Earlier this month, I sent a series of 15 questions to political parties with a good chance of entering or re-entering parliament following the election on 7 November. The questions cover baseline funding, council rates caps, the donation tax credit cap, copyright and AI, the Amplify strategy, employment protections for freelancers and contractors, sustainability in the arts, and more. In the weeks leading up to the election, we will publish each of the parties’ responses as a series: Arts Policy Briefing. This is the first.
Though ACT hasn’t been present at the two arts-focused election debates The Big Idea has covered so far, Todd Stephenson, current list MP and ACT’s spokesperson for arts, culture, and heritage, was the first to get back to us. Stephenson was born in Lumsden, raised in rural Southland, and now lives in Queenstown. He has been a member of ACT for nearly 30 years. Before entering politics, he had a career in the pharmaceutical industry. He is also ACT’s spokesperson for corrections, finance, health, justice, police, the public service, and tourism, and also the party whip.
In April 2024, Newsroom published an interview between Steve Braunias and Stephenson which became infamous, in part because Stephenson struggled to name a single New Zealand Author, and the most recent art he had experienced was a musical in New York. A through-line runs through that interview and today’s Arts Policy Briefing – Stephenson and his party would like to see the arts supported more by individuals than government funding. Today he says ACT's priority is getting government spending “under control” and returning the books to surplus
Here’s how Stephenson puts his party’s policies in relation to the arts and our questions:
The Big Idea: What is your party’s vision for the arts?
Todd Stephenson: ACT wants New Zealand to be a country where creative people can succeed and more New Zealanders have the opportunity to enjoy and invest in the arts. Our focus this election is on unlocking New Zealand's potential and tackling the cost of living by growing the economy, reducing unnecessary regulation and allowing New Zealanders to keep more of what they earn.
Does your party have an arts policy?
ACT does not have a standalone arts policy. Our focus is on growing the economy and creating more opportunities for New Zealanders across every sector, including the arts.
Is there one arts-related policy your party will commit to implementing in its first year of government?
ACT's priority would be to remove the $100,000 cap on charitable donations eligible for tax credits. This would encourage New Zealanders who want to make significant donations to charitable causes, including arts organisations, and help those organisations attract more private funding.
If in government, will your party allocate more funding to the arts? Would it increase baseline funding to Creative New Zealand? If so, how will this be paid for?
ACT is not committing to increasing baseline funding for Creative New Zealand or providing additional taxpayer funding for the arts.
New Zealand is facing significant fiscal challenges, and our priority is to get government spending under control and return the books to surplus. Existing arts funding needs to be spent effectively and deliver value for taxpayers.
We believe the arts sector can also benefit from greater private investment and philanthropy, which is why we want to remove the cap on charitable donation tax credits.
Will your party repeal the $100,000 donation tax credit cap, which is likely to affect philanthropic funding?
Yes. ACT has already committed to removing the cap.
Arts organisations are among those that stand to benefit from greater philanthropy. We should be encouraging successful New Zealanders to support the causes and organisations they believe in.
What commitments would your party make to supporting toi Māori?
ACT is making no commitments to new funding.
What commitments would your party make to supporting marginalised and under-represented communities to participate in art and art-making?
ACT wants New Zealand to move forward with one law for all and one future together. This means ensuring that every decision, including arts funding, is made on the basis of merits, not a person’s race or sex.
How would your party address the concentration of arts funding, infrastructure and opportunities in Auckland and other major centres?
Larger cities naturally attract more investment in the arts because they have bigger populations and audiences.
ACT wants to see greater investment and economic growth throughout regional New Zealand. Reducing red tape for businesses and community organisations to operate and improving infrastructure will help create more opportunities outside our major centres.
What will your party do to protect copyright holders against AI? Thousands of NZ songs have already been found in AI training databases, and NZ books have been found to be used in training LLMs.
ACT supports clarifying New Zealand's copyright laws to address the growing use of artificial intelligence.
If in government, would your party continue the Amplify strategy? Would any changes be made to it? Why?
ACT supports the objectives of Amplify in its goal to reduce regulatory barriers and encourage private investment. We would support those parts of the strategy that do not require increases in taxpayer funding.
If in government, will your party ensure arts education in schools by protecting creative and arts subjects, such as art history, are a part of our national curriculum?
ACT believes New Zealand needs a knowledge-rich curriculum that gives young people a strong foundation for success in life. ACT's priority is ensuring every student leaves school with strong foundations in literacy and numeracy.
If in government, will your party support rates caps on local councils? How would this be managed against the funding the councils provide to the arts and cultural facilities?
Yes. ACT supports the Government's proposed rates cap as part of this government.
ACT believes that councils should be focused on core services such as roads and pipes instead of spending large sums of ratepayers money on arts projects.
What is an arts policy your party does not support, or a trade-off you believe the sector needs to confront?
ACT does not support large increases in taxpayer funding for the arts when New Zealand is already facing serious fiscal challenges.
The Government has accumulated close to $200 billion in net core Crown debt. Every dollar spent needs to be justified, and the arts sector cannot be exempt from the difficult decisions required to get government spending under control.
Many artists and art workers are freelancers or contractors. Will you reform employment protections to improve pay, security and working conditions for these kinds of workers? Will you support artists in other ways financially?
ACT believes employment law should allow for flexible working arrangements, particularly in industries such as the arts where freelance and contract work is common.
Many artists do short term work, and flexible employment arrangements allow them to negotiate arrangements that suit them. Imposing overly restrictive employment rules will simply make it more risky and expensive to engage freelancers, reducing opportunities for emerging artists to establish themselves.
Arts careers and organisations operate on long-term timelines, while governments can change every three years. What would your party do to create stability for the sector?
ACT believes long-term stability in the arts, as in every other sector, depends on a strong economy and responsible government finances.
New Zealand cannot continue borrowing billions of dollars every year without consequences. If we fail to address our growing debt, future generations will face higher taxes and governments will have less money available for public services and other priorities.
More Art Policy Briefings are on the way. In the coming weeks expect to have the same questions answered by National, Labour, Opportunity, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori.
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