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The Minister Responsible for the National Library Nathan Guy has welcomed the inclusion of up to 82 libraries in the final tender process for the Government’s rural broadband initiative.

“This will be a major boost for public access to the internet. Many rural communities will have access to ultra-fast broadband, even if they live outside the UFB coverage area.

Ladies and Gentlemen - welcome to Parliament today.

It's my pleasure to be your host today as the Minister Responsible for the National Library.

It was just two years ago that many of us were here to announce the outgoing Poet Laureate, Cilla McQueen, whose poetry we've just shared.

That was my first official event as the Minister Responsible, so it's an event I remember well.

New Zealand’s new Poet Laureate for 2011-2013 is Ian Wedde, the Minister responsible for the National Library Nathan Guy has announced today.

“The Poet Laureate is a prestigious position, acting as an Ambassador for the role of poetry as part of our national culture,” says Mr Guy.

“This position is administered by the National Library and is a recognition by the government of how important poetry is to our history, culture and identity.

The trauma and recovery of quake-hit Christchurch is now being recorded for future generations, says Nathan Guy, the Minister Responsible for the National Library.

“The National Library is collecting a record of the quakes and their aftermath through a variety of mediums, including photos, oral history, web harvesting, and collecting material from memorial services and fundraising concerts,” says Mr Guy.

New appointments to the positions of National Librarian and Chief Archivist have been welcomed by Nathan Guy, the Minister Responsible for both the National Library and Archives New Zealand.

“These are very important statutory positions and I’m pleased we have two high quality appointments,” says Mr Guy.

The Minister Responsible for the National Library, Archives New Zealand and Internal Affairs has rubbished claims by Labour MP Grant Robertson that the integration of the three departments will save only $165,000 a year, putting the correct figure at closer to $2 million.

“Mr Robertson is using outdated figures,” says Mr Guy.

“The Government invested a one-off $2.5 million in the integration, and from next year onwards savings will be around $2 million annually.