One of New Zealand’s finest walks has been reopened on Great Barrier Island today, marking the end of work to restore damage caused by the June 2014 storm.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says the official reopening of the Aotea Track by local MP Nikki Kaye completes the Department of Conservation’s repair work on the island.

“The Aotea Track, which runs for 25km through the heart of the island, is one of Great Barrier’s major tourism draws and is important to its economy.”

A multi-million dollar fund set aside to support community conservation will open for a third round of applications on 23 May, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

The DOC Community Fund was set up in 2014 to distribute $26 million over four years to inspire and enable community-led conservation projects around New Zealand.

“This fund has made a big difference for many smaller groups who would have struggled to do their great work without some timely help,” Ms Barry says.

An eradication programme partly funded by the island’s part-owner Sir Michael Fay and involving DOC expertise has wiped out the population of introduced kiore, ship rats and feral cats.

“Sir Michael’s commitment to this project with DOC has produced a result that they could not have achieved working by themselves,” Ms Barry says.

“Forging a partnership with DOC’s scientific knowledge and the commitment of local volunteers has enabled the island to become a safe haven for native wildlife.”

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the winners of a photo competition which challenged New Zealanders to define their modern Anzac Day experience.

Entries for the contest, run by the WW100 centenary programme, came from across the globe.

“From Gore to London, New Zealanders have taken some thought-provoking images which show what Anzac Day means a century on from the first Anzac Day services,” Ms Barry says.

The richness and diversity of modern New Zealand culture is reflected in the literature honoured at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2016, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“From kiwis racing in the 1928 Tour de France to the complexities of Maori urban migration, the winning entries explore the diverse strands that combine to define us as New Zealanders.”

Ms Barry presented the four categories of Best First Book awards at tonight’s ceremony in Auckland.

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today announced the 2016 Green Ribbon Awards finalists to celebrate exceptional environmental achievements by New Zealanders.

“We are delighted to recognise these community groups, scientists, schools, councils and businesses for their innovation and achievements in the 26th annual Green Ribbon Awards,” Dr Smith says.

“This year we received a very commendable 106 nominations across the ten categories, with some projects making a positive difference over many years.

The largest pest control operation in New Zealand’s history will be launched this winter in response to a pest plague which threatens vulnerable native wildlife, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

Battle for our Birds 2016 will receive $20.7 million in new operating funding for 2015/16 from this month’s Budget, helping to fight back against an expected pest population boom caused by a heavy forest seeding, or mast.

The ASB Theatre in Blenheim will receive $1 million from the Government to assist with its development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

“This is an important project for Marlborough which until now has not received direct central Government support,” Ms Barry says.

“We recognise the need to help the efforts made by the community and council to make the theatre a sustainable prospect, and I’m pleased to announce our $1 million commitment today.”

A multi-million dollar fund to support regional cultural centres has been launched and opened for applications today by Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

The Regional Culture and Heritage Fund will be worth an average of $6.67 million a year.

A replacement and renaming of the former Regional Museums Policy, the RCHF is funded at the same level, but broadens its scope to include potential support for performing arts venues such as theatres and opera houses, heritage buildings with display collections and whare taonga.

A new online history launched today illuminates an often overlooked part of New Zealand’s First World War story, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

A joint effort between the State Services Commission and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, The Public Service At War tells the story of the service and sacrifice of government employees throughout the conflict.

New Zealand Music Month is a time to focus on the wealth of musical talent we have here in New Zealand, Broadcasting Minister Amy Adams and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry say.

“NZ Music Month as an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of all those who create, perform, record or promote New Zealand music.

“The success of NZ Music Month is in the wide support it receives, not only from the partnering organisations but also from New Zealand music labels, venues, media and the public,” says Ms Adams.

A kakapo chick rearing facility in Invercargill upgraded with the help of offenders carrying out community work is playing a vital role in the species’ recovery, Corrections Minister Judith Collins and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

The most vulnerable kakapo chicks hatched during this year’s record breeding season are being hand-reared at the site, a converted building offered by the Invercargill City Council.

The centre is needed for chicks which have fallen ill, or were not putting on sufficient weight in the wild.

Amendments to how regulations are made for the Lake Taupo trout fishery will make its management more responsive, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

“The change will allow fishing conditions developed by the Taupo Fishery Advisory Committee, including the key management tools of daily bag and fish size limits, to be approved solely by the Minister of Conservation rather than through the Cabinet process, as was the case,” Ms Barry says.

A new book featuring research by New Zealand historians will provide unique insights into the battlefields of Gallipoli, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

Anzac Battlefield: A Gallipoli Landscape of War and Memory details the first comprehensive archaeological survey of the battlefield and is the result of a joint project by New Zealand, Australian and Turkish experts.

“Ministry of Culture & Heritage military historian Dr Ian McGibbon was one of the experts involved in the work, from 2010-2014,” Ms Barry says.

Two inspirational older New Zealanders are the latest to join the SuperSeniors Champions programme, Seniors Minister Maggie Barry says.

Commonwealth Games weightlifting gold medallist Precious McKenzie and renowned actress Dame Kate Harcourt have accepted the role to promote positive ageing and raise awareness of senior’s issues.

Ms Barry announced the new Champions at the Grey Power Federation AGM in Christchurch this morning.

The successful release of three young Coromandel Brown Kiwi on Motutapu Island off Auckland yesterday is testament to the power of working together, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

"Two female kiwi and one male – who was renamed Ropata in honour of renowned conservationist Rob Fenwick – were brought to Motutapu from Rotoroa Island in double-hulled and masted waka hourua," Ms Barry says.

Anzac Day 2016 is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to remember the sacrifice of previous generations and reflect on this formative time in our nation’s history, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

This year marks 100 years since the first Anzac Day services were held, after the Massey Government declared 25th April 1916 a half-day holiday in recognition for the dead of Gallipoli.

An application to transfer and release grass and silver carp to a new fish farm site outside Taupo has been withdrawn, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

"Applicant Golden Harvest Aquaculture has written to the Department of Conservation stating they wish to withdraw their current application for a fish farm," Ms Barry says.

The application was still under consideration as the Minister had not formally signed off approval for the transfer and release of carp as part of the consenting process.

The first stage of a record breeding season for the kakapo has come to a close, with the last egg of the year hatched this morning, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

“The future of New Zealand’s own giant flightless parrot is looking much brighter,” Ms Barry says.

“Zephyr 2, hatched on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island shortly before 7am today, is the 46th chick this year – which makes this the most successful breeding season in the 25-year history of DOC’s Kakapo Recovery Programme.”

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed a renewed commitment to supporting New Zealand’s own white-water rafting duck, the whio, announced today.

The Department of Conservation and Genesis Energy have signed a five year extension to their Whio Forever partnership, begun in 2011.

“This is one of DOC’s most successful partnerships, and it’s made a significant difference to the species’ prospects,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the first reading of the Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill in Parliament this evening.

A modernisation and upgrade of existing legislation, the bill will give Department of Conservation rangers new powers to intervene and prevent offences against native wildlife such as poaching, hunting protected species and smuggling.

“Under the Wildlife Act 1953, DOC is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of these crimes,” Ms Barry says.

A new “roadmap” for scientific research will look for answers to important questions about how we care for New Zealand’s natural world, Environment Minister Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

Development of the Conservation and Environment Science Roadmap will set out 20-year targets for conservation and environmental research.

“A unified approach to the science will help us make research more efficient, targeted at tangible goals,” Dr Smith says.

2016 may become the most successful kakapo breeding in the history of the species recovery programme, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

The critically-endangered birds are world-famous for their character, rarity and bizarre appearance, a giant flightless nocturnal parrot found only in New Zealand.

“So far this season, 42 out of 54 female kakapo have nested, with 28 chicks alive and well and another 19 fertile eggs still to hatch,” Ms Barry says.

Outstanding advocates for an age-friendly society will become SuperSeniors Champions under a new programme launched today by Seniors Minister Maggie Barry.

“This is about seniors talking about issues that matter to seniors,” Ms Barry says. “Our Champions will be inspirational role models who embody the idea of positive ageing.

“They will raise awareness of our ageing population, how we can make our towns and cities better places to be old, and advocate for the voices of seniors to be heard in their communities.”