culture, arts & heritage

The Confusion of "Free" Trade
The success of Fisher and Paykel getting punitive tariffs imposed on whiteware imports from Korea highlights the arbitrariness of so-called "free" trade. All power to F&P for having government take retaliatory action against the dumped goods, no doubt their continuance would have eventually undermined the viability of the local...
21 March 2001 - Gareth Morgan

Market forces and media manipulation
Two current instances of political manipulation of State-owned media in New Zealand illustrate why in a grown-up society media is an area that politicians should leave well alone. The excruciating column metres of fish and chip paper devoted to the demise of the Brian Edwards' Saturday breakfast show demonstrates well how the absence of a...
19 January 2000 - Gareth Morgan

Quota Quakers
The lobbying machinations New Zealand music and film makers undertake in their quest for greater subsidy is pathetic. The recent warmed-up stew of compulsory quotas for their particular product on broadcasting radio and television channels is a case in point. And Labour's art policy document confirms it will be only too happy to compel consumers...
1 September 1999 - Gareth Morgan

Media choice, advertising trends and cultural subsidies
One impact of the proliferation of alternate electronic media to broadcasting is that advertising revenue per outlet is falling. That's income, so inevitably is leading to rationalisation of the supply of stations and the prices they charge (advertising minutes per hour). Logically this process will lead to greater marginalisation of public...
14 July 1999 - Gareth Morgan

There is no case for State Radio
The spectre of Kim Hill and comrades telling the Board of Radio New Zealand that they've little confidence in them has to be the epitome of the circus that RNZ has become. Since when is a Board answerable to staff? Strange sort of organisation this - the taxpayer funds it to deliver product to the public, but the staff sees themselves as the...
24 June 1999 - Gareth Morgan

Towards rationalism in the Arts
One thing the protagonists of State funding of broadcasting, arts and culture have in common with those of us who see it as a gravy train is that we all envisage a vibrant and contributing sector. The common ground ends there and the differences are defined by what it takes to achieve it. It is important that apologists for State funding - and most of...
26 May 1999 - Gareth Morgan

Funding the life of Brian
When you're a director of a public company and an issue arises where your personal interests might conflict with the interests of the shareholders you represent, you declare your interest and excuse yourself from the discussion. This is both ethical and a requirement of the Companies Act. Apparently no such standard constrains taxpayer-funded...
19 May 1999 - Gareth Morgan

Size does matter
Over the past 20 years New Zealanders' relative standard of living has wilted, reflecting slow economic growth and a steady erosion in the value of the NZ dollar. We have tried various economic cures to arrest the slide, but to no obvious avail. Are we destined as a small nation a long way from any sizeable economic bloc to slowly wither,...
25 November 1998 - Andrew Gawith

Unleashing Competition
Like rust it eats away those margins. Just think of those poor oil companies that struggled to make a buck when prices were 90 odd cents a litre until they were competitively Challenged. Another new entrant to this market will begin business late this year. Competition has helped crunch retail prices. This is great for inflation and delivers...
18 November 1998 - Andrew Gawith

Claiming our culture back from the State
This is the third and last column I'm writing on the public funding of arts and culture. Not since I suggested in the late 1980's to the real estate industry that prices don't necessarily always go up, have I observed such a vomit of vitriol from the vested interests whose privilege one has probed. Even Grey Power agitation over evidence of...
7 September 1998 - Gareth Morgan

The Arts Flourish, State Funded or Not
Hamish Keith has joined what has become a fairly long line of apologists for taxpayer subsidy of the arts. He runs two arguments. Firstly because of the size of the arts industry (number of jobs and contribution to GDP) it is worth state sector support. Secondly, the public good content justifies subsidy. An economics lesson for Mr Keith. In...
25 August 1998 - Gareth Morgan

The Art and Craft of Bludging
Predictably, the suggestion that a portion of the artistic community were on the bludge with their claim for the community wage, has elicited a shrill response from some. As befits a sector interest confronted with lessening of protection, its case for ongoing subsidy is lean on logic, bountiful on bluster, and parsimonious. Artistic...
25 July 1998 - Gareth Morgan

The Australian Invasion
New Zealand businesses were relatively quick to take advantage of what CER offered in the way of a much larger domestic market. Australian firms on the other hand remained relatively unimpressed with the additional sales on offer in New Zealand. The drive by businesses to mesh the Australian and New Zealand markets together is intensifying as more Australian companies include New Zealand ...
17 March 1998 - Gareth Morgan