The Auckland mayor insisted in a speech he was not threatening to cut arts funding, but bristled when asked to elaborate. 

Wayne Brown was at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki last night, where he gave a speech to open the gallery’s latest exhibition. In the course of his address he insisted that the idea he was looking to cut arts funding was a “false perception” and “not true”.

After the speech Sam Brooks, who writes about arts and culture for The Spinoff, approached the mayor seeking elaboration. Brooks introduced himself as a writer from The Spinoff, before asking about the potential cuts to council arts funding in the latest proposed budget.

The mayor was in no mood to discuss it, however. “Put it in a submission,” Brown responded, referring to the budget consultation process, which has attracted criticism for its proposed cuts to a number of arts and community funding. “Don’t fucking come and talk to me, write a submission and make it clear that you value it.”

Brown has a storied, if short, history with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. In December, the mayor questioned the purpose of the gallery. “How do we get to have 122 people looking after a few paintings in a building that nobody goes to?” He said: “We’ve got billions of dollars of value in the cellar that no one is looking at – do we have to own all that? They are not New Zealand pictures.”

On Wednesday night, Brown gave a speech to open the Light from Tate exhibition, described by the gallery as featuring “nearly 100 artworks by celebrated artists across the globe from the 18th century to the present day”.

In his speech, Brown praised the work of the gallery, noting that in the past months he had “enjoyed learning more” about the place. There were titters from parts of the crowd when he stated that “arts and culture are an integral part of our community”.

After a minute of pleasantries, Brown moved on to a more pressing issue. “I would like to take a moment to address some misconceptions that have been circulating on my stance on council expenditure on the arts,” to more stirring from the crowd. “There seems to be a false perception that I am threatening to cut funding for the arts which is not true.”

He then went on to explain that actually all community sectors that receive council funding are under review, “not just the arts”.

“Early childhood centres, Citizens Advice Bureau and other community sectors face potential cuts under the current draft proposal.”

He reiterated his support for the arts and culture community and gave the example that he’d been told recently that the reason the sculptures at Auckland’s Gibbs Farm don’t fall down “is because of my engineering”.

Brown closed his speech by urging those present to make a case (submission) for the current funding levels. “I hope they can successfully convince council of the merits of maintaining funding.”

After the speech, as attendees mingled, Brooks approached Brown with a friend from the Auckland arts community, introduced himself and began asking about the reasoning behind the proposed cuts. Brown indicated that he had nothing to add beyond his launch speech, shouting: “Listen to the message!” Before Brown could say more, a companion stepped in.

“It’s easier to blame him, isn’t it?” the man said. He went on to explain the budget deficit and council’s unwillingness to increase rates during a cost of living crisis when interest rates are so high.

As he spoke, a woman appeared and quietly shepherded the mayor away.