Despite opposition from a large number of authors and publishers around New Zealand and overseas, this government is pushing through a deal with the Internet Archive to clean its hands of 600,000 books from The National Library’s Overseas Published Collection on the ‘deadline’ of 1 December 2021, says National Party Internal Affairs Spokesperson Simon O’Connor.

“The Internet Archive has been globally condemned as ‘internet pirates’ and has effectively been given permission by the government to illegally distribute copyrighted works from New Zealand’s authors and publishers, as well as overseas authors.

“Not only are writer’s livelihoods jeopardised by this deal, but this is a slap in the face to the literary community and creative sector in New Zealand.

“National stands with them and is calling on the Labour Government to reconsider this risky partnership and push back the deadline so that they can meaningfully engage and consult with external legal services, publishers and authors about this deal.

“It is clear a significant number in the literary community feel outraged and betrayed by this government’s overreach. National will continue to advocate for them and ensure their voices are heard before it is too late.”

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