Arts organisations have welcomed the news of targeted funding for the sector. Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced the Government will be bringing forwards $37.5 million from the COVID Recovery Programme to support the creative sector, including $5m to the Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund for organisations and individuals in need of urgent relief.
Arts, entertainment and culture are incredibly important parts of a society and a community and they definitely should be protected. This latest announcement has some from the hospitality industry scratching their heads, however, with no further targeted support for small businesses announced for a sector so close to the arts, and in fact, a huge supporting element of the arts and entertainment industry.
Those on the front line of the food and beverage industry have pointed out that while the arts sector employs roughly 92,000 people across the country, there are about 133,000 hospitality employees - not including others that depend on the industry such as producers and suppliers.
Kiwi hospitality businesses are being asked to drink from the same pool of funding, despite their size or circumstance, even though SMEs make up most of New Zealand’s economy.
Why isn’t the government looking at a more targeted response? Making sure that instead of a one-size-fits-all criteria, both large and small business get the help they individually need.
Many have taken to social media to vent their frustration:
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