“When you feel passionate about something, and Jools and I were passionate about the arts for, you know, for so long, I think it’s time that we stood up and said, you know, to the Government, ‘you have to acknowledge that the arts is something that you need to invest in’.”
She said the creative sector contributes around 4.2% of the GDP but the Government invested about 0.1% into the arts.
Like most agencies in Budget 2026, the Ministry for Culture, Arts and Heritage had its baseline funding cut by 2%, with savings of $27 million over four years.
Dame Lynda Topp says she and Dame Jools Topp were passionate about the arts industry throughout the decades. Photo / Alyse Wright
“Look at the artists that have made impacts in this country and globally,” Lynda said.
“So, yes, it’s time to stand up and say to the Government, you need to be really clear on what you’re doing here because you are not helping the arts, you are hindering them.”
While that still meant $1.48 billion over four years for the industry, Dame Lynda said once sport, heritage and recreation took their cut, music and arts weren’t left with much.
“That’s what governments do, they go broadly, this is how much money we’re putting into things.
“But when you strip it back, music gets absolutely a tiny, tiny bit of that.”
She said young artists in particular need backing.
“Sometimes it only takes one small grant to let that artist rise up and then what happens is, and what’s happened over the years, is those artists become big enough to look after themselves.”
She acknowledged times were tough and many in the country were struggling to put kai on the table, including young artists.
“And if you are a young artist trying to get ahead in the world, how much is it costing them to survive?”
Lynda again said it was unfair arts funding got cut while the defence budget was boosted. She said services such as search and rescue and disaster relief were a good use of that budget, but it needed to be used for these causes and not war.
“Who is our enemy, that we would even consider buying, you know, weapons?”
Last week, Goldsmith responded to Lynda’s comments at the awards by saying it was the “same old cliche” of Government criticism at the annual event.
Goldsmith told RNZ he had no interest in “getting into a fight” with Lynda, but rejected suggestions the coalition did not value the arts community.
– RNZ