The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

responsible for supporting the

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, built heritage, sport and recreation, and

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

sectors in New Zealand and advising government on such.

History

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs had been created in 1991; prior to this, the

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, ...

(DIA) had provided oversight and support for arts and culture functions. MCH was founded in 1999 with the merger of the former Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the history and heritage functions of the DIA, as well as some functions from the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Commerce. The purpose of the merger of functions and departments was to create a coherent, non-fragmented overview of the cultural and heritage sector, rather than spreading services and functions across several departments. Minister for Cultural Affairs Marie Hasler oversaw the transition of functions into the new agency. Opposition Labour MP

Judith Tizard Judith Ngaire Tizard (born 3 January 1956) is a former New Zealand politician, and a member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. Early life and career Tizard was born at Auckland's St Helen's maternity hospital in Pitt Street in 1956. ...

, who would later serve as an Associate Minister for the ministry in the

Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the List of New Zealand governments, government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim A ...

, accused the restructure of being "all hype, no substance," lacking the funding and human resource necessary to be effective. At the time of its establishment, the minister responsible for the ministry was the Minister for Culture and Heritage. This position is now titled the

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for arts, culture, heritage, and broadcasting, and is in charge of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The position was established ...

. In April 2024, the Ministry proposed reducing its workforce from 184 to 150 roles to meet Government budgetary cutbacks. Of the 34 affected net roles, 23 were already vacant while 11 would be redundancies. In mid-June 2025, the Ministry proposed slashing 24 jobs (15 percent of its workforce) after the 2025 New Zealand budget reduced its budget by NZ$2 million. These proposed cuts include laying off three of its seven historians and most of its digital production roles. Historian Jock Phillips expressed concerns that these job cuts would affect educational websites run by the Ministry. An unidentified Ministry official also expressed concern that the cutbacks would affect its community engagement including school groups, the

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

/tribal-led Te Tai Whakaea Treaty Settlement Stories and Pacific Histories programmes.

Functions

The ministry advises the government on policies and issues relating to the arts, culture, heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors. It funds 17 other agencies which also support these sectors, looks after war monuments and memorials and war graves throughout New Zealand, and is involved in a number of projects promoting and documenting New Zealand history.

Agencies

* Creative New Zealand (Arts Council of New Zealand) * New Zealand Music Commission *

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the New Zealand Government, per the New Zealand Symphony ...

* Royal New Zealand Ballet * Te Matatini Society Inc. *

Broadcasting Standards Authority The Broadcasting Standards Authority (; abbreviated BSA) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television. The main functions of the B ...

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; ) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 a ...

NZ on Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...

Radio New Zealand International RNZ Pacific or Radio New Zealand Pacific, sometimes abbreviated to RNZP, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports programme ...

* Antarctic Heritage Trust *

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

(Te Papa) *

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Operating name for The New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero.) is an archive that was launched on 31 July 2014, following the completion of a three-year proces ...

* Pukaki Trust * Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust * Drug Free Sport New Zealand *

Sport New Zealand Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) ( Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Their subsidiary High Performance Sport New Zealand deals with elite athletes. Legislat ...

Guardianship

In 2014 the ministry became the guardian of the TVNZ Archive collection on behalf of the crown. It appointed

as the initial archive manager. The TVNZ Archive collection contains over 600,000 hours of television spanning almost 55 years of New Zealand's public television history. It includes iconic New Zealand content such as documentaries, dramas, sports programmes and every TVNZ news broadcast from December 1986 to 2014. In a 2014 briefing to Minister Craig Foss, the ministry noted that the long-term preservation of the TVNZ Archive collection did not align with the broadcaster's business needs and that transferring the collection to the crown would allow for the proper preservation of the collection. Both the ministry and TVNZ explicitly wanted to ensure the archive was preserved and that it was made increasingly available for re-use through online streaming and other means.

History and heritage

The ministry supports research into and promotion of New Zealand history. This includes publication of New Zealand history books and e-books, and a number of websites. The ministry's managed sites include: * New Zealand History (NZHistory) * '' Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' * ''

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...

'' * Ngā Tapuwae Trails * WW100, New Zealand's official First World War centenary programme * Landmarks Whenua Tohunga David Green, a historian working for the ministry, discovered that significantly more New Zealand personnel were engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign than had been recorded in Fred Waite's official history, ''The New Zealanders at Gallipoli''. Waite's number of some 8,500 men was corrected to approximately 18,000 in September 2013. Tohu Whenua Landmarks that tell our stories is a partnership between MCH, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai,

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buil ...

and the

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ( MBIE; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic productivity and business ...

. The programme promotes and encourages people to visit New Zealand's historically and culturally important places. Landmarks has been launched so far in Northland and Otago.

Legislation

The ministry is responsible for overseeing dozens of current acts and regulations. These include: * Administering the following

Orders in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

: ** Canterbury Earthquake (Historic Places Act) Order 2011 ** Television New Zealand (Separation of Transmission Business) Order 2003 ** Historic Places Trust Elections Regulations 1993 * Administering the following Acts of Parliament: ** Broadcasting Act 1989 ** Television New Zealand Act 2003 ** Protected Objects Act 1975 **

Historic Places Act 1993 The Historic Places Act 1993 was an act of the New Zealand Parliament. It defines Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic ...

** National War Memorial Act 1992 ** Radio New Zealand Act 1995 ** Anzac Day Act 1966 ** New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 ** Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 ** Archives, Culture, and Heritage Reform Act 2000 ** Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Act 1992 ** Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 1994 ** New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 * Consultation responsibilities under many acts relating the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

settlements. ** Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Act 2009 ** Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi Claims Settlement Act 2005

Ministers

The ministry serves three portfolios and two ministers.

References

External links

*
New Zealand History (NZHistory)
{{Authority control Culture and Heritage Arts in New Zealand Cultural heritage of New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...