Ministerial Statement
Sustainability is at the heart of the three themes constituting the government’s priorities for the next decade. One of our key challenges is sustaining and promoting New Zealand’s unique culture, values and national identity in a world of globalised media and culture.
The work of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is a key part of these endeavours. The recently completed New Zealand Memorial project in London is a potent example of how our unique national identity can be expressed and celebrated on the world stage. The successful dedication ceremony last November commemorated the enduring bonds between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Importantly, however, the strikingly beautiful sculpture in Hyde Park Corner is also a cogent symbol of New Zealand standing tall and independent as a proud Pacific nation.
Such symbols of our nationhood have a deep resonance, as we saw also in 2004 with the completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. The forthcoming development of the New Zealand Memorial Park alongside the National War Memorial will further enhance the setting of the Memorial, and its role as a focal point for a sense of shared heritage and identity.
The establishment of the Park is just one of the many activities the Ministry will undertake over the coming year to reflect and foster that identity: informing and expressing who we are, what we do, and how we are seen by the world.
In undertaking this work, the Ministry will provide advice and support covering three ministerial portfolios: Arts, Culture and Heritage; Broadcasting; and Sport and Recreation. This Statement of Intent encompasses these areas, establishes the overall direction that the Ministry will take, and sets out the strategies it is putting in place to support the government’s priorities. The information contained in this document is consistent with the policies and performance expectations of the government.
I am confident that the work outlined in the Ministry’s Statement of Intent will effectively assist the government in its management of its broad cultural and heritage interests.
Helen Clark
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
17 May 2007