Central Government contributes to cultural well-being in a variety of different ways. Its contribution can be through the provision of guidelines, published research reports and papers, funding for projects, sponsorship or as active partners in projects.
We have highlighted some of the resources Central Government has that may assist you. Explore these websites and find out more about each agency and what they do.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s overall role is to help make New Zealand culture visible and accessible.
It is responsible for giving the government advice on cultural matters. It provides and manages cultural resources on behalf of government for the benefit of all New Zealanders; funding a range of cultural organisations and directly delivering a number of quality cultural experiences to New Zealanders.
The Ministry for the Environement is the Government's principal adviser on environmental sustainability and international matters that affect the environment. The environment supports New Zealand’s economy based on natural resources, the health of our people, and our quality of life.
The Ministry is the lead government agency for environmental well-being.
The role of the Ministry of Economic Development is to ensure New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to do business, and to make a real difference to the country’s economic performance.
The Ministry is the lead government agency for economic well-being. Cultural well-being and economic well-being are integrated in such things as the focus on economic develpment through creative indistries such as film and fashion, through tourism and the importance of cultural actvities to the tourism experience, and the use of culture in urban regeneration projects.
The Ministry of Education's role is to raise educational achievement and reduce disparity. Its overarching outcome is to build a world leading education system that equips all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens in the 21st century.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for developing and maintaining an effective public health sector. To do this it works collaboratively with other government agencies, local government and the community. The four well-beings - cultural, social, economic and environmental - all influence the ability to maintain good health in individuals and communities.
The Ministry works closely with other agencies in the justice sector to advance the sector’s common goal of a safe and just society for New Zealand.
The Ministry of Social Development provides government with advice on strategic social policy, sectoral policy and social research and evaluation in the areas of income support, child, youth and family as well as community. We are also responsible for providing policy advice and support through the Offices for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Senior Citizens and Disability Issues.
The Ministry is the lead government agency for social well-being outcomes.
The Ministry of Tourism works to maximise the benefits to New Zealand from the sustainable development of the tourism industry.
The National Library links government, academic, community and business networks together, creating New Zealand’s ‘information bank’ as well as collecting and preserving a wide range of contemporary and heritage collections that teach us about the world and ourselves.
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is the country's leading heritage agency whose mission is to keep New Zealand's heritage places alive and useful. The Trust's activities relate to the recognition, protection and promotion of New Zealand's historic and cultural heritage.
NZ On Air's job is to promote and foster the development of New Zealand's culture on the airwaves by funding locally-made television programmes, public radio networks and access radio, and to promote New Zealand music by funding music videos and radio shows.
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, is the country's leading professional orchestra. It has 90 players and performs over 100 concerts annually. Touring within New Zealand is an important part of the orchestra's activities. All its main symphonic programmes are presented in Auckland and Wellington, and as well as this, the orchestra visits some 30 New Zealand towns and cities annually.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is the government's national economic development agency. We work to stimulate economic growth by helping to boost export earnings, strengthening regional economies, and delivering economic development assistance to industries and individual businesses.
The New Zealand Transport Agency was formed by the amalgamation of the Land Transport Safety Authority and Transit New Zealand.
Further information coming soon - in the meantime see the Transit New Zealand entry.
The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS) was established in September 2003 to address overarching issues affecting the community and voluntary sector, and to raise the profile of the sector within government.
The OCVS works across government with the aim of achieving excellent relationships between government agencies and community, voluntary and Māori organisations.
The OCVS is part of the Ministry of Social Development.
