When governments stop investing in the arts, the damage is rarely immediate, but it is often permanent.

The decision to deny the Dunedin Arts Festival funding from Creative New Zealand for the first time in its history is one of those moments.

This is not simply about one festival.

It is about what happens when years of stagnant funding leave Creative New Zealand unable to support the organisations that enrich our communities and sustain New Zealand’s creative life.

The Dunedin Arts Festival has been a cornerstone of our city’s cultural identity since 1999.

Every year it creates opportunities for local artists alongside national and international performers, attracts thousands of visitors and contributes an estimated $4 million to $5m to the Dunedin economy.

Yet in Creative New Zealand’s latest funding round, less than 10% of multi-year funding was allocated to Te Waipounamu, and the Dunedin Arts Festival received nothing.

Creative institutions take decades to build and only months to lose.

This should concern everyone.

Arts organisations are not businesses that can simply be switched back on after a period of closure.

Once they disappear, they are extraordinarily difficult to rebuild.

Skilled staff leave, volunteers move on, audiences drift away, sponsors lose confidence and artistic networks dissolve.

Years — often decades — of trust, reputation and expertise can be lost in a matter of months.

That is the cultural damage this government is inflicting through chronic underinvestment in the arts.

The arts are not a luxury purchased after prosperity is achieved.

They are part of what makes prosperity worth having.

I care deeply about this, not only as a local MP but also as the mother of a professional musician.

My daughter has a music degree and earns her primary income as a performer.

I encouraged her to pursue that path, despite knowing it would never be the easiest way to make a living.

Like so many artists, she chose her profession because she has something meaningful to contribute, not because it promised financial security.

Artists perform an essential role in society.

They bring joy during difficult times, challenge us to think differently, help us celebrate and grieve, and reflect back to us our strengths, our weaknesses and the wonderfully imperfect nature of the human condition.

They help us understand ourselves and one another.

We rightly expect artists to enrich our lives.

We should also respect them enough to ensure they can earn a dignified living.

In a country the size of New Zealand, the market alone cannot sustain the breadth of artistic work that makes our communities vibrant.

Public funding is not about subsidising a luxury.

It is about recognising that the market, by itself, will not support many of the artists and organisations that create enormous public value.

Creative New Zealand cannot distribute funding it does not have.

When respected organisations like the Dunedin Arts Festival miss out despite their proven track record and significant economic and cultural contribution, it raises serious questions about whether the agency has been given the resources it needs to fulfil its purpose.

The arts are not an optional extra.

They are part of our national identity, our wellbeing and our economy.

If we allow our creative institutions to disappear, rebuilding them will take years — if it is possible at all.

That is a price New Zealand should never have to pay.