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The value of older people to New Zealand has been spelled out in a new report released today by Senior Citizens Minister Maggie Barry.

The 2014 Report on the Positive Ageing Strategy, from the Office for Senior Citizens, examines how New Zealand has progressed towards the goals from the original strategy, launched in 2001.

It also provides guidance for Government and local councils on planning for the issues facing older people now and in future.

Senior Citizens Minister Maggie Barry has launched a new range of multilingual resources to help New Zealanders protect their future with an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA).

Two pamphlets which explain how to set up an EPA have been translated into nine different languages and are now available for free online.

A spectacular week of events to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landings during the First World War begins this Saturday, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“Anzac Week is a chance for all New Zealanders to honour the sacrifice of previous generations, understand how our sense of nationhood was forged and come together to reflect on the scale and horror of what our troops endured,” Ms Barry says.

Ceremonies in Wellington begin with the official opening of the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at 11am on Saturday.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced the Government will contribute towards a joint bid to buy Glenfern Sanctuary on Great Barrier Island for the nation.

The Nature Heritage Fund, which is allocated at the Minister’s discretion, will put a significant amount of funding towards a consortium including the Auckland Council and Great Barrier Local Board looking to purchase Glenfern.

The sanctuary, in Port Fitzroy in the north of the island, was founded by the late sailing champion Tony Bouzaid in 1992 and is now for sale.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry will today open the new Aotea Conservation Park on Great Barrier Island, the first such park in the Auckland region.

The park will enable increased public access to the island’s breath-taking beauty, while safeguarding its natural treasures and unique species.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today announced the Albany Scenic Reserve in Auckland will be closed until further notice to prevent the spread of kauri dieback.

The 40 hectare Department of Conservation reserve is infested with the spores which cause dieback, a disease ravaging New Zealand’s forest giants. Several kauri trees growing next to the track through the reserve are visibly infected with it.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says a new website featuring previously unavailable film from World War I is an engrossing historical resource.

Anzac: Sights & Sounds, from Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, gives an evocative, insightful and compelling view of the conflict, using archival film footage gathered from across the world, recorded interviews, songs and photographs.

“The films and audio recordings on the website are an extraordinary record of a tragic and painful time in New Zealand’s history,” Ms Barry says.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry is pleased Dambuster Les Munro’s medals and other items will be staying in New Zealand.

Mr Munro has accepted the generous offer of British philanthropist Lord Ashcroft to donate £75,000 to the Bomber Command memorial in London, in return for Mr Munro gifting the medals and logbooks to the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the release of a free smartphone and tablet app which offers a new way to explore the Gallipoli campaign.

The Ngā Tapuwae Gallipoli app features compelling diary entries from the First World War, with clear facts, authentic and beautiful imagery as well as audio tours narrated by leading historians.

The app is designed to be used offline to avoid expensive roaming charges and is free for all to download in New Zealand and overseas.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has said she is concerned that a mature kauri tree is under threat.

The owner of a property on Paturoa Road has been granted permission to cut down the tree in order to build. The tree is on private land and the Auckland Council in this case, has the responsibility for deciding what activities can occur on the property.

Ms Barry says she is surprised by the Council’s decision not to notify the public of the process to remove a 200-year-old kauri.

Senior Citizens Minister Maggie Barry today announced the winners of the national youth essay competition, ‘1914 – 2014: The greatest greats and grands of the last 100 years.’ 

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival organisers for another outstanding celebration of Māori traditional performing arts.

The festival is the world’s largest celebration of Māori performing arts, attracting more than 30,000 performers, supporters and visitors over the four days.

This is the first time the event has been held in the South Island for more than twenty years.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says today’s opening of the Mahu Whenua covenants under New Zealand's largest ever private land protection agreement, is a significant gift to the nation.

53,000 hectares of land in central Otago has been gifted by philanthropist and music producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange of Soho Property Ltd, through a partnership with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust.

The Green Ribbon Awards, which honour New Zealand's environmental leaders, are to be a joint endeavour for the first time between the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Conservation, Ministers Dr Nick Smith and Maggie Barry announced today.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry is pleased to announce a bumper crop of tuatara eggs on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island this breeding season.

“It’s an outstanding example of what can be achieved when we ensure that New Zealand’s ecosystems can flourish. Since the island was declared pest-free in 2006, the number of tuatara living in the wild has grown from just eight to 300,” says Ms Barry.

Rangers have confirmed there are 19 eggs in this year’s breeding season.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has today announced the Department of Conservation’s 2015 Community Conservation Partnerships Fund is open for submissions.

The fund was established in 2014 to provide $26 million over four years for community-led conservation projects around New Zealand.

“I am delighted that funding is being made available to communities to support their valuable conservation work. The first year has been a huge success with $8.5 million granted to a diverse range of 107 conservation projects nationwide,” says Ms Barry.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated Project Crimson for their achievements over the past 25 years in saving pohutukawa and rata trees and helping them flourish.

“Under the outstanding leadership of Devon McLean, the Project Crimson trust has proved a successful model of partnership between businesses, central and local government and community groups. It also emphasizes the importance of partners working together with DOC,” says Ms Barry.

Michael Moynahan has been appointed a member of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Maggie Barry announced today.

“I am very pleased to have someone of the calibre of Michael Moynahan as a new member of the Arts Council,” says Ms Barry.

“Michael has had a long association with literature and is an articulate and dedicated supporter of the arts. Alongside that he brings extensive governance experience, business rigour and a wide-ranging background in the cultural sector to the role.”

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry today paid tribute to the life of renowned architect Sir Ian Athfield KNZM, who has passed away aged 74.

“Sir Ian Athfield has played a major part in shaping modern New Zealand architecture and has made an enormous contribution to the city of Wellington he loved so much,” says Ms Barry.

“He was involved in many projects throughout New Zealand since the 1960s, most recently with his creative input to the Christchurch rebuild.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today announced a new Yealands Family Wines partnership with the Department of Conservation that will provide more than $100,000 over three years for conservation initiatives on and around the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds.

“Winemaker Peter Yealands is renowned as a leader in sustainable wine production and his company’s values of environmental sustainability are reflected in its significant contribution to conservation on the Queen Charlotte Track and in Queen Charlotte Sound,” says Ms Barry.