Bill undermines National Library and Archives NZ - Labour

Photo / APN

A bill to merge the National Library and Archives New Zealand will undermine their independence and influence, Labour MP Grant Robertson says.

The Government in March announced the two bodies would be integrated into the Department of Internal Affairs to save between $3 million and $9m, and assured critics the independence of their statutory roles would be protected.

The education and science committee considered the State Sector Management Bill and today reported back changes.

The committee heard from concerned submitters who said the proposed move would make the chief archivist and national librarian "third-tier managers" by reporting to the head of the department rather than the minister.

Labour's State Services spokesman, Mr Robertson said the bill reported back from the committee is substantially the same as the Government's proposal.

"The result of the bill will see the chief archivist and national librarian as third tier-managers who are not part of the leadership team at (the Department of Internal Affairs), with no guaranteed access to ministers."

He said both bodies needed independence and influence to do their job properly, and that was compromised by the bill.

The Department of Internal Affairs has previously run Archives NZ, the agency tasked with collecting government and community records, until it was spun off as an independent body in 2000.

Mr Robertson said submitters told the committee before 2000, it had been a disaster for record keeping and important documents were lost.

"All of this is being done for limited savings. The Government was not able to tell the select committee how much would be saved, or offer any real justification for the merger," he said.

"Labour will continue to oppose these aspects of the bill."

The Green Party said the change could have a disastrous effect on both the National Library and Archives NZ.

"We share some submitters' concerns that this process has been driven out of an ideological motivation to reduce the number of governmental departments rather than a desire for good archival or library outcomes," the party said.

"Sharing technology and digitisation, bureaucratic efficiencies and cost savings were presented as arguments in favour of proceeding with this bill.

"No evidence or robust analysis why this particular and very disruptive structural solution was needed to achieve essentially financial and technological policy aims was presented.

"The Green Party believes this is a retrograde step."

Another change in the bill is merging the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology into a new Ministry of Science and Innovation.

- NZPA