Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown spares Diwali, Lantern Festival and Pasifika from budget cuts, question marks still hang over other events

Diwali is one of three major events spared spending cuts by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo / David Watson

Large cultural events including Diwali, Lantern Festival and Pasifika are being spared cuts in Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed budget, but a question mark hangs over other council-funded events.

Brown has today indicated that funding cuts are “highly unlikely” for arts and cultural events most highly valued by Aucklanders.

A mayoral letter of expectation to the council’s cultural, events and economic development arm, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), to be sent this week, specifically requires the organisation to continue to support Pasifika, Diwali, and the Auckland Lantern Festival.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo / Michael Craig

Faced with an unprecedented $295 million hole to patch in next year’s budget, Brown has proposed cutting Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s budget by $27.5m, leading to the prospect of across-the-board cuts to events and other activities.

The cuts will probably affect the zoo, cultural venues like the Aotea Centre and the Civic, the Auckland Art Gallery, sports stadiums, council-sponsored events and economic development activity.

Smaller events run and funded by the council, which has to find $60m in savings, are also likely to be impacted as part of the budget.

The letter to Tātaki Auckland Unlimited says events like Diwali, Lantern Festival and Pasifika “have helped make Auckland the vibrant region that it is”.

The Pasifika Festival has been spared from funding cuts. Photo / Gareth Cooke

“There is no doubt that each of these festivals will continue to be supported by Auckland Council Group in the next financial year, despite the current economic storm,” the letter said.

Brown expects Aucklanders to have their say and make clear during the consultation what events the council and private-sector backers should continue to support.

“By necessity, the mayoral (budget) proposal included savings that can be found quickly. These proposed savings require some tough decisions, and we will listen to what Aucklanders say matters most to them through public consultation on the draft annual budget in March 2023,” said Brown, saying it is too soon to comment on the future of other local events.

The mayoral proposal, passed by the governing body last week, is the first step in developing the budget, which includes public consultation, before being finalised and coming into effect on July 1 next year.