Part 3: The Operation of the Ministry
The Ministry provides advice to the government on arts, culture, history, heritage and broadcasting matters, and works with the government to advance its programme in these portfolio areas.
We implement history and heritage programmes, and monitor the work of various agencies that deliver culture and heritage services with government funding. The Ministry employs almost 100 staff working in the areas of policy, agency advisory, history, reference, heritage operations, stakeholder communications and corporate services.
The policy group advises the government on arts, culture, heritage and broadcasting and responds to the ever present question, 'Are the current interventions in the sector the right ones?' This group's work includes developing policy proposals, researching international practice, advising on options and assisting with legislation. The group also delivers projects such as the Cultural Diplomacy International Programme.
Agency advisory unit staff work with organisations in the culture and heritage sector who receive government funding. These range from major Crown entities such as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) to small, independent, single-focus organisations such as the Antarctic Heritage Trust. The Ministry's role is to monitor the governance and performance of each agency against accountability documents, confirming that funding provided by the government is used to achieve agreed outcomes.
The history group is a team of historians working on projects which make New Zealand history accessible in media such as books, websites, television programmes, seminars and oral histories. Publications document the histories of government departments, as well as having a strong focus on our war history, with a number of oral history projects recording and preserving the stories of service personnel.
The reference group's primary focus is on the development of Te Ara, the encyclopedia of New Zealand which was launched in February 2005 with the first theme, 'New Zealanders'. Te Ara is the first of its kind in the world – a national, web-based encyclopedia – and will be a comprehensive and definitive resource on this country. Te Ara is being developed in nine themes over the next eight years.
The heritage operations unit supports the continuing recognition and valuing of aspects of our heritage. The work of the staff in this unit includes the development and maintenance of national monuments such as the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the maintenance of certain war graves, advice to government about the export of culturally valuable objects, and activities associated with Waitangi Day and Anzac Day.
The stakeholder communications unit is responsible for key ministerial servicing functions such as preparing speech notes and draft replies to correspondence, and communication with other stakeholders and the media.
The corporate unit undertakes the large number of activities that support a complex and busy government department. These activities include human resources, library, financial, website and IT functions.
The Ministry also has a Principal Legal Adviser and a Kaihautu M ä ori, who provide support and advice to staff and report directly to the Chief Executive.
Supporting the Minister of Broadcasting
The Ministry's 'responsible Minister' is the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, and the larger portion of the Ministry's resources is naturally directed towards the support of her portfolio work, and that of her two associate ministers.
The Ministry is, however, also responsible to two other Ministers: the Minister of Broadcasting and the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The latter Minister receives policy advice related to his portfolio directly from Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC), which has a legislative mandate to undertake this role. The Ministry's work in relation to this portfolio is therefore restricted to monitoring the work of two Crown entities (including SPARC itself).
The situation with respect to the Minister of Broadcasting is different. There is no separate Ministry of Broadcasting; that role is largely performed by this Ministry, although the Minister receives services from a number of departments, including the Ministry of Economic Development and the Treasury's CCMAU. At the heart of his responsibilities are issues related to government's increasing recognition of the crucial role that broadcasting plays in the cultural development and identity of this country. The Ministry is his primary adviser for that aspect of his role.
The capacity committed to broadcasting is comparatively small, although it has grown since the re-establishment of the Broadcasting portfolio in 1999. When the Ministry assumed responsibility for broadcasting in 1999 the entire funding that had previously been dedicated to this area by the then Ministry of Commerce was .75 FTE. Today the equivalent figure is approximately 10.5 FTEs. There are now six policy staff and three agency advisory staff wholly committed to broadcasting work. In addition, the Ministry's board appointments and governance team, the managers of both the policy and agency advisory group, and the Chief Executive, expend a considerable proportion of their time on broadcasting work.
The stakeholder communications unit, which provides draft speeches and correspondence to the Minister of Broadcasting, is also working to ensure its services are as responsive as possible to his needs, and is considering the possibility of employing dedicated broadcasting staff.
The Ministry has established an internal broadcasting group which
brings together staff from across the Ministry who are involved
in providing support to the Minister of Broadcasting; this ensures
co-ordinated advice and service. Similarly, the Ministry co-ordinates
the Broadcasting Officials Group of officials from all departments
supporting the Minister of Broadcasting which ensures consistent
and informed advice to the Minister. We will continue to accord
the matter of quality support for the Minister of Broadcasting
high priority, and to work closely with him
and his office towards this end.