Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and the TVNZ Archive Management
In 2014, the landscape of New Zealand's audiovisual preservation shifted when Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision was appointed as the Archive Manager for the TVNZ Archive. This transition was the culmination of a strategic objective by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) to align the TVNZ collection more closely with the activities of the New Zealand Film Archive, which had evolved into Ngā Taonga.
The formal arrangement began on August 1, 2014, with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Chris Finlayson, and Jane Kominik, the Chair of Ngā Taonga. While originally set to expire in June 2017, the agreement was extended to June 30, 2018.
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Key Facts
- Management Start: Ngā Taonga took over day-to-day management of the TVNZ Archive in August 2014.
- Funding: Initial funding for 2014/15 was $1,590,000, increasing to $2 million annually thereafter.
- The 20,000 Target: A public goal was set to put 20,000 titles (or 5,000 hours) online within three years.
- Oversight: The Ministry for Culture and Heritage was tasked with monitoring financial and service performance.
- Digitisation Gap: Significant discrepancies existed between public targets and the formal obligations outlined in the MoU.
Funding and Financial Oversight
The financial transition of the archive involved a shift in cost responsibility. In 2012, the MCH estimated that running the TVNZ Archive cost TVNZ between $0.5 and $1 million annually. Once Ngā Taonga assumed management, the MCH provided $1,590,000 for the 2014/15 year to cover management, archiving, and accessibility, with funding rising to $2 million per year in subsequent years.
The initial budget bid was based on a PriceWaterhouseCoopers financial due diligence report and a proposal from the New Zealand Film Archive, though the MCH later clarified that the latter consisted only of three draft budgets. By November 2017, Ngā Taonga noted that activity-based costings—a method of allocating costs based on the actual activities performed—had not been conducted during the 2014 transfer.
Compliance and Monitoring
Minister Chris Finlayson appointed the MCH to monitor Ngā Taonga's performance. Under the MoU, the Minister held the power to amend agreements, withhold payments, or demand repayments if outputs were not met. However, these penalties were never utilized by the ministers in charge, including Maggie Barry and Grant Robertson, despite the archive failing to meet certain targets.
The 20,000 Titles Digitisation Project
The transfer of the archive was marked by a public event on July 31, 2014, where the organization was rebranded as the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiahua me Ngā Taonga Kōrero. During this event, Minister of Broadcasting Craig Foss announced an ambitious project to digitise items of high heritage value for free online public access.
The public goal was to have approximately 20,000 titles, or 5,000 hours of content, online within three years. This figure was echoed in government press releases and by the first Chief Executive, Frank Stark. However, this target differed significantly from the targets signed in the formal MoU.
Discrepancies in Targets
Internal documents reveal a complex history of digitisation goals:
- 2013 Draft: A summary suggested digitising 25,250 hours (roughly 55,550 titles) over three years, plus a 9,750-hour baseline.
- Actual Performance: Annual reports showed only 5,793 titles digitised in 2012/13 and 5,807 in 2013/14.
- KPI Changes: In the 2014/15 report, the specific digitisation key performance indicator (KPI) was replaced by "Digital Titles Added," which combined new digital content with digitised legacy content.
By 2017, internal MCH memos admitted that Ngā Taonga had "a long way to go" to reach the 20,000-title mark. While Chief Executive Rebecca Elvy later stated that the target was unrealistic and that the Ministry agreed, the MCH stated they had no official record of such an agreement.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Management Entity | Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision |
| Effective Date | August 1, 2014 |
| Initial Funding (2014/15) | $1,590,000 |
| Subsequent Annual Funding | $2,000,000 |
| Public Digitisation Target | 20,000 titles / 5,000 hours |
| Monitoring Body | Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) |
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision take over the TVNZ Archive?
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision was appointed as the Archive Manager on August 1, 2014, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Minister Chris Finlayson and Chair Jane Kominik.
What was the "20,000 titles" project?
It was a public goal announced by Minister Craig Foss to digitise and provide free online access to 20,000 high-heritage-value titles (approximately 5,000 hours of content) from the TVNZ Archive within three years.
How was the management of the TVNZ Archive funded?
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage provided the funding, starting with $1,590,000 in the 2014/15 year and increasing to $2 million per year thereafter.
Were the digitisation targets actually met?
There is evidence that the targets were not met. Internal MCH memos from 2017 indicated the archive had a long way to go, and the archive's own reports showed a history of digitising roughly 5,800 titles per year prior to the transfer.
Why was there a discrepancy between the public target and the MoU?
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage described the 20,000-title figure announced by Minister Foss as an "ambitious target," which differed from the formal obligations agreed upon in the signed Memorandum of Understanding.