15 October 2021 - New Zealand city parts way with its 'official wizard'
New Zealand City’s ‘Official Wizard’ Has Been Taken Off Its Payroll
Elyse Wanshel (The Huffington Post, 14/10/2021)
A New Zealand city seems to have left itself vulnerable to a revenge hex.
The city council of Christchurch announced that it will stop paying its official wizard $16,000 ($10,400 USD) a year in December, New Zealand news site Stuff reported.
Ian Brackenbury Channell (aka the Wizard) has been serving as the city’s appointed necromancer since the olden days of 1998. Over the past few decades he has made a total of $368,000 (roughly $258,825 USD) “to provide acts of wizardry and other wizard-like-services — as part of promotional work for the city of Christchurch.”
New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service
Eva Corlett (The Guardian, 15/10/2021)
The official Wizard of New Zealand, perhaps the only state-appointed wizard in the world, has been cast from the public payroll, spelling the end to a 23-year legacy.
The Wizard, whose real name is Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, had been contracted to Christchurch city council for the past two decades to promote the city through “acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services”, at a cost of $16,000 a year. He has been paid a total of $368,000.
Christchurch: New Zealand city parts ways with its wizard
(BBC News, 15/10/2021)
The New Zealand city of Christchurch has cast its official wizard from the payroll after 23 years of service.
Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, was paid NZ$16,000 (£8,200; $11,280) a year to provide "acts of wizardry" and promote the city.
However the city has now ended his contract, saying it is going in a more modern and diverse direction.
New Zealand city fires $16,000 a year wizard
Emily Atkinson (The Independent, 15/10/2021)
The Wizard of New Zealand is being removed from the public payroll after over two decades providing “acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services” to Christchurch, at a cost of $368,000.
Christchurch Council’s decision to terminate their contract with the Wizard, Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, brings a close to his 23-year employment, costing them $16,000 a year.
According to council leaders, the Wizard no longer fits their promotional vision for the “modern city”. Channell hit back, calling them a “bunch of bureaucrats who have no imagination.”