Speech to the Future Perfect Digital Continuity Conference

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Thank you Greg for the welcome and the opportunity to speak today.

I am pleased to be at the first conference in the southern hemisphere dedicated to digital continuity and the on-going protection and management of government information.

A special welcome to our overseas visitors, including the strong Australian contingent. Can I acknowledge:

• Peter Alexander, representing Australian Government Chief Information Officer Ann Steward.
• Dr Andreas Rauber, Vienna University of Technology
• Dr Seamus Ross, Toronto University.
• Penny Carnaby, National Library Chief Executive.
• Stephen Clarke, Senior Advisor who is leaving Archives NZ but has done a lot of work on this conference.

Digital Continuity Action Plan

This conference is a direct result of the Digital Continuity Action Plan I announced last year. The plan was the first government-mandated, public sector approach to digital continuity anywhere in the world.

Other countries had taken separate initiatives, but none had taken such a unified approach.

Today I want to explain why digital continuity is so important, and in particular, it's importance to the government.

Here in New Zealand three-quarters of public sector agencies can no longer access some of their records. This can be caused by obsolete storage media, or unreadable software or hardware.

Public records deal with major issues, having an impact on society, the economy and people's lives.

It's not good for the transparency and accountability of government, or the health of our democracy, if we lose important public records.

I can give you one example. On one of my first visits to Archives New Zealand as Minister I was shown the findings from the 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Genetic Modification. These records had been stored on zip files.

As you know zip files are out of date. And how long before USB memory sticks are out of date? The risk of losing a lot more material is high if we don't take action now.

In the 1980s we were told that CDs would last for a 100 years, but new research shows that's not the case, and their true lifespan is a lot shorter. Sony has announced that it will end sales of the classic 3.5 inch floppy disk in 2011.

We need to stop important public records being lost and to make sure they are accessible when required. If we lose information about ourselves then we are all the poorer.

This is why the Digital Continuity Action Plan is so important.

Archives New Zealand is leading the implementation of the programme and providing support, advice and leadership to other public agencies.

But they can't do this work alone.  The job needs to be collaborative.

Staff from Archives New Zealand are working with public sector agencies up and down the country to ensure the six goals set out in the plan are actioned.

Currently the focus is on compiling a directory of information and a glossary of digital continuity terms. 

The glossary will be used to help collaboration between different people involved in digital preservation, including IT professionals, archivists and librarians. A wiki to help compile the glossary has been set-up.

Digital Continuity is important to the government because we want better delivery of public services, while at the same time recognising the pressure on taxpayers.

We want to see more value and re-use from public information, and to avoid the wastage caused by losing data.

Digitisation

The government also wants to see more data available and readily accessible to New Zealanders, and as efficiently as possible.

One key way to do this is to have it online.

For people of all ages, digital content is a huge part of daily life. The internet is now the first port of call for many people seeking information.

When it comes to government data, people expect - even demand - that it will be available online.

Archives New Zealand is now digitising high use content to keep up with the demand. New Zealand shipping lists from 1855 to the mid 1970s, war records from the South African War and World War One have been digitised and the next focus is on probates and wills.

New Zealanders' land ownership records are now digital. Our identity records are digital. Our company records are online.

Just to give you one more example - Archives New Zealand has launched "Archives TV" by providing content to the internet TV station Ziln.

In the most recent week I have figures for, over 25,000 people accessed this channel. Archives TV is now the most popular channel since the network began in September last year.

To support internet access, the government has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in rolling out broadband across the country.

Within the next 10 years we want to have ultra-fast broadband available to 75 percent of New Zealanders.

In effect, this is the pipeline - the challenge now is to make the most of this opportunity and fill those pipes with information into every home and school in New Zealand.

Merger with DIA

Of course, another big priority for Archives New Zealand this year is the merger with the National Library and the Department of Internal Affairs. The three departments are now working together to achieve this by the end of the year.

I know this issue is likely to be a topic of interest, and some people have written to me expressing concern. I would like to give you a bit of background on how and why the government is doing this.

As the Minister responsible for all three agencies I believe they share natural synergies. These organisations have a common focus on using digital technology and making government information widely accessible to citizens through the internet.

This move will allow expertise and resources to be pooled, while at the same time sharing back office costs.

The major roles and functions of the National Library and Archives New Zealand will not change.  These important cultural institutions will continue to be trusted and preserved for future generations.

The statutory independence and integrity of the Chief Archivist will be preserved, and as the responsible Minister I will continue to receive independent advice from the Archives Council.

Conclusion

Can I finish by thanking you all for the important work you are doing. This event is an ideal opportunity to share experiences and work together on addressing digital continuity.  

Conferences like this require a great deal of hard work and organisation. 

Thanks to Archives New Zealand and the conference committee from Statistics New Zealand, Te Papa, the Department of Internal Affairs, the National Library and Wellington's Victoria University.

Thanks also to the conference sponsors; along with Archives New Zealand, the National Library, the State Services Commission and ExLibris.

Thank you again and all the best for the rest of your conference.