Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs "is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, deaths, marriages and civil unions; supplying support services to ministers; and advising the government on a range of relevant policies and issues." (wikipedia)

It has its origins in the "Colonial Secretary's Office, which from the time New Zealand became a British colony, in 1840, was responsible for almost all central government duties." Michael Bassett, Minister for Internal Affairs (1987-1990), has written a history of the department: The Mother of All Departments (1997).

Initially responsible for the government's support for public art and arts funding, in 1975 these passed to an independent ministerial portfolio and then a separate Ministry of Cultural Affairs (now Ministry for Culture and Heritage) in 1991.

Archives New Zealand and the National Library are both sections of the Department within Te Haumi – Enterprise Partnerships.

See also:

• Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs
• wikipedia
• Michael Bassett and New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs Historical Branch. The Mother of All Departments : The History of the Department of Internal Affairs. Auckland University Press in Association with the Historical Branch Dept. of Internal Affairs 1997.
• Martin Durrant, 'Arts funding and support - Government’s developing role', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.