Should pointless sports/arts/music be supported by Govt?

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Forums › Politics › Should pointless sports/arts/music be supported by Govt?

Eitsop

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#304003 27-Mar-2023 19:50

Should the government support

high performance sports like high jump, cycling, shot-put

arts/music like Symphony orchestra?

If the person can fund their own sports all fine, just not sure we should be paying for this.. what do we get back? few placings in Olympics? still can't see any material benefit?

The recent suicide and drug use, doesn't really add any compelling reason to support this? even if we don't have much drug use.. other participants probably do.. so what is the point of competing?

I definitely don't mind any one wanting to follow their sporting interests, and getting any commercial or fundraisers.. just not govt support?

johno1234

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#3055481 27-Mar-2023 19:55

Mainstream stuff as you mention I can understand. However arts funding to some fringe stuff really jumps the shark.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3055495 27-Mar-2023 20:26

It varies, but note that we are far from alone in doing this.

Sports is generally sponsored on the grounds that it raises awareness and interest in community sport too, which has flow-on health & community benefits. Same reason councils own parks and club grounds. Whether this funding is equitable or sensible is another matter; the funding given to men's rugby is often called out as excessive especially given the under-funding of the women's teams and the injury rate for community sport.

Arts is largely because otherwise we would likely simply be importing US content wholesale. Funding for local musicians/film/whatever means that local cultures exist on screen too, not just on the streets, and theoretically turns back around to more international attention for the country, driving tourism and investment - think Lorde etc.

farcus

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#3055501 27-Mar-2023 20:37

your title asks . . .
"Should pointless sports be supported by Govt?"

By "pointless" I am assuming you mean sports like Rugby?
In that case I would agree. The government should not be providing the multiple millions of dollars they give to rugby each year.

MikeB4

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#3055554 27-Mar-2023 20:51

Who judges what is pointless?

If the corporate sports like Team NZ and All Blacks get government funding then so should other sports and cultural activity.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

sir1963

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#3055777 28-Mar-2023 12:49

johno1234:

Mainstream stuff as you mention I can understand. However arts funding to some fringe stuff really jumps the shark.

Go back far enough and that "fringe stuff" was called rock and roll.

GV27

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#3058448 3-Apr-2023 14:43

MikeB4: Who judges what is pointless?

If the corporate sports like Team NZ and All Blacks get government funding then so should other sports and cultural activity.

This has to cut both ways. There's frequently cries for the America's Cup team to stand on its own two feet.

There is, comparatively, deafening silence when it comes to public funding of the Arts. It is simply never put up as a discussion topic in the same way sports is; i.e. being something we should consider optional.

I love sports and take in bugger all arts, but the world would be a tedious place if it were run to my personal tastes only, and on occasion I like to support friends who are involved in this kind of thing so I like showing my appreciation for them and go along and be part of an audience for something I wouldn't normally be exposed to. Every now and then I go away with a renewed appreciation for something, sometimes I go away totally bemused.

(The academic argument is that both (indeed, all things) are valid forms of cultural expression and attempting to elevate one above the other is to miss the value that they bring - someone cares enough to do it, play it or create it, therefore it exists for a reason and is worth studying. Therefore pitting arts vs. sports as some sort of ideological battle is to miss the point of why either one exists and that it is not at the expense of the other).

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SomeoneSomewhere

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#3058544 3-Apr-2023 17:06

Part of that argument stems from how much of that money ends up in the actual local community IMHO. If you give people a bunch of money to make music videos, fund things like Wellington Paranormal or local plays, the money all gets spent locally.

Funding things like the America's cup, international rugby, or LOTR/Hobbit productions doesn't trickle down in quite the same way. The folks involved are mostly rather rich already so you're offsetting spending, a good chunk of the money is spent overseas, and they usually want all kinds of dodgy rewards like tax breaks, law changes on union busting, and the like.

Daynger

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#3058564 3-Apr-2023 18:15

SomeoneSomewhere: Part of that argument stems from how much of that money ends up in the actual local community IMHO. If you give people a bunch of money to make music videos, fund things like Wellington Paranormal or local plays, the money all gets spent locally.

Funding things like the America's cup, international rugby, or LOTR/Hobbit productions doesn't trickle down in quite the same way. The folks involved are mostly rather rich already so you're offsetting spending, a good chunk of the money is spent overseas, and they usually want all kinds of dodgy rewards like tax breaks, law changes on union busting, and the like.

Locally spending the money is great, but a big chunk of our tourism also is fed from our international standing and exposure helped by the large things you have listed.

Many overseas people know NZ for the all blacks, hobbits and sailing, i do believe they take that into account when dishing out the money too.

Is it all to my taste, no, i prefer motorsport, but successful kiwis in motorsport get nothing from the govt.