TRANSFERRING THE PAPERS OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT An introductory guide for ministerial and parliamentary staff This pamphlet outlines Archives New Zealand s procedures for archiving the records of Ministers of the Crown and Members of Parliament. It is also designed to assist with answering some of the most common queries about which records should be transferred to Archives New Zealand. 26/09/2008
Introduction: what does Archives New Zealand do? Archives New Zealand is the official guardian of New Zealand s heritage documents, and works to ensure that there is an authentic and reliable record of government. It does this by advising government agencies on how to create and maintain records of their activities and interactions. It also preserves and provides access to those government records which need to be kept permanently. Holdings date from as early as 1835 and come from a wide variety of areas, ranging from citizenship to educational achievement, land ownership to health policy. New Zealand s foremost document, the Treaty of Waitangi, is held on permanent exhibition in the Constitution Room. Many different people and organisations use the materials held at Archives New Zealand. The records provide evidence of the rights and entitlements of New Zealanders, the policies and processes of the government of New Zealand, and information on the history, culture and development of the country. The archives are often used to research Treaty of Waitangi claims or trace whakapapa and ancestry. How does this relate to the records created in ministerial and parliamentary offices? Under the Public Records Act (2005), Archives New Zealand is responsible for the preservation, custody arrangements, care of and access to all public archives, as well as supporting good government recordkeeping practices. The Public Records Act defines public records as a record or a class of records, in any form, in whole or in part, created or received by a public office in the conduct of its affairs (Section 4). Public archives are those public records which come under the control of the Chief Archivist, i.e. those which, in the opinion of the Chief Archivist, warrant long-term preservation. Public archives include some parliamentary records and also records of Ministers of the Crown. Parliamentary records and Minister s records are transferred under Section 42 of the Public Records Act. Whose records does Archives New Zealand collect? Archives New Zealand will preserve records compiled or received by the following politicians, during the course of their parliamentary careers: The Prime Minister Ministers of the Crown Leaders and deputy leaders of political parties The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House Members of Parliament who have an existing transfer relationship with Archives New Zealand (such as former Ministers of the Crown) Records of other Members of Parliament are not normally offered for deposit with Archives New Zealand. However, the Chief Archivist has the discretion to permit such transfers if the records are considered to be significant. 2
Is Archives New Zealand only interested in paper records? No. Records come in many formats: e.g. plans, drawings, maps, photographs, video and audio cassettes, electronic records. Please discuss electronic records with Archives New Zealand prior to transfer. Which records should be archived? Archives New Zealand is responsible for selecting records that are considered to be public archives from amongst the records created during an individual s working life. This process of selection is called appraisal. All records no longer needed for day-to-day business in the Minister of the Crown or Member of Parliament s office are subject to appraisal before arrangements to deposit them with Archives New Zealand are finalised. Therefore, please begin the archiving process by contacting Archives New Zealand (contact details can be found below). Some general guidelines are also included in this pamphlet. See Appendix A - Which Records Should Be Archived? Which records should not be archived? Archives New Zealand preserves records that have long-term historical value. It is wasteful to preserve records with short-term value such as second (identical) copies, low-level administrative papers, or copies of published reports that are readily available elsewhere, for example Hansard. Archives New Zealand also receives Cabinet and Select Committee records directly from Cabinet Office and the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Finally, Archives New Zealand focuses principally on records which relate to the work of central government. Again, please contact Archives New Zealand for assistance in beginning the archiving process. Some general guidelines are also included in this pamphlet. See Appendix B - Which Records Should Not Be Archived? How do I go about archiving records? Guidelines follow at the end of this pamphlet. See Appendix C - How to Archive Records. 3
What happens if I discover that I need to use the papers I have transferred to Archives New Zealand? Records may be requested and viewed in our public reading rooms. In addition, Ministers of the Crown and Members of Parliament who have deposited records have the statutory right to borrow back this material for an agreed period through the Government Loans Service of Archives New Zealand. The normal loan period is three months. For further information, contact the Parliamentary Liaison Officer (see contact details below) and ask for a copy of the Government Loans Service pamphlet. Records borrowed back through the Government Loans Service are archives, and so cannot be altered or added to. However a Minister or Member of Parliament may deposit additional related material with Archives New Zealand, as a second part of the original record. Who can I contact about archiving records? For further queries regarding the transfer of political records to Archives New Zealand, please contact: [contact details removed] 4
APPENDIX A Which records should be archived? Please begin any archiving by contacting Archives New Zealand for guidance. However, some general guidelines follow. Public records compiled or received by a Minister in his/her official capacity, or by other Members of Parliament, include: General correspondence records Subject/issues files Ministerial portfolio papers Overseas trips/conference papers Some categories of correspondence should not be archived. Refer to Appendix B Which Records Should Not Be Archived? for further information. These may relate to a particular portfolio, or to a topical issue of specific interest to a Minister of the Crown or Member of Parliament. Such as briefing papers prepared by government departments. Note: If the government department concerned archives directly with Archives New Zealand, records approved for transfer would include the original briefing papers. In such instances, only those copies with significant annotations would then be archived from the ministerial office. Excluding those which contain purely administrative information (itineraries, booking and funds, standard conference pamphlets received by all attending etc.). Files containing notes, speeches, addresses etc. are suitable for archiving. In such cases conference material, if included, may be left to provide some general context e.g. background briefing papers, conference outline etc. Speeches, presentations, addresses, press statements and media releases Note (1.) Party records (e.g. party conference, party executive, election campaign) should be discussed with Archives New Zealand. In some instances a party collection is already held by the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, and it may be more appropriate that comprehensive sets of party records should be offered to them in the first instance. This allows all records relevant to a given party to be held in one collection, rather than split between different institutions. Note (2.) Ministers may also accumulate records outside those directly relating to their portfolios. Examples are business records and personal/family correspondence. Other Members of Parliament may also accumulate a variety of records. It is at the discretion of the individual politician whether any of these types of records are offered to Archives New Zealand. The advantage of doing so is that all significant records relating to an individual are held by one organisation rather than being more widely dispersed. Such records are also subject to appraisal. 5
APPENDIX B Which records should not be archived? Please begin any archiving by contacting Archives New Zealand for guidance. However, some general guidelines follow. Archives New Zealand can also provide you with a copy of the General Disposal Authority (GDA) for Ministerial Records (ref: DA214), which complements these guidelines, and explain how this should be implemented. The GDA outlines the classes of records which do not need to be archived, and explains how long they should be retained by individual offices usually until no longer required for administrative purposes. As a general rule, the following records should not be archived: Cabinet and Cabinet Committee papers, and Select Committee papers Constituent correspondence Ministerials (correspondence referred to government departments for reply, not requiring direct ministerial action) Published sources and reports Reference material Invitations, accepted and declined Functions, celebrations and ceremonies Media and publicity material Newspaper clippings Circulars The Cabinet Office and the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives archive their records directly with Archives New Zealand. Therefore, only copies which have significant annotations should be archived from ministerial offices. Archives New Zealand focuses on the records of central government. And other correspondence which does not impact on government and agency decisions. Note: In addition, the originals of ministerials are generally filed back with the relevant government department. Such as Hansard, the New Zealand Statutes, annual reports of government departments and other published reports. Published material which is readily available elsewhere. Includes brochures, pamphlets, articles, books etc. which are available externally e.g. overseas legislation, government department pamphlets. Invitations, attendance lists etc. related to minor events, not of national significance. Administrative records related to events that are not of national significance or organised to mark major anniversaries. Administrative records concerning organisation of interviews and media access to a Minister or Member of Parliament. Clippings, articles, reports etc. which are readily available elsewhere. (Does not include clippings interspersed within files.) Low-level administrative information, documenting day to day housekeeping matters etc. 6
APPENDIX C How to archive records Checklist Consider what papers the Minister or Member of Parliament would like to send to Archives New Zealand. Contact Archives New Zealand to arrange for the records to be appraised. Once you have an idea of the quantity of records to be transferred, request boxes. Archives New Zealand can help you assess how many you will need. Box and list the records. Finalise restrictions and complete a private deposit form. Transfer the records to Archives New Zealand. 1.) SELECT RECORDS FOR TRANSFER TO ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND It is important to begin the process by sorting through your records, to ensure that only those of long-term value are archived. Archives New Zealand will assist with this process, so please start by contacting them when you are ready to begin archiving. All records will be subject to appraisal (sorting through and selection) by an archivist before arrangements to deposit them are finalised. This includes both records which are no longer needed for day-to-day business in the office of a Minister or Member of Parliament, and also records other than public records which they may wish to deposit. Contact details for Archives New Zealand can be found on page 4 of this guide. Some general guidelines on which records should be archived can be found on pages 5 and 6 of this guide. 2.) LIST AND BOX THE RECORDS Boxing and listing is best done together. Full instructions are provided in Preparing Records for Transfer: A Guide to Listing and Boxing. Copies are available from Archives New Zealand you can contact the Parliamentary Liaison Officer, or download a copy directly from the recordkeeping publications section of the Archives New Zealand Continuum website at www.archives.govt.nz/continuum. Copies may also be obtained online at Parliament: - for ministerial offices, at O / All Offices/ Archives. - for all other offices, on the Parliamentary Service intranet. 7
Archives New Zealand will go through the Guide with you, and answer any questions you may have. A summary of the relevant procedures follows. 3.) LISTING POLITICAL RECORDS Once it has been decided which records are to be transferred to Archives New Zealand, the next step is to list them. The more specific and accurate the list, the simpler it will be in future to locate particular records requested by the depositing politician, or by researchers who have been given permission to view the records. Records are listed to file level. Essentially, the list should contain the following information: - name of office (i.e. name of Minister/Member of Parliament) - record title - record number (if applicable, e.g. file 2/3/6) - part number (if applicable, e.g. file 2/3/6 part 1, file 2/3/6 part 2 etc.) - date range (i.e. the dates of the earliest and latest papers on file) Archives New Zealand will provide guidance on how to list correctly. A copy of the Archives New Zealand listing template is available online at Parliament along with the Archives New Zealand boxing and listing guide, as outlined in (2.), above. Alternatively, Archives New Zealand can provide you with a copy of the template as an email attachment. The final list should be submitted to Archives New Zealand in electronic form, e.g. as an email attachment. 4.) BOXING POLITICAL RECORDS Correct boxing of records ensures their long-term preservation. Supplies of boxes are available free of charge for records which have been appraised and are being transferred to Archives New Zealand. If you require boxes for archiving, please contact Archives New Zealand. If you require boxes for storage purposes only, please contact Ministerial Services or the Parliamentary Service for further assistance (contact details are on page 4 of this guide). The standard archive box for transferring material is the London box, which measures 24.5cm (depth) x 21.5cm (height) x 38cm (length). The boxes are stored broken down, but are easily assembled by folding along the creased lines. Full instructions for correctly boxing records are given in Preparing Records for Transfer: A Guide to Listing and Boxing (see (2.), above). As part of the archiving process, Archives New Zealand will provide guidance on how to box correctly, and can also advise on how to pack special format records such as photographs. 8
5.) SETTING RESTRICTIONS Generally, Archives New Zealand recommends that restrictions be based upon record content, taking into account that: some information is already available in the public domain; that privacy issues must be considered; and that access to official records should be in line with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982. For example, some general guidelines concerning records already in the public domain or containing personal information would be: (a.) Speeches and press releases open. (b.) General correspondence restricted for 70 years from date of record to protect the privacy of individual correspondents, depending on the nature of the correspondence. Restrictions for official records, in particular those deposited by current or former Ministers of the Crown, should follow the guidelines set out in Cabinet Circular CO (05) 9, dated 16/09/2005. This information was incorporated into the Cabinet Manual (chapter 8, Official Information) in April 2008. Ministerial files may contain official records such as Cabinet documentation, briefing papers, reports or advice from government departments associated with ministerial portfolios. The circular and Cabinet Manual explain that such official documentation should be appropriately restricted to ensure that the conditions of access reflect the sensitivity of the information, and require that access to such records should be subject to a process that mirrors the process set out in the Official Information Act 1982. Access agreements for such records include provision for the files to be checked in order to determine content, and guidance provided to the relevant Minister on the appropriate period of restriction. Archives New Zealand will provide you with an access authority form for setting restrictions. They can also assist you with developing a restriction agreement for the records you are archiving. With the agreement of the depositing Minister of the Crown or Member of Parliament, a copy of their record list will be made available to researchers on Archway, Archives New Zealand s online finding aids system. This is standard practice. However, access restrictions on the actual records will only be waived on the receipt of written permission from the Minister or Member of Parliament. All restrictions should be finalised prior to the transfer of political records. 9
6.) PRIVATE DEPOSIT FORM: AGREEMENT FOR THE TRANSFER OF ARCHIVES A copy will be provided by Archives New Zealand. This form must be signed by the Minister of the Crown or Member of Parliament who is depositing the records. It is counter-signed by the Chief Archivist once the records have been transferred to Archives New Zealand. 7.) TRANSFERRING RECORDS TO ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND By now, the records will be: - boxed and listed - have restrictions on access finalised - private deposit form completed A sample box and list check will be done by Archives New Zealand staff, to ensure the accuracy of the record list. They will advise if any corrections need to be made. The records may then be transferred to Archives New Zealand. Archives New Zealand will acknowledge the deposit of the records with a letter. Once fully processed, copies of the private deposit form and access agreement form will be sent for your information, along with a copy of the final record list. Please keep this information, as you will need to refer to it when requesting any records back through our Government Loans service. Note: Archives New Zealand accepts transfers of political records when they are all at least three years old, i.e. one parliamentary term. If the records to be transferred are more recent: Ministerial offices: Ministerial Services will assist with arranging for temporary storage of the records with Archives Security until they are due for final transfer to Archives New Zealand. Offices of other Members of Parliament: the Parliamentary Service will provide temporary storage for the records until they are due for final transfer to Archives New Zealand. 10
Archives New Zealand, Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Website: http://www.archives.govt.nz HEAD OFFICE Archives New Zealand, 10 Mulgrave Street, P O Box 12-050 Wellington, New Zealand. Phone (04) 499-5595, Fax (04) 495-6210. REGIONAL OFFICES: Auckland Regional Office Archives New Zealand, 95 Richard Pearse Drive, PO Box 201103, Auckland Airport, Manukau 2159, Auckland, New Zealand, Phone (09) 270-1100, Fax (09) 276-4472. Christchurch Regional Office Archives New Zealand, 90 Peterborough Street, P O Box 642, Christchurch, New Zealand, Phone (03) 377-0760, Fax (03) 365-2662. Dunedin Regional Office Archives New Zealand, 556 George Street, P O Box 6183, Dunedin North, New Zealand, Phone (03) 477-0404, Fax (03) 477-0422. 11