19 February 2002 - 0 Comments

Struggling musicians can now legitimately collect an unemployment benefit while furthering their music careers, under new rules set by WINZ (Work and Income New Zealand).
Artists who can show they are taking tangible steps to develop a career, and working on a specific project approved by the department, can collect the benefit without being forced to take other work.

The scheme, which has already been trialed in central Auckland with 200 people, requires recipients to sign a job seekers' agreement and prove they are determined to gain work in their chosen artistic field, says Employment and Social Services Minister Steve Maharey. "Anyone who thinks 'Oh, good. I'll turn up and say I want to be a singer' will need to have a project that they can demonstrate will move them towards employability in the normal way."

Associate Arts Minister Judith Tizard said PACE is about giving artists the same opportunities as other groups of young workers. "This is real work for real working New Zealanders. The creative sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors worldwide.
"In the meantime we know that around 50,000 New Zealanders are employed in cultural occupations - not including the 70,000-odd non-cultural workers such as accountants and drivers who benefit from job creation in the cultural industries.
"We also know that cultural industries, a subset of the whole sector being surveyed by NZIER (NZ Institute of Economic Research), contribute 2.8% to our GDP. Tourism, by way of contrast, contributes 4.9% of GDP.”

Employment Minister Steve Maharey has confirmed that 4919 people now give their occupation as 'arts/culture', following the new rules that came into effect nationwide in November. As is usual with all new WINZ programmes, PACE will be evaluated in three months, and again at six months. Stable employment outcomes will be an important factor considered in the evaluation.

Thanks to www.nzmusic.org.nz for this story.

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