Arts Council needs $15M to develop

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 19

Arts Council needs $15M to develop

The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand needs an annual budget of $l5 million to put its plan for comprehensive cultural development into effect. In “Arts 85,” a half-year report for 1985-86 released in Wellington on December 4, the Arts Council chairman, Sir Michael Fowler, said the council was discussing with the Government how these funds (costed in 1985 dollar

values) would be made available over the next two years. Sir Michael said a cultural development plan had been prepared for 198588 and the Arts Council had reached accord with the Minister for the Arts, Mr Tapsell, on the principal goals. These were to secure the arts as a national resource; to achieve structural reform in public cultural administration; to improve the con-

tribution the arts make to i New Zealand’s social and economic development. ; In the first year (1985-86) j the Government had in- ; creased the Arts Council’s i grant from $3,238 million to i $6,238 million. This, together with a grant of $3.5 million from the New Zealand Lot- i tery Board, had given the i Arts Council a total budget ; of $9,738 million. I Sir Michael said the Arts < Council had analysed in de- i

tail the cost of putting the full cultural development plan into effect and achieving the goals. It had looked ahead to the possibility that it may be asked to take over new responsibilities. When all these factors were put together, Sir Michael said, it was clear that the Arts Council needed a substantial increase in funds to move into the second stage of its development plan. '