‘Basics first’ bill for councils puts arts funding in the firing line
Tuesday, 2 December 2025
The minister in charge of a bill working its way through Parliament that seeks to refocus councils on core services, says its passing will mean local government should only fund arts and cultural activities when they’re satisfied the basics “have been or will be taken care of”.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts’ Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, seeks to refocus councils on services such as roading, core infrastructure, water and rubbish.
But one Wellington City councillor says there’s still uncertainty around how councils should interpret the new settings in practice.
“Saying we can fund arts and cultural activity once the basics are taken care of sounds reasonable, but different councils will read that very differently, especially those under real financial pressure,” said Diane Calvert.
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The bill will remove four wellbeing provisions ‒ social, economic, environmental and cultural ‒ which were reintroduced into the Local Government Act by Labour in 2019.
Wellington City Council presently funds a wide range of arts and cultural activity, from helping to pay arts workers the living wage to supporting creative infrastructure and community events like CubaDupa and the Newtown Festival.
Watts said if the amendment bill passed, it would not prohibit local authorities from funding arts and cultural activities.
“It preserves the enduring purpose of local government, to enable democratic local decision-making, as well as the power of general competence, which grants local authorities full rights to undertake any activity for the purposes of performing its role, for the benefit of its district or region,” he said.
However, he said, it would mean councils should only fund cultural activities when they’re satisfied the basics “have been or will be taken care of”.
Watts said the Ministry for Culture and Heritage provided the Government with advice on the social and economic benefits of council community grant funding for arts and cultural activities, during a consultation period.
He added: “Officials consider that, based on previous experience, changes to the purpose of local government are unlikely to result in significant changes to council activities or service levels.”
Research shows that cultural activities significantly contribute to community wellbeing, and help foster social cohesion and a sense of belonging.
When asked how the Government would measure success from a community perspective if councils reduced cultural investment as a result of the legislative shift, Watts said the Government was establishing a new performance measurement framework for local government that was similar to one used in New South Wales.
Under the new framework, the Department of Internal Affairs will routinely publish council performance information on its website.
Calvert said nobody was disputing the need for financial discipline, but for a city like Wellington, arts and culture were “not simply add-ons”.
“They help drive activity in the city, support jobs and keep people coming into town. That has economic value, and it also supports the identity and wellbeing of our community,” she said.
“Performance information is helpful, but numbers alone cannot capture what communities care about. People value their heritage, their venues and the creative life of their city, even when those things are not profit-making.”
Councils needed more clarity and confidence to make decisions that genuinely reflected the priorities of their communities, she added.
If the Government saw benefits in creativity at a national level, it made sense for councils to be able to recognise those benefits locally as well, Calvert said.
“With the scale of reform under way, further clarity from Government is justified so councils understand the intended approach and can plan responsibly to give certainty to their respective communities.”
Having passed through select committee, the bill now heads to its second reading in Parliament, where the House will debate and vote on it, plus any changes suggested by the committee.