Hon Christopher Finlayson
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

Hon Craig Foss
Minister of Broadcasting

18 February 2013 Media Statement
Ministers welcome sound archive transfer

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister, Chris Finlayson and Broadcasting Minister, Craig Foss today marked the successful transfer of responsibility for New Zealand’s Sound Archives.

Responsibility for Radio New Zealand’s Sound Archives (Sound Archives Nga Taonga Korero) was transferred to the New Zealand Film Archive in October 2012. A ceremony to mark the transfer was held at the New Zealand Film Archive today.

“It is my pleasure to congratulate the sound archiving team for ensuring a smooth transition. The New Zealand Film Archive’s expertise in digitising audio-visual collections makes this an exciting development,” says Mr Foss.

An extra $300,000 per annum is being made available for sound archiving and a one-off sum of $1 million will be provided over the next two financial years. This extra funding will be used to digitise New Zealand’s valuable audio heritage.

“This is an important project that not only ensures the secure storage and preservation of these important records, but through digitisation will help make the living history contained in the archives more readily accessible,” Mr Finlayson said.

ENDS

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