This is the second piece in our pre-election series, Arts Policy Briefing. ACT, Labour, National, the Green Party, and Opportunity Party have each responded to 15 questions covering funding for the arts, 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. We hope the series allows for well-informed voting that takes the arts into account.

Today, Labour's Spokesperson for Arts, Culture and Heritage since 2023, Rachel Boyack tells us her party’s plans to stop cuts to the public service planned by National, protect artists’ copyright in the age of AI, and continue, but update, the Amplify strategy.

Boyack was born in Timaru, grew up in Palmerston North, and lives in Nelson. She was raised by her mother, a church organist, and was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Auckland. Boyack has been a member of the Labour Party since 2005, and entered parliament in 2020 when she won the Nelson seat. She is also Labour's Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, Oceans and Fisheries, and chaired Parliament's governance and administration select committee. Before parliament, she worked at FIRST Union and has served on the boards the Nelson Environment Centre and the Nelson Women's and Children's Refuge.

Here’s how Boyack puts her party’s policies in relation to the arts and our questions:

What is your party’s vision for the arts?

Labour believes every New Zealander should be able to access and participate in the arts.

The arts help us tell our stories, strengthen wellbeing and connection, and create opportunities through education and good jobs. Building creativity amongst our young people develops confidence, imagination, and skills for the future.

Government should support equitable access to the arts, particularly for regional communities, Māori, Pacific, ethnic communities, and disabled people, while investing in a thriving, inclusive creative sector.

Does your party have an arts policy?

Yes.

If so, what are the main pillars and desired outcomes?

Supporting New Zealand artists alongside international acts

Labour will require visiting international artists to include at least one New Zealand-based support act at every concert they perform in New Zealand. This will give local artists valuable exposure to larger audiences, create paid performance and licensing opportunities, and help talented New Zealanders build sustainable careers. International tours should leave a stronger local legacy by showcasing our own musicians and growing the live music sector.

Protecting artists’ copyright in the age of AI

Labour’s AI policy will protect artists and other creators by developing a copyright framework for the use of creative work by AI systems. The framework will give creators control over whether and how their work is used, including to train AI, and ensure they are recognised and fairly paid when it is used. Labour will work with creators, iwi, experts, and industry to get the details right, so innovation does not come at the expense of artists’ rights or livelihoods.

Protecting public funding for arts and culture

We can’t afford three more years of more cuts and more chaos. After cuts across Vote Arts, Culture and Heritage, Labour will take a different approach: investing responsibly in the institutions, people and expertise that sustain New Zealand’s creative sector and make the arts accessible across the country. This will protect the public funding that organisations such as Creative New Zealand, the Department of Internal Affairs, the National Library and Archives New Zealand rely on.

Recognising the wellbeing value of arts and creativity

Labour will update the Government’s Amplify creative and cultural strategy to include a dedicated section on wellbeing. This will recognise that the arts do more than contribute to jobs, exports, and economic growth: they help us tell our stories, express who we are, strengthen mental and physical wellbeing, connection, identity, and support resilient communities. The wellbeing section will include a clear commitment to equitable access to the arts, including for people living in regional areas, Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities, and disabled people. The updated strategy will set clear wellbeing and equity outcomes and ensure these wider public benefits are considered in government investment, partnerships, and measures of success.

Is there one arts-related policy your party will commit to implementing in its first year of government?

Yes. If elected, Labour will stop National’s future planned public-sector cuts. This will protect the public funding that organisations such as Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Te Matatini, Te Papa, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet rely on.

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?

The Labour Party will first act to protect the funding that Creative New Zealand and other government funded arts organisations rely on. We are happy to consider increasing support for Creative New Zealand after this when in government.

Would your party repeal the $100,000 donation tax credit cap, which is likely to affect philanthropic funding?

The Labour Party will monitor any impacts of the donation tax credit cap when in government.

What commitments would your party make to supporting toi Māori?

The Labour Party is deeply committed to supporting toi Māori, which is why we will update the Government’s Amplify creative and cultural strategy to include a dedicated section on wellbeing with a clear commitment to equitable access to the arts for Māori.

What commitments would your party make to supporting marginalised and under-represented communities to participate in art and art-making?

The Labour Party will stop National’s cuts and invest responsibly in the institutions, people and expertise that sustain New Zealand’s creative sector and make the arts accessible across the country, as well as update the Government’s Amplify creative and cultural strategy to include a clear commitment to equitable access to the arts, including for people living in regional areas, Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities, and disabled people.

How would your party address the concentration of arts funding, infrastructure and opportunities in Auckland and other major centres?

The Labour Party is committed to ensuring that access to the arts is equitable across New Zealand, including for those living in rural areas. Labour is supportive of the changes at Creative New Zealand to give regional entities a decision-making role in allocating regional funding. Labour will ensure this change is equitable and that smaller regions are well supported and receive their fair share of Creative New Zealand funding.

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.

If in government, would your party continue the Amplify strategy? Would any changes be made to it? Why?

Labour will update the Government’s Amplify creative and cultural strategy to include a dedicated section on wellbeing. This will recognise that the arts do more than contribute to jobs, exports, and economic growth: they help us tell our stories, express who we are, and strengthen mental and physical wellbeing, connection, identity, and support resilient communities. The wellbeing section will include a clear commitment to equitable access to the arts, including for people living in regional areas, Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities, and disabled people. The updated strategy will set clear wellbeing and equity outcomes and ensure these wider public benefits are considered in government investment, partnerships, and measures of success.

If in government, would your party ensure arts education in schools by protecting creative and arts subjects, such as art history, are a part of our national curriculum?

The Labour Party believes that the school curriculum has been a political football for far too long. This has led to subjects, such as the arts, not receiving adequate support. Labour believes all New Zealand children should have access to creative education.

That is why the Labour Party will establish the Independent Council for Curriculum and Assessment (ICCA), to put the design of the New Zealand curriculum into the hands of experts.

If in government, would 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?

The Labour Party agreed to support the government’s rates cap proposal to select committee so that we can examine in detail what the impact of such a cap would be. This would include examining what impact this would have on local funding for the arts.

What is an arts policy your party does not support, or a trade-off you believe the sector needs to confront?

We’ve opposed the National Party’s callous cuts to the public sector, which have undermined funding for the arts. We are also concerned that the Government has prioritised funding for international touring artists instead of investing in local music venues and artists.

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?

The Labour Party has committed to removing the “gateway test” brought in by this government, which removes the ability for some workers classified as contractors to challenge their status, and to reversing the government’s changes to health and safety in order to improve working conditions for everyone who works in New Zealand.

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?

The Labour Party recognises that the sector is tired of dealing with a new set of circumstances every time there is a change of government. We are committed, wherever possible, to work with anyone to ensure long-term sustainability and growth of the arts sector.