Photos: suppliedReaction to grants allocation changes"Problematic" changes to Dunedin’s grant allocation undermined trust between the council and the city’s arts community, Mayor Sophie Barker was told. At a council meeting later that month, Ms Barker apologised for being unaware of a scheduled and later cancelled subcommittee meeting and the hundreds of applications it was to consider. Ms Barker agreed it was "not a great situation" and the stopgap would address about 300 grant applications waiting to be assessed. In reply, Cr Garey acknowledged the measures were temporary, but said decisions to date had repercussions. "It has already undermined trust with the arts community."

Source: Otago Daily Times March 25, 2026 16:09 UTC