Resale Right for Visual Artists Bill

I’m pleased to take a short call on the second reading of the Resale Right for Visual Artists Bill. I would like to acknowledge well-known leader and advocate Rangi McLean, who I don’t know personally but have met on several occasions. He’s an artist, and just last year, Rangi McLean was looking to take legal action against a German artist who stole his tā moko image and is selling it overseas. It is for that reason—and for other artists that find themselves in this situation—that I wholeheartedly support this bill, and I commend it to the House. Kia ora.

Thank you again, Madam Speaker, for allowing me to take just a short call on this, the Resale Right for Visual Artists Bill. I won’t take long, because I was on the select committee that saw this bill through, the Social Services and Community Committee, and one of the things that all the submitters said was, “It’s about time.” It is about time, and that is what this Labour Government does. It listens, it knows what needs to happen in terms of supporting our artists and our creative communities, and we’ve made a real focus on that. I’d like to thank the Minister Carmel Sepuloni for her focus on that community.

This is about making sure that we get it fair and right and equitable. Five percent of the resale cost to the original artist—it should be a given, right? This is already happening all the way over in many places overseas, and so this really just brings us in line with the rest of the world, really. Again, it’s a no-brainer. Again, it is around saying, “Hey, it’s about time that we put things right.” I commend this bill to the House.

This is what urgency has been building up to. This is the—and I’m sure the Minister of arts and myself as a spokesperson would agree—most exciting bill, and actually, quite genuinely, it is. This is a bill that has been by and large well received by the sector, but I only say by and large—there are artists and certainly some resellers who are not happy. We might tease a bit of that out at committee stage, but National remains in support of this bill overall.

Although, again, just to indicate as I have in previous speeches—or speech, actually in the singular—and in the select committee, there’s a little bit of a concern philosophically on this side around the scheme. But really, importantly, as the Minister knows, this is part of our free-trade agreements with the United Kingdom and the European Union, so we have to bring it about. And to that, and not wishing to delay it any further, I’m happy to commend the bill to the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’m absolutely delighted to rise in support of this bill this morning. As we’re aware, artists have some of the lowest median incomes in New Zealand, with very few opportunities to benefit from their work on an ongoing basis, which is pretty shameful. Here in the Labour Party, we realise that hearts starve as well as bodies: “Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses, too.” Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Resale Right for Visual Artists Bill.

In Committee

Parts 1 and 2, Schedule 1, and clauses 1 and 2