A stronger arts ecosystem creates jobs, income and wellbeing that reduces inequity, builds healthier, inclusive communities and defines our national identity both locally and globally. 

Opportunity knows that arts and creativity is at the heart of a future-fit, innovative Aotearoa.

We haven’t ring-fenced arts and culture into its own policy silo because we don't think creativity is a niche interest, it's what happens when we all have social and economic security.

The barriers for artists aren't really about a lack of arts funding, they're about the same things every freelancer and portfolio worker faces: income that's unpredictable month to month, a tax system skewed to salaried employment, and an educational & vocational mindset that still treats arts as an added extra instead of a vital part of the economy.

So instead of just vague promises of growth and investment, we've put artists' actual economic reality into the core of our policies. 

Our Citizen’s Income means you can take the commission, write the play, finish the album, without it being a financial gamble on survival. Our tax reforms acknowledge irregular, multi-source, project-based income because that's how most artists actually get paid. Our AI framework proposal allows for technology to assist, not exploit, creatives. Our tertiary reform recognises creativity as innovation with the funding and status to match, and introducing initiatives like Impact Companies gives creative businesses more flexibility to operate outside of purely commercial imperatives. We have also stated that we will repeal the charitable giving tax credit cap.

None of that shows up as a line item called 'Arts.' It shows up as the difference between a sector that survives on precarity and one that can actually access the resources to thrive.

Artists and arts organisations are dealing with the result of two decades of underinvestment by governments from both sides of the house. We currently sit in the bottom ten OECD countries for public arts investment. Correcting that will take long-term, generational commitment, not a short-term funding announcement designed for a good headline.

Politics in Aotearoa can be done better, and we want to build bi-partisan unity to tackle sector issues with determination and purpose, as well as robust, well-informed and independent bodies that are equipped to deliver a long-term sustainable creative sector. This systemic approach means that the arts sector isn't relying on a single, vulnerable budget line - it benefits from the same, bold structural changes we envision for the whole country.

We want a country designed so that art can happen everywhere. A sector that is an intrinsic part of decision-making, not an optional extra. And a future where people aren’t forced into a choice between their vocation or survival. 

Policies in summary

Tax Reset

• Citizen’s Income would be a game-changer for people in the arts and creative industries, providing a safety net for those who have infrequent or unreliable incomes.


Breakthrough Economy

• Impact Companies (effectively a commercial/charity hybrid model) encourages investment in businesses that have an explicit social and/or environmental purpose. This would be a useful mechanism for creative businesses.

• Repeal the $100,000 cap on charitable donations, recognising the value this sector - many of whom are in the creative sector - delivers for our economy. 

• Transitioning regional polytechs into innovation/accelerator hubs.

• Increase financial capability services for small businesses plus review ACC levies for those engaged in multiple work activities.

Honouring Te Tiriti

• Greater Māori agency and backing rangatiratanga in practice. That means ensuring Māori artists and arts organisations have full access to innovation, investment, commercialisation and export opportunities, as well as shifting responsibility closer to communities.

Digital Future

• Robust AI framework that protects intellectual property. Opportunity is the only party to publicly support CISAC's Paris Commitment, the global call for action to prevent AI exploitation of creatives.

Healthy People

• Using the latest evidence to inform prevention-focused public health policy, which includes positive outcomes from arts-based interventions.

Future-Fit Education

• Formation of an Independent Curriculum and Assessment Council to set the curriculum and assessment frameworks across Years 0-13.

Photo © Christian Tjandrawinata