A New Zealand City Takes Their “Official Wizard” Off of Its Payroll

By Chris Marino

October 18, 2021

Photo: Getty Images

Budget cuts have hit the Wizard of Christchurch.

The city council of the New Zealand city has announced it’ll stop paying its official wizard $10,400 a year in December.

Ian Brackenbury Channel, who has a New Zealand driver’s license under the name “The Wizard,” has been a fixture in the city since being hired in 1998.

Council Assistant Chief Executive Lynn McClelland said the council made the “difficult decision” to fire their wizard so they could use the money to fund things that “will increasingly reflect our diverse communities.”

For his part, The Wizard says being fired makes “no difference,” and that “They’ll have to kill me to stop me.”