I am delighted to have been invited here today to participate in what is a significant conference for Museums in Aotearoa.

To the attendees I bid you all warms greetings…

There are obvious links between the government's goals for strengthening national identity and the museum sector.

Central government supports museums as places where ideas of national identity can be portrayed, discussed and exhibited – but essentially they are a local/regional initiative and the support of local authorities is central to their success.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has recently released a number of documents about cultural well-being and local government. These include a literature review titled 'Cultural Well-being and Local Government', the 'Review of Cultural Well-being Related Activity', and 'Cultural Well-being from a Regional Council Perspective'.

Each of these documents could act as a focus point for developing initiatives to present to your local authority, outlining the role your institution plays in the cultural well-being of your community. Statistical cultural profiles of each region are also now available.

You may ask, what is Culture well-being?

Cultural well-being is the vitality that communities and individuals enjoy through: participation in recreation, creative and cultural activities and the freedom to retain, interpret and express their arts, history, heritage and traditions. Cultural well-being can be seen as lying at the heart of a healthy society and community.

The well-being of people, individually and collectively, is closely linked to the values that arise from a strong sense of cultural and national identity. A multi-ethnic and democratic society will express a multitude of cultural identities.

At the local level, these expressions of culture are important for: the intrinsic benefits and satisfactions to be gained from exposure to and involvement with culture; the potential for generating economic wealth and the definition and assertion of New Zealand's national identity.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage takes a broad view of culture and cultural well-being. Culture includes heritage and the arts. It can also include a sense of community, language, ethnicity, sport, recreation and place and space (such as the built environment and landscapes).

It encompasses all the multiple interactions of emotional, spiritual, historical, and physical aspects of human life within local contexts. So the ways that people recognise and respond to parts of their environment (such as the smell of pohutukawa blossom, or the sight of Rangitoto or Ruapehu, or the quality of the light in Central Otago) can be regarded as 'cultural' in this sense.

There are a number of key ideas in thinking about what 'culture' could mean. Generally though, the concept is viewed in a broad sense to include elements of the way that people affirm their identity as individuals and in groups through the sharing of common objects, rituals, behaviours and knowledge – as in this definition of culture from the UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001) - … the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society … it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, values systems, traditions and beliefs.

The Local Government Act 2002 requires local authorities, as part of their purpose, to promote the social, economic and environmental well being of communities, in the present and for the future. Museums are an excellent focus point for all of these ideas.

Social well-being can be advanced by museums in that way that it overlaps with cultural well-being, especially in helping to create social connectedness. After all museums are, or at least can be, a central focus of community life.

Economic well-being includes consideration of the impacts of arts, culture and heritage in stimulating economic growth. Cultural activities (like visiting museums and art galleries) support non-cultural objectives in areas such as tourism and creative industries, through employment and cultural-tourism.

Environmental well-being can be enhanced through museums by helping to develop a deeper understanding of the environment that we live in. Many museums' exhibitions depict, not only the people of their community, but the environment in which these people live, and how they have impacted upon that environment.

Copyright is an important and complex issue which will be of interest to all museums and art galleries. This is particularly so now that repositories are digitally documenting their collections and making them accessible on line.
·A discussion paper has been prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development entitled 'The Commissioning Rule, Contracts and the Copyright Act 1994.'
·The paper discusses the issue of ownership of copyright in commissioned works and the relationship between copyright law and contract law with particular focus on photography.
·The paper was publicly released for consultation on 31 March 2006 and submissions close on 31 May 2006, and can be found on the MED website in the 'Documents Under Discussion' section.
We encourage you to review this paper and make industry submissions as appropriate.

I am sure most people here are aware of the central government funding initiatives which museums can apply for the funding of capital projects. However, funding is limited and applications are assessed on a contestable basis. Applications for 2006 closed in February. The decisions are made by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and are expected to be released mid-May.

The Regional Museums Policy for Capital Construction Projects, is an annual fund, administered by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Art galleries and museums that have been funded by this include Puke Ariki, Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore, and the Dowse Gallery in Lower Hutt. This has ensured that these collections are adequately housed and made accessible to New Zealanders.

Overall government spending on culture has increased yearly since the Labour party came to government in 1999. Central government spending was $675 million in 2003/04, representing an increase of 73% in the last 15 years. Local authorities reported spending a total of $1,3 million on culture over the five years from 1990/2000 to 2003/04, averaging $277 million per annum. (These figures are GST exclusive).

We realise that this will never be enough, but it is an indication that central and local government are taking the cultural sector seriously, and that includes the museum sector.

The Department of International Affairs administers the Significant Community-Based Project Fund. The fund was established to support major community-based projects which have significant support and participation from the community, and is open to the following outcome areas: arts, culture and heritage; sports and recreation; tourism; conservation and the environment; and economic development. Again announcements regarding applications to this fund have not yet been made.

Employment in the museum sector has increased in recent years at a rate 3 times faster than employment generally! Museums are a key contributor to this. According to the 'Employment in the Cultural Sector' report released last year by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and Statistics New Zealand, cultural employment between 1996 and 2001 grew by 17%. Yet employment in the museum sector grew by 27%. I am sure that the 2006 census results will show a further increase.

In addition to Te Paerangi supporting museums with training, the presence of graduate museum qualifications at Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University and University of Auckland, ensures that the museum professionals of the future will be just that, professionals.

According to the 2003 Statistics New Zealand and Ministry for Cutlure and Heritage publication, "A Measure of Culture", 48% (1.34 million) of New Zealand adults visited a museum or art gallery in the 12 months before the survey, making museum attendance the most popular cultural activity for that period.

While education and where people lived affected whether or not people experienced heritage activities, time was the main reason given for not taking part in heritage activities more often. People always make time for those things that they believe to be "essential", therefore Elaine's speech on the 'essential museum' is something that we must all take to heart.

Just over ¾ of those who had visited museums or art galleries were interested in visiting exhibitions with a New Zealand theme. This statistic builds on central government's focus on National identity, and local government's need to support cultural well-being.

New Zealanders are interested in New Zealand; this is great news, and something that each museum can utilise to work towards achieving greater attendance by locals and visitors alike.

Looking at three 'big' museums, Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland War Memorial Museum and Canterbury Museum all report an increase in visitors in the 2004/05-year. I am sure this would also be reported by the bulk of museums that have members of staff or boards here today.

I note that many museums now have websites, these are a great way of attracting out of town, or even international visitors, as nowadays many people use the internet to research an town/city or region they are planning to visit. It doesn't have to be flash, but basic information about your collection, current exhibitions, opening hours and entrance fees, can be all that is required to attract visitors to your museum. The Museums Aotearoa directory, and the nzmuseums.co.nz website, are great tools for this. Tomorrow Kerry Harvey from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is going to talk about the 'Cultural Portal', a central government initiative that is bound to be a vital tool for cultural tourism.

In the short time I have been Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, I have had the privilege to take part in the opening of two superb exhibitions, both of which have been the result of museums working together. Firstly the Ko Tawa exhibition, created from the Gilbert Mair collection at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and touring to Pataka, and I believe later to the Whangarei Museum, before travelling to Sydney. This collaboration has ensure that some of the taonga gifted to the Museum, have been allowed to travel to other regions, thereby increasing the appreciation for and understanding of this collection.

The second exhibition is the highly successful Splendours of Japan, a collaboration between Te Papa and the Tokyo National Museum. This is to be reciprocated next year when an exhibition of taonga from the Te Papa collection will travel to Tokyo. Here we see, an international relationship being developed, reminiscent of the highly successful Te Mäori exhibition of the mid 1980s. Here we see a museum playing a central role in cultural understanding, by bringing other cultures to New Zealand, and taking aspects of the New Zealand culture to the world.

The Innocents Abroad exhibition recently opened by Rt Hon Helen Clark at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea was developed from a collection held by Te Papa Tongarewa. Here the sharing of resources, staff and artefacts, has seen the creation of a highly successful exhibition, which may otherwise have gone undeveloped.

These are only a few examples of exhibitions which demonstrate museums working together at a variety of levels. The success of these exhibitions, and others like them, should be encouragement enough for museums to work together, supporting one another to ensure that each collection appreciated.

The museum sector equivalent to ARANZ (Archives and Records Association of New Zealand) and LIANZA (Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa).

Having a strong professional body, well supported by the sector is central to the success of any cultural sector. Museums Aotearoa has grown from strength to strength in recent years and the support from the sector has grown to reflect this. With the close collaboration of umbrella organisations, such as Museums Aotearoa and National Services Te Paerangi, the sector will continue to grow.
As I have already explained museums are working together much more, and this benefits all not only the individual institutions involved, but the sector as a whole. As the quality of exhibitions increases, the public will realise they have a fantastic resource in their community, and will support these museums.

Memorandum of Understanding between Museums Aotearoa and National Services Te Paerangi is to be signed at the end of this session.

I commend these two organisations on their forethought and ability to focus on central issues by being able to work together as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding. This will help the museum sector focus their energies on positive outcomes for all players; boards, staff at volunteers at museums large and small, local and central government, and visitors – regular and one-off, New Zealanders and international visitors.

Thank you for this opportunity, it is great to see such a vibrant part of the cultural sector working together for common goals, with outcomes that benefit all. I look forward to the opportunity to visit your institutions personally, and thank you for the role you each play in ensuring that New Zealand continues to be proud of its arts, culture and heritage.