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Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today welcomed the opening of Rangihoua Heritage Park in Northland as a special cultural and historical asset to be enjoyed by all New Zealanders.

The 46 hectare park, near Kerikeri, was opened to the public today by the Governor-General, Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae.  

The park is the result of eight years of collaboration between the Marsden Cross Trust Board, the Anglican Church, Northland Iwi Ngati Torehina / Ngapuhi and the Department of Conservation.

A new joint strategy to tackle kauri dieback has been welcomed by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

“Kauri dieback is a serious disease which needs a coordinated effort to tackle it. Therefore it’s great to see the Ministry for Primary Industries, Department of Conservation, Auckland Council, Northland Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and tāngata whenua have developed this new strategy,” says Mr Guy.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed an innovative partnership to dramatically transform the way invasive predators are managed on mainland New Zealand.

The NEXT Foundation has partnered with philanthropists Gareth Morgan and Sam Morgan, and the Department of Conservation, to set up the Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) project. All parties are contributing funding to the venture, with DOC providing $500,000 per year for an initial three years.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has today welcomed the confirmation of a series of nationwide events to mark the 175th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi in 2015.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry today unveils a public sculpture in Napier called “The Gold of the Kowhai”.

The gilded work, by New Zealand sculptor Paul Dibble, stands close to four metres high and is cast in bronze with 24-carat gold leaf.

“This is a resplendent representation of New Zealand’s unofficial national flower, by one of our leading sculptors. It has found an ideal home outside MTG Hawke’s Bay,” says Ms Barry. 

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today officially opened a “boot camp” for whio at the Tongariro National Trout Centre near Turangi.

The release of the first ducklings into the new hardening facility, or “boot camp”, marks a major step forward in the battle to save the endangered whio, or blue duck. The facility allows the birds to gain fitness and readiness before being released on their own into the wild.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated Dunedin on becoming the first New Zealand city to be internationally recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature.

“I’m delighted that Dunedin has achieved this significant milestone. As a cultural hub of the South, this is a testament to the city’s literary heritage and creativity,” says Ms Barry.

City of Literature is part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, which aims for cities to work together towards cultural diversity and sustainable urban development.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has presented Clive Paton of Martinborough with the 2014 Loder Cup at a ceremony today, for his significant contribution to habitat restoration in New Zealand.

“Clive Paton is a remarkable individual and very deserving of being this year’s Loder Cup recipient. He is an inspirational example of somebody with drive, energy and a vision, who has woven conservation into his life,” says Ms Barry.

The Museum of Wellington City and Sea will receive a government grant of $1.3 million for its redevelopment project and earthquake strengthening, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry announced this evening.

Ms Barry made the announcement at an event to mark the museum’s 15^th birthday celebrations.

“This grant acknowledges the significance of the Museum of City and Sea’s collection to both the wider Wellington region and on a national scale,” says Ms Barry.

New Zealand has achieved an important milestone with the first ever television co-production agreement being signed by any country with China, say Trade Minister Tim Groser and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

In reaching the agreement, an amendment to the China-NZ FTA was required and marked by a signing in an exchange of letters between Mr Groser and his Chinese counterpart, Minister Gao Hucheng.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has today launched a free app to help people explore New Zealand’s early history.

The Heritage Trails ‘Path to Nationhood’ app has been developed by Heritage New Zealand and includes six tours of historic Northland. It is free to downloadon smartphones and tablets.

The tours tell the stories of some of the earliest encounters between Māori and Pākehā prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Statistics Minister Craig Foss today commemorated Armistice Day with the launch of a WW100 infographic.

“The First World War was a significant event in New Zealand’s history — it helped define us as a nation and it continues to have a lasting impact,” Mr Foss says.

“I am proud to be able to tell the story of this important event through statistics.”

The First World War - Changing the Fabric of our Nation infographic has been developed by Statistics New Zealand in partnership with the WW100 Programme Office.

In her first official overseas visit new Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister, and lead Minister for New Zealand’s WW100 programme, Maggie Barry will attend the 96th anniversary commemorations of Armistice Day in Europe.

Ms Barry will be supporting the All Blacks when they play England at Twickenham, where poppies will be worn on the player’s uniforms and a moment’s silence will be observed as a mark of respect.

The amazing range of Pacific arts in New Zealand was celebrated tonight at an award ceremony in Wellington.

Minister for Pacific Peoples Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga congratulated all the winners of the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards 2014.

“These awards acknowledge the excellence and innovation in Pacific arts in New Zealand,” says Mr Lotu-Iiga. “They are the only national awards to recognise Pacific artists across a range of art forms.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has cast her vote for the little blue penguin in Forest & Bird’s Seabird of the Year 2014.

“All of our marvellous seabirds deserve a vote but I’ve chosen to back the little blue. Although it’s the most common penguin around our coastlines, the species is in gradual decline,” says Ms Barry.

This year the annual poll to select New Zealand’s favourite bird is focusing on seabirds. Nearly half of the species that breed in New Zealand are in danger of becoming extinct.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the winners of the inaugural Conservation Innovation Awards.

The World Wildlife Fund Conservation Innovation Awards were presented at a ceremony in Wellington last night. The awards recognise innovative approaches to conservation issues.

Ms Barry presented the inaugural award to inventor Gian Badraun and Microsystems Research for their product ‘Trap Minder’, an early response system for monitoring predator traps and bait stations.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the start of Conservation Week, which this year has a theme of “Discover the world where you live.”

Conservation Week 2014 runs until 9^th November. There are more than 150 events planned nationwide, ranging from beach clean ups and special guided night walks, to training dogs to stay away from kiwi and native snail monitoring.

Many of the events are designed to be opportunities for people to take a behind-the-scenes look at projects in their local area and to learn more about conservation.