing to a sense of identity, belonging, and connection to these islands. Access to, and participation in the arts is the right of every New Zealander.

Arts and culture are also a key driver of economic growth, while a strong vibrant economy enables the arts to flourish. Just as important is the pivotal role of the arts in positioning New Zealand as an innovative and creative society.

National will:

* Ensure that funding to the arts is maintained at the present level.

* Ensure that the Ministry and arts agencies are properly delivering the services they are established to provide. Government agencies must be fully representative of all aspects of the arts in New Zealand.

* Ensure the full diversity of New Zealand’s culture and heritage is reflected in the arts with the funding of artists based on artistic merit.

* Explore options for encouraging increased private sector sponsorship of the arts.

* Ensure funding arrangements enable our national arts organisations to strengthen their activities in the regions, and acknowledge the importance of regional arts in nurturing vibrant communities.



Arts and Culture

More Info: http://www.labour.org.nz/

We will help promote and foster our art, music and culture and support our creative people.

Support boosted for arts and heritage organisations

Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced increases to baseline funding for leading arts, culture and heritage organisations, as part of Budget 2005.

* Te Papa - an additional $12 million in capital funding over the next four years has been approved to support Te Papa’s projected five year capital plan to maintain the optimum museum experience.

* Creative New Zealand – an additional $950,000 per annum (GST exclusive) for baseline funding from 2005/06 for organisational capacity. This includes a mix of increased revenue to sustain current activity levels and new positions to advance a key arts marketing and development initiative.

* New Zealand Symphony Orchestra – an additional $1.6 million in 2005/06 increasing to $2.2 million in 2006/07 (GST exclusive) and out years to maintain the orchestra’s current capacity and performance.

* Creative New Zealand will also receive;
- $2.6 million (GST exclusive) as a one-off appropriation in 2005/06 to enable it to provide funding for some of New Zealand’s key performing arts organisations.

- $788,000 as a one-off appropriation for 2005/06 for capital funding to upgrade Wellington's Old Public Trust Building, which is partly owned by Creative New Zealand. The funding will also help develop the organisation's IT capacity, to improve the way it manages relationships with clients.

* Top-up funding for agencies funded by the Lottery Grants Board
$2.6 million (GST exclusive) as a one-off appropriation in 2005/06 to maintain funding levels for agencies funded by New Zealand Lottery Grants Board – Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Film Commission and the New Zealand Film Archive - to cover the anticipated reduction in their income from the Lottery Grants Board.

"Te Papa, Creative New Zealand, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are key public institutions and the government is committed to their success," Helen Clark said.

Budget 2005: $4.4M for community TV and radio

$4.4 million will be invested in non-commercial radio and regional television over the next four years as part of Budget 2005, Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey announced today.

Nearly $900,000 will be allocated for non-commercial radio while $3.5 million will be invested in the first-ever government funding of regional television.

Making the announcement on-air at Wellington Access Radio – New Zealand's first access radio station – Steve Maharey said the funding recognised the important role of community and regional broadcasters.

"Regional broadcasters serve their local communities in ways no other media outlets can," Steve Maharey said. "They provide forums for local and minority voices.

"Running a community radio or television station is tough work – stations are often reliant on dedicated volunteers and part-time programmers. This new funding will ensure local broadcasters can continue to provide quality programming to their communities.

"Over the past few years the government has been working hard to develop public broadcasting at the national level with the Radio NZ and TVNZ Charters and Maori TV. This funding will allow us to promote public broadcasting at a grass-roots level."

The budget allocation will be made to NZ On Air, who will talk with local broadcasters about the development of a funding framework.

Arts, Culture and Heritage

This was found under Labour's Youth Policy section

Labour has demonstrated a commitment to the arts and the development of a youth culture in New Zealand, particularly in the area of film making and New Zealand music.

Labour:

- Introduced the Large Budget Screen Production Grant Fund in 2003, which encourages the filming and production in New Zealand of large-budget films, such as The Last Samurai

- Provided Film New Zealand with secure funding of $578,000 (excluding GST) a year for two years, to enable it to continue facilitating domestic and overseas film and television productions.

- Introduced a voluntary quota of New Zealand music content on commercial radio, which saw radio play of New Zealand content reach 20.3% in June 2005. When Labour was first elected in 1999, New Zealand music accounted for only 8.68 per cent of what was played on commercial radio.

- Established the Music Industry Commission to support the development of New Zealand music and the Music Industry Export Development Group (MIEDG) to help identify what was needed to take NZ music to the world.

- Provided additional funding of $5.4 million to support export growth in the New Zealand music industry. (Funding being distributed to the NZMIC and NZ on Air.)

- Labour remains committed to supporting the New Zealand arts sector and taking Kiwi talent to the world.



More Info: http://www.greens.org.nz/

After searching their website, the Green Party does not seem to have a policy that relates towards the arts and culture of NZ and they don't have anything that directly relates towards NZ music.



More Info: http://www.maoriparty.com/

Again, I couldn't find anything on the Maori Party website that had anything to do with arts and culture, or with NZ music - however, I did notice that they wanted to change the drinking age from 18 to 20, which effectively would make all the current R18 gigs R20 - meaning less people could see NZ music live.



Broadcasting Policy

More Info: http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/

PLANS
New Zealand First will:

- Combine Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand under one state-owned enterprise known as New Zealand Broadcasting (NZB), modelled on similar public broadcasting systems overseas, and with clear aims that include promoting our nation's unique qualities, and the coverage of significant national events;

- Run TV2 on a commercial basis to help fund TV One and Radio New Zealand, and return dividends to the taxpayer;

- Require TV One and Radio New Zealand to establish a common complementary administrative and logistical system;

- Require TV One and Radio New Zealand to establish a common complementary news service that enhances coverage;

- Ensure that all future appointments to the NZB board are made on the basis of experience, expertise, and appropriate representation from industry and consumers, and not political patronage;

- Broaden the scope of the Concert FM network to make it more accessible to a wider range of New Zealanders and to promote our nation's uniqueness by broadcasting a wide range of indigenous music as well as the best loved of the classics. It should cater for all age groups;

- Improve Radio New Zealand's international services;

- Continue to work with the industry and the public to achieve and maintain a voluntary quota system to increase the New Zealand content of radio and television broadcasting;

NZ First seem to be more interested in the elderly, rather than in the youth of today. They also want to raise the drinking age, and while they don't specifically have anything for NZ music, they do have policies that may help National Radio and Radio New Zealand.



More Info: http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/

Broadcasting

United Future will:

- Maintain Radio New Zealand in public ownership, notwithstanding changes to its structure or operation.

- Support Radio New Zealand’s transmission to the greater Pacific region.

- Ensure that the sound archives housed at Radio New Zealand are protected and digitally recorded.

- Ensure the Broadcasting Act recognises the importance of Community Access Radio

This is all I could find on the United Futures site that had anything to do with music, they also don't seem to have a policy for the youth.



More Info: http://www.act.org.nz/

ACT does not seem to have any policys for the youth of today or for the arts and music of New Zealand.



More Info: http://www.progressive.org.nz/

Arts, Culture and Heritage

New Zealanders have strong interest in the Arts that are produced here and the facts and figures of New Zealanders participating in ‘art experiences’ show the depth and breadth of our involvement and the impact the arts have on every day life.

New Zealand continues to produce world-class writers, painters, filmmakers, carvers, musicians, actors, poets, performing, dancing and kapahaka groups. Our relative physical isolation and ‘number 8 wire’ mentality has meant the development of a resilient and innovative people who work in all countries around the globe in the creative sector, sometimes even disguised as Australians!

The contribution of the Arts to the development of our culture and national identity has been recognised by the Labour-Progressive coalition Government and a significant boost to the funding of the arts introduced as a cultural recovery programme has significantly improved the possibilities for art practitioners here at home.

Integral to the Progressive Party’s social and economic policies and for Jim Anderton, as the Minister for Economic, Regional and industry Development, the creative sector has also the potential of providing sustainable employment and economic growth within an innovative environment both for local and export markets.

The creative industries have been identified as one of the three key sectors which can build a high-growth, added value economy for New Zealanders. Jim Anderton has co-chaired the taskforces for the Creative Sector including Design, Music and Screen Production.

The Progressive Party’s Arts policy continues to build on the advances for the Arts and Creative Sector that have taken place since the Labour-Progressive governments of 1999 and 2002.

Progressive Goals

- Re-affirm the government's commitment to support arts and culture that reflect New Zealanders interests and experiences and which enables a broadly supportive cultural environment to develop for artists.

- Support the growth of the Creative Sector as an innovative industry and as an increasingly important source of employment with a significant export potential.

- Explore ways of securing an income to accredited artists that enables them to develop their work with dignity and recognition.

Next Steps

- Support economic development initiatives within the arts that build jobs.

- Promote Modern Apprenticeship industry training in the arts and creative industries.

- Foster the development of the arts industry by instituting a binding quota system for local content in broadcasting similar to that which applies in Australia, with overall requirements for content and for specific genres.

- Explore ways of supporting the creative members of the community. Examples include, additional forms of basic minimum income entitlement, public and private art purchase funds as an integral element in meeting planning requirements for building and development, and the extension of intellectual property rights to cover a range of activities not currently included in legislation and rejuvenating historically significant places in the regions.

- Explore the desirability of passing 'status of the artist' legislation as has been adopted in Canada to secure a sound basis for recognising professional artists in legal, industrial, commercial, taxation, and other contexts.

The Labour-Progressive Achievements to date:

- Identified the creative industries as one of the three key sectors which can help develop New Zealand’s economy to a innovative, high growth future.

- Established creative industries taskforces to ensure government and the sector work together to develop its full potential and to ensure the creative industries play a key role in the production of other sectors within the country.

- Provided funding to establish the Music industry commission, to support the development of contemporary New Zealand music.

- Granted $2M to the New Zealand Music Industry Commission and $3.4M to NZ on Air to raise the profile and market New Zealand music to the domestic and international market and strengthen the New Zealand music industry.

Youth Policy

Progressive Goals

- Continue to promote and fund the music industry for young people.

- Explore the establishment of a free-to-air Youth Radio Network. It is important that young people not only have the opportunity to listen to the music of their choice, but also their own news, current affairs, comedy, drama and the views of their peers through talk-back.

- Continue to support and fund the Music Industry to promote, strengthen and market the Music Industry.

However, The Progressive Party also want to raise the drinking age to 20.



More Info: http://www.alliance.org.nz/

Arts and Culture Policy 2005

The low-down
* The market–driven competitive ethos that prevailed in New Zealand during the 1990s led to an arts world that was dependent on corporate sponsorship to survive.

* More funding is going to “the arts”, but much of it goes to the traditional art and performance sector and to arts organisations such as regional arts trusts. Little, if any, funding goes to people involved in community-based art, or those trying to demystify or broaden the reach of art to people in general.

* The funding system is bureaucratic and depends upon managerial committees awarding grants on the basis of what their members perceive as merit. This system rewards a small group of artists and writers again and again.

* We spend more on defence than the arts, despite cultural activities being a high priority activity for many New Zealanders.

The next steps
* Government funding of community-based theatre and arts, especially in isolated rural areas and working class urban areas to build community participation, cultural and political awareness through various forms of artistic expression.

* Ensure that state funding reaches as many artists as possible to enable them to publish or produce their works, either as individuals or groups, and to publicise them.

* Overhaul arts funding mechanisms so they are more democratic, simplified and community oriented.

* Set aside funding dedicated specifically to the cultural and political development of Maori art.

* Commit to public art in public spaces and the built environment, including funding for sculptures and murals.

* Fund musical, dance and other artistic performances so they can be provided free to audiences that could not otherwise attend, including school children.

Broadcasting Policy 2005

The low-down
* National Radio is ad-free and largely untainted by commercial influences, but there is no equivalent in television, despite massive public investment.

* Digital technology offers unprecedented programming choices, but it brings with it the danger of further increasing US influence on our society and massive profits for the global media corporations. We need to ensure that benefits arising from these developments are shared by all and do not compromise the uniqueness of our culture and society.

* When the Alliance was in Government (1999-2002), we increased funding of NZ on Air, including a one-off cash injection of $27 million to cover the shortfall created by the National Government when they abruptly abolished the broadcasting fee.

The next steps
* Public ownership: The Alliance believes it is essential that significant broadcasting organisations in both radio and television should remain in public ownership. Alliance policies in respect of overseas ownership apply to broadcasting.

* Public television: We support a fully funded public television channel free of both commercials and commercial influence.

* Free-to-air TV: The Alliance is fully committed to legislation which protects and restores live free-to-air broadcasting of significant national sporting events and series.

* Control of the airwaves: The airwaves and broadcasting spectrum are public property. The Government has an important role as custodian of these in the public interest.

* Broadcasting policy: We would shift responsibility for broadcasting policy to a Ministry of Cultural Affairs rather than Commerce, where it sits now. This would emphasise the critical role of broadcasting in our democracy.

* Local broadcasting content: We will legislate to establish minimum quotas for local content of 30% for television and for music radio. We will also explore the extension of the same requirement to pay TV.

* Funding: NZ on Air should be adequately funded to ensure more programming reflective of the diversity in our community (including different ethnnic and religious groups, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian and transgendered people, older people).

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A full list of all the parties can be found here: http://www.elections.org.nz/party-lists-election-05.html#gen0

RE: Which party offers the best policy for NZ music?
Posted: Sat Sep 3, 2005 7:34 pm

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Nice idea Shade, and good links.

I would view all "Arts & Culture" framework/ policy inside the larger Employment ,Industrial Relations bag.

This is because several Parties pro-offer the Ascendency of the "Market", which if you view "Arts and Culture" as a Community Service, then anything they offer/endorse clearly needs to be approached with caution.

Specifics or Pertinent issues to Musicians I would see as;

National's pledge to re-nationalize ACC
90 Day No rights in Workplace
Stripping of Trade Union Rights
Dismantaling of Collective Bargaining and Multi-Employer Agreements.

The Economic "Reality" of the lot of the vast majority of NZ Musicians is that they also will work primarily in an unrelated field.
How many are students, or paying back Loan? Which Party offers the best line there?

If we highlight this quote,
"Strong, Vibrant Economy enables the Arts to flourish"
this is only relevant to the economic ramifications of the greater community (or at least the concert goer/record buyer).
Adverse conditions or Disenchantment may actually improve the standard of Material being written and performed. Clearly the Blues and Slavery are an indicator of this, as quite possibly "Gangsta Rap" and the Abyss Urban America has become.
Its also hard to imagine Bob Dylan having much of a career either...

No doubt most of you will think heres this OTT Old Fart pontificating again, but i do urge you all too enroll to vote, and diligently consider your voting options.

There is no such thing as a "Single Issue", so delve in and see not only what Policy outlines impress you, but what Policy you could work with too improve/ sustain.

Then we might actually approach some minor sort of Democrocey...

RE: Which party offers the best policy for NZ music?
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:34 pm

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These days there does seem to be a difference (albeit neglible on occasions) between Policies and Pledges.

I just think that NZ music has forged ahead in leaps and bounds under Labour ...and long may Labour's reign continue.

RE: Which party offers the best policy for NZ music?
Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:47 pm

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