Chief Executive Appointment: Archives New Zealand

MEDIA STATEMENT FROM THE STATE SERVICES COMMISSIONER

The State Services Commissioner, Michael Wintringham, announced today the appointment of Dianne Macaskill as the chief executive of Archives New Zealand and the Chief Archivist. Ms Macaskill is currently a Deputy Government Statistician at Statistics New Zealand.

Ms Macaskill will take up the appointment at Archives New Zealand on 11 June. She will be the first permanent chief executive of the department since Archives became a department on 1 October 2000. Mrs Lyn Provost has been the acting chief executive since October.

Ms Macaskill has been a Deputy Government Statistician since 1995. She has worked at Statistics since 1985. She has also worked in the General Assembly Library at Parliament. Last year, Ms Macaskill was the acting chief executive at Statistics, and the acting Government Statistician, following Mr Len Cook's appointment as national statistician in the United Kingdom.

Mr Wintringham said: "As a newly-established department, Archives will benefit from a chief executive with considerable Public Service experience.

"Ms Macaskill has substantial experience in managing at the highest level in the State sector. As a Deputy Government Statistician, she has taken a leading role in managing Statistics New Zealand and last year she was the acting chief executive of Statistics.

"Further, Ms Macaskill comes to Archives with more than 15 years' experience at Statistics, a department that, like Archives, is charged with collecting data and information, about New Zealand, and making decisions about how that information should be made available to citizens.

"Ms Macaskill understands the role of the Government in preserving and providing information that is central to the life of New Zealand."

At Statistics, Ms Macaskill has led major initiatives, including establishing a social statistics group in the department to improve the quality and quantity of information for policy-making and for community groups. She had overall responsibility for the recently-completed national census, which is one of the Government's most high-profile, single activities in the community.

In 1994, Ms Macskill won a Chevening Aotearoa fellowship, and she attended the general management programme at Henley Management College in England. Ms Macaskill has a BSc from Victoria University of Wellington.

The annual appropriation Vote: Archives is $12.8 million. Archives employs about 100 people around New Zealand. The department preserves and provides access to public records of important events and decisions, in New Zealand, ranging from the 1840s to the present day. The archives include the Treaty of Waitangi.

Mrs Provost will be leaving Archives on 7 May to take up her appointment as a Deputy Police Commissioner. Mr Chris Hurley will be the acting chief executive and acting Chief Archivist until Ms Macaskill takes up her appointment on 11 June. Mr Hurley is currently the General Manager - Archives Business at Archives.

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