Ministry for Culture and Heritage

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; Māori: Te Manatū Taonga) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on such.

Not to be confused with Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Oman.

Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Māori: Te Manatū Taonga
Agency overview
Formed1 September 1999 (1999-09-01)
Preceding agency
  • Ministry of Cultural Affairs
JurisdictionNew Zealand Government
HeadquartersPublic Trust Building, Wellington
Annual budget NZ$364,202,838[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Bernadette Cavanagh, Chief Executive
Child agency
Websitemch.govt.nz

History

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs had been created in 1991; prior to this, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) had provided oversight and support for arts and culture functions.[3]

MCH was founded in 1999 with the merger of the former Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the history and heritage functions of the DIA, as well as some functions from the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Commerce.[3][4] The purpose of the merger of functions and departments was to create a coherent, non-fragmented overview of the cultural and heritage sector, rather than spreading services and functions across several departments.[4]

Minister for Cultural Affairs Marie Hasler oversaw the transition of functions into the new agency.[4] Opposition Labour MP Judith Tizard, who would later serve as an Associate Minister for the ministry in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, accused the restructure of being "all hype, no substance," lacking the funding and human resource necessary to be effective.[5]

At the time of its establishment, the minister responsible for the ministry was the Minister for Culture and Heritage. This position is now titled the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.[citation needed]

Functions

The ministry advises the government on policies and issues relating to the arts, culture, heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors. It funds 17 other agencies which also support these sectors,[6] looks after war monuments and memorials and war graves throughout New Zealand, and is involved in a number of projects promoting and documenting New Zealand history.[7]

Agencies

Guardianship

In 2014 the ministry became the guardian of the TVNZ Archive collection on behalf of the crown.[8] It appointed Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision as the initial archive manager. The TVNZ Archive collection contains over 600,000 hours of television spanning almost 55 years of New Zealand's public television history.[9] It includes iconic New Zealand content such as documentaries, dramas, sports programmes[10] and every TVNZ news broadcast from December 1986 to 2014.[11][12] In a 2014 briefing to Minister Craig Foss, the ministry noted that the long-term preservation of the TVNZ Archive collection did not align with the broadcaster's business needs and that transferring the collection to the crown would allow for the proper preservation of the collection.[13] Both the ministry and TVNZ explicitly wanted to ensure the archive was preserved and that it was made increasingly available for re-use through online streaming and other means.[14]

History and heritage

The ministry supports research into and promotion of New Zealand history. This includes publication of New Zealand history books and e-books, and a number of websites. The ministry's managed sites include:[15]

David Green, a historian working for the ministry, discovered that significantly more New Zealand personnel were engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign than had been recorded in Fred Waite's official history, The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Waite's number of some 8,500 men was corrected to approximately 18,000 in September 2013.[19]

Tohu Whenua Landmarks that tell our stories is a partnership between MCH, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The programme promotes and encourages people to visit New Zealand's historically and culturally important places. Landmarks has been launched so far in Northland and Otago.[20]

Legislation

The ministry is also responsible for overseeing dozens of current acts and regulations.[21] These include:

Ministers

The ministry serves three portfolios, three ministers and two associate ministers.[39]

OfficeholderPortfolio(s)Other responsibilities
Hon Carmel SepuloniLead Minister (Ministry for Culture and Heritage)
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Rt Hon Jacinda ArdernAssociate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Hon Kiri AllanAssociate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Hon Grant RobertsonMinister for Sport and Recreation
Hon Kris FaafoiMinister for Broadcasting and Media

References

  1. "Total Appropriations for Each Vote". Budget 2019. The Treasury.
  2. "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. "History of Government involvement in culture". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. Marie Hasler (28 July 1999). "Cultural and Heritage sector – some relevant questions and answers" (Press release). Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. Judith Tizard (28 July 1999). "All hype, no substance" (Press release). Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  6. "Agencies we fund". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  7. "Our projects". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  8. "Budget 2014: Better access to NZ's TV heritage" (Press release). New Zealand Government. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. Foss, Craig (31 July 2014). Draft speech (PDF) (Speech). Function to mark the transfer of responsibility for the TVNZ Archives to the New Zealand Film Archive. Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  10. Ministry for Culture and Heritage (14 February 2013). TVNZ Archive – Update on IP issues (briefing 2014/36) (PDF) (Report). p. 11. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  11. "Video: Preserving the TVNZ Collection". Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  12. "Official Information Act request (5402)". Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  13. Ministry for Culture and Heritage (21 March 2014). TVNZ Archive transfer – update (briefing 2014/107) (PDF) (Report). p. 16. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  14. "Memorandum of Understanding – Access to TVNZ Archive Collection, between the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Department of Internal Affairs" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  15. "Websites we run". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  16. "Ngā Tapuwae Trails". Ngā Tapuwae Trails. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  17. "About WW100 | WW100 New Zealand". ww100.govt.nz. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  18. "Landmarks Whenua Tohunga reveals Northland's precious culture and heritage | Ministry for Culture and Heritage". mch.govt.nz. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  19. "New research: How many New Zealanders served on Gallipoli?". New Zealand Defence Force. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  20. "Landmarks Whenua Tohunga". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. "Search – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  22. "Canterbury Earthquake (Historic Places Act) Order 2011 (SR 2011/231) – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  23. "Television New Zealand (Separation of Transmission Business) Order 2003 (SR 2003/323) (as at 21 November 2003) – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  24. "Historic Places Trust Elections Regulations 1993 (SR 1993/302) (as at 31 January 2007) – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  25. "Broadcasting Act 1989 No 25 (as at 01 July 2011), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  26. "Television New Zealand Act 2003 No 1 (as at 23 July 2011), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  27. "Protected Objects Act 1975 No 41 (as at 01 April 2011), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  28. "Historic Places Act 1993 No 38 (as at 01 April 2011), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  29. "National War Memorial Act 1992 No 20 (as at 01 October 2000), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  30. "Radio New Zealand Act 1995 No 52 (as at 25 January 2005), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  31. "Anzac Day Act 1966 No 44 (as at 01 April 2004), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  32. "New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 No 61 (as at 25 January 2005), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  33. "Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 No 47 (as at 07 July 2010), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  34. "Archives, Culture, and Heritage Reform Act 2000 No 32 (as at 01 November 2006), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  35. "Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Act 1992 No 19 (as at 25 January 2005), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  36. "Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 1994 No 19 (as at 01 January 2009), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  37. "Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Act 2009 No 26, Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  38. "Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi Claims Settlement Act 2005 No 84 (as at 23 May 2008), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". legislation.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  39. "Our Ministers". Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 November 2020.