Nathan Guy

7 December, 2010

Speech to the launch of Archives Central

It’s great to be here today as both the Minister Responsible for Archives New Zealand, and as the MP for Otaki. Of course a big chunk of my electorate is part of the Horowhenua and Horizons Regional Council.

As the Minister, I’m well aware of how important it is we preserve our public records.

In a democracy, public records help protect the rights and entitlements of citizens. They support accountability, transparency, and evidence-based decision making.

They mean that ordinary citizens have certainty over the law and the processes of government.

Of course, public records also play a major part in our nation’s heritage, because they tell our history and our stories. They help to tell us who we are and where we’ve come from.

Archives New Zealand holds over 4 million separate items, which works out at around 70 kilometres of documents, maps, plans, films, artworks and photographs.

These were created by the New Zealand government and document nearly 200 years of our history.

Saving, storing and maintaining records is not with its challenges though.

A survey this year into local government recordkeeping practices found that 55% of local authorities have records in a format they can no longer access.

On the positive side, there is growing awareness of this problem and a determination to tackle it.

Some 92 percent of respondents said they have a formal recordkeeping programme in place, or are working towards one.

So this is a great project, because it preserves our local history and our local stories.

Digital content

It presents them online, in a format that means anyone from around the world can access them, at anytime. This is a 21st century archive – bringing to life papers of the past and making them available into the future.

For people of all ages, digital content is a huge part of daily life. The internet is now the first port of call for many people seeking information.

I can assure you that online content is only going to become more important in the future. The government has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in rolling out broadband across the country.

Within the next 10 years we want to have ultra-fast broadband available to 75 percent of New Zealanders.

Just today it was announced that Wanganui will be one of the first cities to benefit. Fibre rollout will begin next year and be complete around 2015.

You can expect more announcements from the government before christmas on progress in other regions.

In effect, broadband is the pipeline - the challenge now is to make the most of this opportunity and fill those pipes with information into every home and school in New Zealand.

When it comes to government data, people expect - even demand - that it will be available online.

As Minister, increasing online access to New Zealand’s heritage has been a top priority for me.

Last year I announced the Digital Continuity Action Plan, which was the world’s first government-mandated, public sector approach to preserving our digital records.

Also this year I announced $12.6 million in new Budget funding to develop a Government Digital Archive. This will help build asecure system to store, preserve and give access to important public records.

It is great to see that local government is making a similar effort with joint initiatives like this one.

Working together

I’m told this is the first time local authorities have collaborated on an archiving system in New Zealand, so congratulations.

Working collaboratively is also cost-effective. In these tight economic times governments at all levels have to look at ways to streamline services and serve the public more efficiently and effectively.

ICT is a major priority for the government, in particular maximising the returns on our investment which is around $2 billion a year. Any savings we can make by working together and combining back-office functions will be welcomed by taxpayers, and ratepayers.

I’m very pleased that the Archives Central team is working closely with Archives New Zealand on this project, and I’m told this may become a model for other regions looking to do similar things.

I hope it does because we all have a vested interest in this.

Family history

On a personal note, my family has a long history in this region and I’m looking forward to delving into the Archive. My father and grandfather were both mayors of the Horowhenua District, and I was a council member myself.

My maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Nathan, also played a big part in the history of this region. He was a pioneer of refrigerated shipping to the UK and helped fund the Wellington to Manawatu railway line.

He also founded the ‘Glaxo’ company not far from here in Bunnythorpe, which has grown and merged to become one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies.

This is a great initiative and you should all be proud of your endeavours. Congratulations and well done to everyone involved.

ENDS

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