Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your New Zealand shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the New Zealand offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of New Zealand at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a New Zealand? Wrong! If the New Zealand is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about New Zealand then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling New Zealand? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about New Zealand and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your New Zealand wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your New Zealand then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the New Zealand site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about New Zealand, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your New Zealand, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = New Zealand
Aotearoa|conventional_long_name =|common_name = New Zealand|image_flag = Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of New Zealand.png|image_map = LocationNewZealand.png|national_anthem = "God Defend New Zealand" "God Save the Queen"]|latd=41 |latm=17 |latNS=S |longd=174 |longm=27 |longEW=E|largest_city = Auckland (98%) [Māori language (4.2%)New Zealand Sign Language (0.6%)|sovereignty_type = Independence of New Zealand|sovereignty_note = from the United Kingdom [1907|leader_name1 = [Elizabeth II of New Zealand|leader_title2 =
Governor-General of New Zealand|leader_name2 = Anand Satyanand|leader_name3 = [Helen Clark-->|percent_water = 2.1|population_estimate = 4,228,000|population_estimate_rank = 122nd (2005)|population_estimate_year = June 2007|population_census = 4,143,279|population_census_year = 2006|population_density_km2 = 15|population_density_sq_mi = 39 |GDP_PPP_rank = 58th|GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $26,470|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 28th|GDP_nominal = $103.873 1000000000 (number) |GDP_nominal_rank = 53th|GDP_nominal_year = 2006|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $25,272|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 29th|HDI = 0.936|HDI_rank = 20th|HDI_year = 2006|HDI_category = high|Gini = 36.2 |Gini_year = 1997|Gini_category = medium|currency = New Zealand dollar|utc_offset = +12|time_zone_DST = [Time in New Zealand|DST_note = (Sep to Apr)|utc_offset_DST = +13|cctld = .nz is the largest urban area; [Auckland City is the largest incorporated city.³ beehive.govt.nz - Sign Language to be third official language next to English and Mâori. See also
Māori Language Act.4 There is a multitude of dates that could be considered to mark independence (see
Independence of New Zealand).5 Estimated resident population of New Zealand on
30 June 2007 National Population Estimates June 2007 quarter 6 New Zealand census 2006 final figures, including overseas visitors. 72006 GDP data converted to PPP using World Bank Data; Gross Domestic Product: March 2007 quarter - Statistics New Zealand 8 Word Bank GDP per capita data.9 The
Chatham Islands have a separate time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand.
10 The territories of
Niue, the
Cook Islands and Tokelau have their own cctlds, .nu,
.ck and .tk respectively.
11 Percentages do not add to 100% because some people speak more than one language. They exclude unusable responses and those who spoke no language (e.g. too young to talk). Language spoken (total responses) for the census usually resident population count, 2006 (revised 21 December 2006).-->
New Zealand is a country in the south-western
Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the
North Island and the South Island) and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably
Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. In Māori language, New Zealand has come to be known as
Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as
The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the
Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in
Associated state;
Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's Antarctic territorial claims).
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from
Australia to the northwest by the
Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia,
Fiji and Tonga.
The population is mostly of
New Zealand European, with the
indigenous peoples of Oceania Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori
Polynesian and Asian people are also significant minorities, especially in the List of cities in New Zealand. Elizabeth II of New Zealand, as the Monarchy in New Zealand, is the Head of State and, in her absence, is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General of New Zealand. The Queen 'reigns but does not rule'; she has no real political influence. Her position is largely symbolic.{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk//output/Page4913.asp|title=Over the course of her reign The Queen has been a regular visitor to New Zealand, paying 10 visits|publisher=The Monarchy Today|accessdate=2007-09-28--> Political power is held by the democratically-elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is the
Head of Government.
Etymology
There is no known pre-contact Māori name for New Zealand, although Māori referred to the
North Island as Te Ika-a-Māui (the fish of
Māui (Māori mythology)) and the South Island as
Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of jade) or Te Waka-a-Māui (the canoe of Māui). Until the early twentieth century, the North Island was also referred to as
Aotearoa (often glossed as 'land of the long white cloud'); in modern Māori usage, this is the name for the whole country.
The first European name for New Zealand was
Staten Landt, the name given to it by
Abel Tasman upon his discovery of the islands in 1642. Tasman assumed it was part of a southern continent connected with land discovered in 1615 off the southern tip of South America by Isaac Le Maire. The name
New Zealand originated with Netherlands
cartographers, who called the islands
Nova Zeelandia, after the Seventeen Provinces of Zeeland. No-one is certain exactly who first coined the term, but it first appeared in 1645 and may have been the choice of cartographer Johan BlaeuMackay, D., 1986. 'The Search For The Southern Land'. In Fraser, B. (Ed.) (1986),
The New Zealand Book Of Events. Auckland: Reed Methuen, pp. 52 – 54.. British explorer
James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand.
History
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. The first settlers of New Zealand were Eastern
Polynesians who came to New Zealand, probably in a series of migrations, sometime between around AD 800 and 1300. Over the next few centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into hapu (subtribes) which would co-operate, compete and sometimes fight with each other. At some point a group of Māori migrated to the
Chatham Islands where they developed their own distinct Moriori culture.Clark, R, 1994. 'Moriori and Māori: The Linguistic Evidence'. In Sutton, Douglas G. (Ed.) (1994),
The Origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press, pp. 123 – -135. Moriori - The impact of new arrivals - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
The first European ethnic groupss known to have reached New Zealand were Netherlands explorer
Abel Tasman and his crew in 1642. Several of the crew were killed by Māori and no Europeans returned to New Zealand until British explorer James Cook's voyage of 1768-71. Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost all of the coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American History of whaling,
sealing and trading ships. They traded European food and goods, especially metal tools and weapons, for Māori timber, food, artifacts and water. On occasion, Europeans traded goods for sex. Māori agriculture and warfare were transformed by the
potato and the musket, although the resulting
Musket Wars died out once the tribal imbalance of arms had been rectified. From the early nineteenth century, Christian
missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population, who had become disillusioned with their indigenous faith by the introduction of Western culture.
Becoming aware of the lawless nature of European settlement and increasing interest in the territory by the French, the British government sent
William Hobson to New Zealand to claim sovereignty and negotiate a treaty with Māori.From 1788 until 1840 the islands of New Zealand were formally part of New South Wales; see
History of New Zealand and this
:Image:Australia history.gif. The
Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the
Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. The drafting was done hastily and confusion and disagreement continue to surround the translation. The Treaty is regarded as New Zealand's foundation as a nation and is revered by Māori as a guarantee of their rights.
From 1840, increasing numbers of European
Immigration to New Zealand landed in New Zealand. At first, Māori were eager to trade with the 'Pakeha,' as they called them, and many
iwi (tribes) became wealthy. As settler numbers increased, conflicts over land led to the New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, resulting in the loss of much Māori land. The detail and correct interpretation of European settlement and the acquisition of land from Māori remains controversial.
is shot during the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand was granted limited self-government in the 1850s and by the late nineteenth century was a fully self governing country in most senses. In 1893, it became the first nation in the world to grant
Women's suffrage in New Zealand. In 1907, New Zealand became an independent
Dominion and a fully independent nation in 1947 when the Statute of Westminster (1931) was ratified, although in practice Britain had ceased to play any real role in the government of New Zealand much earlier than this. As New Zealand became more politically independent it became more dependent economically; in the 1890s,
Dunedin (ship) allowed New Zealand to base its entire economy on the export of meat and dairy products to Britain.
New Zealand was an enthusiastic member of the British Empire, fighting in the
Second Boer War, New Zealand in World War I and
World War II and supporting Britain in the Suez Crisis. The country was very much a part of the world economy and suffered as others did in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The depression led to the election of the First Labour Government of New Zealand, which established a comprehensive
welfare state and a
protectionist economy.
New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following World War II. However, some social problems were developing; Māori had begun to move to the cities in search of work and excitement rather than the traditional rural way of life. A
Māori protest movement would eventually form, criticising
Eurocentrism and seeking more recognition of
Māori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi, which they felt had not been fully honoured. In 1975 a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty and in 1985 it was enabled to investigate historic grievances. In common with all other developed countries, social developments accelerated in the 1970s and social and political mores changed. By the 1970s, the traditional trade with Britain was threatened because of Britain's membership of the
European Economic Community. Great economic and social changes took place in the 1980s under the
Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand largely led by Finance Minister Roger Douglas, and commonly referred to as "
Rogernomics."
Politics
Government
{| align="right"| | ,Prime Minister of New Zealand|}
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary democracy. Under the Royal Titles Act (1953),
Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand is
Monarchy in New Zealand and is represented as
head of state by the
Governor-General of New Zealand, currently Anand Satyanand.
New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land have been occupied simultaneously by women:
Elizabeth II of New Zealand,
Governor-General Dame
Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister
Helen Clark, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Dame
Sian Elias were all in office between March 2005 and August 2006.
The
New Zealand Parliament has only Unicameral parliament, the
New Zealand House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament. Elections in New Zealand are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional. The
New Zealand general election, 2005 created an '
Overhang seat' of one extra seat, occupied by the
Māori Party, due to that party winning more seats in electorates than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it.,
New Zealand Parliament BuildingsThere is no written New Zealand constitution; the New Zealand Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be Members of Parliament, and most are also in New Zealand Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the
Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is also, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.
The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark, the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Since October 17, 2005, Labour has been in formal coalition with Jim Anderton, the
New Zealand Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties in formal coalition,
New Zealand First and United Future provide confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on
motion of confidence and Loss of Supply. Since early 2007, Labour has also had the Absentee ballot#Proxy voting vote of
Taito Phillip Field, a former Labour MP. These arrangements assure the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence votes.
The
Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand) is
New Zealand National Party leader
John Key. The ACT New Zealand and the
Māori Party are both also in opposition. The
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand First and United Future New Zealand all vote against the government on some legislation.
The highest court in New Zealand is the
Supreme Court of New Zealand. This was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act 2003, which also abolished the option to appeal to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is
Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also includes the High Court of New Zealand, which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters; the New Zealand Court of Appeal; and subordinate courts.
Foreign relations and the military
New Zealand maintains a strong profile on
environmentalism,
human rights and
free trade, particularly in agriculture.
New Zealand is a member of the following geopolitical organisations: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation,
East Asia Summit, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD and the United Nations. It has signed up to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important is Closer Economic Relations with Australia.
For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the
United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on Germany on
3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaimed, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand". After the war, however, the United States exerted an increased influence on culture and the New Zealand people gained a clearer sense of national identity. New Zealand joined with Australia and the United States in the
ANZUS security treaty in 1951, and later fought alongside the New Zealand-United States relations in both the Korean War and, to a lesser extent, the Vietnam Wars. In contrast, the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests following the
Suez Crisis, and New Zealand was forced to develop new markets after the UK joined the European Community in 1973.
New Zealand has traditionally worked closely with Australia, whose foreign policy followed a similar historical trend. In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead. The American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the Vietnam War, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France, and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.
While the ANZUS treaty was once fully mutual between Australia,
New Zealand-United States relations and the New Zealand-United States relations, this is no longer the case. In February 1985, New Zealand refused Nuclear power or
Nuclear weapon ships access to its ports. New Zealand became a Nuclear-free zone in June 1987, the first Western-allied state to do so.Nuclear Free: The New Zealand Way, The Right Honourable David Lange, Penguin Books, New Zealand,1990 {{cite web] announced that it was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. The
New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the New Zealand-United States relations' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand.
In addition to the various wars between
iwi, and between the British settlers and iwi, New Zealand has fought in the Second Boer War,
World War I, World War II, the
Korean War, the
Malayan Emergency (and committed troops, fighters and bombers to the subsequent confrontation with Indonesia), the Vietnam War, the
Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan (2001–present); it has also sent a unit of army engineers to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure for one year during the
Iraq War. As of 2007, New Zealand forces are still active in Afghanistan.
The
New Zealand Defence Force has three branches: the
New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest; it dismantled its air combat capability in 2001. New Zealand has contributed forces to recent regional and global peacekeeping missions, including those in Cyprus,
Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
Sinai Peninsula, Angola,
Cambodia, the
Iran/
Iraq border, Bougainville Province, East Timor, and the
Solomon Islands.
Local government and external territories
The early European settlers divided New Zealand into
Provinces of New Zealand. These were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised, for financial reasons. As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented
subnational entity such as provinces, states or territories, apart from its local government. The spirit of the provinces, however, still lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events. Since 1876,
local government has administered the various regions of New Zealand. In 1989, the government completely reorganised local government, implementing the current two-tier structure of
Regions of New Zealand and Territorial Authorities of New Zealand. In 1991, the Resource Management Act 1991 replaced the Town and Country Planning Act as the main planning legislation for local government.
Today, New Zealand has twelve regional councils for the administration of environmental and transport matters and seventy-three territorial authorities that administer roading, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters. The territorial authorities are sixteen city councils, fifty-seven district councils, and the Chatham Islands County Council. Four of the territorial councils (one city and three districts) and the Chatham Islands County Council also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as Unitary authority. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regional council districts, and a few of them straddle regional council boundaries.The
Regions of New Zealand are (asterisks denote unitary authorities):
Northland (region), New Zealand, Auckland (region), Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne*,
Hawke's Bay (region), Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington Region, Marlborough, New Zealand*,
Nelson, New Zealand*,
Tasman, New Zealand*, West Coast, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand,
Otago,
Southland, New Zealand, Chatham Islands*.
As a major Pacific Ocean nation, New Zealand has a close working relationship with many
Pacific Island nations, and continues a political association with the Cook Islands, Niue and
Tokelau. New Zealand operates Scott Base in its Antarctica territory, the Ross Dependency. Other countries also use Christchurch to support their Antarctic bases and the city is sometimes known as the "Gateway to Antarctica".
Geography
and
Mount Ruapehu are visible in the centre of the North Island. The snow-capped
Southern Alps and the
rain shadow they create are clearly visible in the South Island
New Zealand comprises two main islands (called the North and South Islands in English,
Te-Ika-a-Maui and
Te Wai Pounamu in Māori language) and a number of Islands of New Zealand located near the center of the
water hemisphere. The total land area, 268,680 square kilometres (103,738 Square mile), is a little less than that of Italy and
Japan, and a little more than the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) along its main, north-north-east axis, with approximately of coastline. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands include
Stewart Island/Rakiura; Waiheke Island, in Auckland's
Hauraki Gulf;
Great Barrier Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf; and the Chatham Islands, named
Rēkohu by
Moriori. The country has extensive marine resources, with the seventh-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering over four million square kilometres (1.5 million sq mi), more than 15 times its land area.Ministry for the Environment. 2005. Offshore Options: Managing Environmental Effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone. Introduction
The South Island is the largest land mass of New Zealand, and is divided along its length by the
Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3754 metres (12,320 ft). There are eighteen peaks over 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) in the South Island. The
North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The highest North Island mountain,
Mount Ruapehu 9,177 ft), is an active cone
volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of television programmes and films, including the
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the
The Last Samurai. is the tallest mountain in New Zealand
The climate throughout the country is mild and temperate, mainly
oceanic climate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0 °Celsius (32 °
Fahrenheit) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F) in populated areas. Temperature maxima and minima throughout the historical record are 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) in Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand and -21.6 °C (-6.9 °F) in
Ophir, New Zealand,
Otago respectively. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research. Summary of New Zealand climate extremes Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on the
West Coast, New Zealand of the South Island to semi-arid (Köppen BSh) in the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury, New Zealand and
subtropical in
North Auckland Peninsula. Of the main cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving only some 640 mm (25
Inch) of rain per year. Auckland, the wettest, receives almost twice that amount. Auckland,
Wellington and Christchurch all receive on average in excess of 2000 hours of sunshine per annum.
New Zealand is part of
Zealandia (continent), a continent that is 93% submerged. Zealandia is almost half the size of Australia and is unusually long and narrow. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to pull Zealandia apart forcefully. The submerged parts of Zealandia include the Lord Howe Rise,
Challenger Plateau,
Campbell Plateau, Norfolk Ridge and the
Chatham Rise.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, a hill in the
Hawke's Bay region of the North Island, is credited by
The Guinness Book of World Records with having the longest place name in the world.
Biodiversity
Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world and its island
biogeography, New Zealand has extraordinary
flora and
fauna. About 80% of the flora in New Zealand occurs only in New Zealand, including more than 40 endemic (ecology)
genus.Allan, H.H. 1982.
Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons, Flora of New Zealand Volume I. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research The two main types of forest are those dominated by podocarps and/or the giant Agathis australis, and in cooler climates the
southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grasslands of
tussock grass and other grasses, usually in sub-alpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests.
Until the arrival of humans, 80% of the land was
forested. Until 2006, it was thought, barring three species of
bat (one now extinct), there were no non-marine native
mammals. However, in 2006, scientists discovered bones that belonged to a long-extinct, unique, mouse-sized land animal in the Otago region of the South Island. Tiny Bones Rewrite Textbooks, first New Zealand land mammal fossil New Zealand's forests were inhabited by a diverse range of megafauna, including the flightless birds Moa (bird) (now extinct), and the
kiwi,
kakapo and
takahē, all endangered by human actions. Unique birds capable of flight include the
Haast's eagle, which was the world's largest bird of prey (now extinct), and the large
kākā and
kea parrots. Reptiles present in New Zealand include
skinks, geckos and living fossil tuatara. There are four endemic species of New Zealand primitive frog. There are no
snakes and there is only one
venomous spider, the katipo, which is rare and restricted to coastal regions. However, there are many endemic species of insects, including the
weta, one species of which may grow as large as a house mouse and is the heaviest insect in the world.
New Zealand has led the world in island restoration projects where offshore islands are cleared of introduced mammalian pests and native species are reintroduced. Several islands located near to the three main islands are wildlife reserves where common pests such as possums and rodents have been eradicated to allow the reintroduction of endangered species to the islands. A more recent development is the mainland
ecological island.
Economy
, the economic capital of the country, with the
Sky Tower in the background
New Zealand has a modern, prosperous, developed economy with an estimated
GDP of US$106 billion (as of 2006). The country has a high standard of living with a GDP per capita of US$24,943 in 2006 (United States US$44,190; Spain US$27,767). Report for Selected Countries and Subjects, IMF.
Since 2000 New Zealand has made substantial gains in Median household income in Australia and New Zealand . New Zealand, along with Australia, were not affected by the the early 2000s recession that impacted upon most other advanced countries. The combination of high growth in New Zealand, along with negative growth in United States, has allowed New Zealand to close the income gap. As of 2006, New Zealand's median household income (PPP) was only 17% less than in the United states.
{] US$)! Average household size! Real growth (%)|-|
USA], 2006| 2000-2007| $39,937| 2.7 people{{Citation|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/census-outputs/quickstats/snapShotNZ.htm?type=region?tab=Households&id=9999999|title=Statistics New Zealand.|date=[21 October, 2007| 2001-2006| $38,420| 2.6 people{{Citation|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?subaction=-1&producttype=QuickStats&areacode=0&action=401&collection=Census&textversion=false&breadcrumb=PL&period=2006&javascript=true&navmapdisplayed=true&|title=2006 Census QuickStats|date=[27 June, 2007 and 15th in
[The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index.. In addition the 2007
Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Auckland on its 5th place and Wellington on the 12th place in the world. Highlights from the 2007 Quality of Living Survey
The Tertiary sector of industry is the largest sector in the economy (67.6% of GDP), followed by the Secondary sector of industry (27.8% of GDP) and the
Primary sector of industry (4.7% of GDP). CIA: NZ
New Zealand is a country heavily dependent on trade, particularly in agricultural products. Exports account for almost 28% of its
Output (economics), which is a relatively high figure (it is around 50% for many smaller European countries See e.g. Finland.. This makes New Zealand particularly vulnerable to international commodity prices and global Recession. Its principal export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry. These make up about half of the country's exports. Its major export partners are Australia 21.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 10.6%, China 5.1%, UK 4.7% (2005).
Tourism plays a significant role in New Zealand's economy. Tourism contributes $12.8 billion (or 8.9%) to New Zealand’s total GDP and supports nearly 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs (9.9% of the total workforce in New Zealand).{{cite web|url=http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6A3DA5F7-2CAD-4618-B610-EFC861876A8F/23069/KeyTourismStatisticsAug2007.pdf Tourists to New Zealand are expected to increase at a rate of 4% annually over the next 6 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6A3DA5F7-2CAD-4618-B610-EFC861876A8F/23070/SummaryForecasts.pdf|title=Topline Forecaste — National and regional|month=August|year=2007|publisher=Ministry of Tourism|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-09-28-->
Recent economic history
Historically New Zealand enjoyed a high standard of living which relied on its strong relationship with the United Kingdom, and the resulting stable market for its commodity exports. New Zealand's economy was also built upon on a narrow range of primary products, such as wool, meat and dairy products. High demand for these products - such as the New Zealand wool boom of 1951 created sustained periods of economic prosperity. However, in 1973 the United Kingdom joined the
European Community which effectively ended this particularly close economic relationship between the two countries. During the 1970's other factors such as the oil shock undermined the viability of the New Zealand economy; which for periods before 1973 had achieved levels of living standards exceeding both Australia and Western Europe. 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand - standard of living comparison tableBut these events led to a protracted and very severe
economic crisis, during which living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand was the lowest in per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank. Up from down under; National Review article
Since 1984, successive governments have engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. These changes are commonly known as
Rogernomics and
Ruthanasia after Finance Minister (New Zealand) Roger Douglas and
Ruth Richardson. A recession began after the
Black Monday (1987) and this and the reforms caused unemployment to reach 10% in the early 1990s. However the economy recovered and New Zealand’s unemployment rate is now the second lowest of the twenty-seven OECD nations with comparable data (3.7%) 20 most requested statistics.
The current government's economic objectives are centred on pursuing free-trade agreements and building a "
knowledge economy". In 2004, the government began discussing a free trade agreement with the
People's Republic of China, one of the first countries to do so. Ongoing economic challenges for New Zealand include a current account deficit of 8.5% of GDP Annual Current Account Deficit Narrows, slow development of non-commodity exports and tepid growth of labour productivity. New Zealand has experienced a series of "
brain drains" since the 1970sDavenport, Sally. " Panic and panacea: brain drain and science and technology human capital policy"
Research Policy 33 (2004) 617 – 630. Accessed
2007-04-24. as well educated youth left permanently for Australia, Britain or the United States. "Kiwi lifestyle" and family/whanau factors motivates some of the expatriates to return, while career, culture, and economic factors tend to be predominantly 'push' components, keeping these people overseas.Duncan J.R. Jackson et al. "Exploring the Dynamics of New Zealand's Talent Flow"
New Zealand Journal of Psychology Vol. 34, 2005; Inkson, K. et al, "The New Zealand Brain Drain: Expatriate views."
University of Auckland Business Review (2004). 6(2), 29-39. In recent years, however, a reverse brain drain brought in educated professionals from poor countries, as well as Europe, as permanent settlers. R. Winkelmann, "The labour market performance of European immigrants in New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s"
The International Migration Review (2000). 34:33-58; Bain (2006) p. 44.
Agriculture
ewe with her two lambsAgriculture has been and continues to be the main export industry in New Zealand.
In the year to June 2007, dairy products accounted for 21 percent ( $7.5 billion ) of total merchandise exports. Meat 13.2% , Wood 6.3%, fruit (3.5 percent) and fishing (3.3 percent).
Livestock are rarely housed, but feeding of small quantities of supplements such as hay and silage can occur, particularly in winter. Grass growth is seasonal, largely dependent on location and climatic fluctuations but normally occurs for between 8-12 months of the year. Stock are grazed in paddocks, often with moveable electric fencing around the farm. Lambing and calving are carefully managed to take full advantage of spring grass growth.
Demographics
New Zealand has a population of about 4.1 million, of which approximately 78% identify with European ethnic groups. New Zealanders of European descent are collectively known as
Pākehā; this term generally refers to New Zealanders of European descent but some Māori use it to refer to all non-Māori New Zealanders. Most New Zealand European are of
United Kingdom and
Irish people ancestry, although there has been significant Dutch people, Romanians, Bulgarians, Albanians Central and South-eastern Europeans (from Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand),
Italian people, and
Germans immigration together with indirect European immigration through
Australia,
South Africa and
North America. New Zealand Peoples (from
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand) According to the 2001 census projections, by 2021 European children will make up 63% of all New Zealand children, compared with 74% in 2001. Projections Overview - Statistics New Zealand
Indigenous Māori people are the largest non-European ethnic group, accounting for 14.6% of the population in the 2006 census. While people could select more than one
List of ethnic groups, slightly more than half (53%) of all Māori residents identified solely as Māori. People identifying with Asian people ethnic groups account for 9.2% of the population, increasing from 6.6% in the 2001 census, while 6.9% of people are of Pacific Island origin.
New Zealand has relatively open
Immigration to New Zealand; its government is committed to increasing its population by about 1% annually. Twenty three percent of the population was born overseas, one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. In 2004-2005, a target of 45,000 was set by the New Zealand immigration Service and represented 1.5% of the total population. At present, immigrants from the
United Kingdom constitute the largest single group (28%) but immigrants are drawn from many nations, and increasingly from Northeast Asia (mostly China, but with substantial numbers also from
Korea, Taiwan,
Japan, and Hong Kong).
According to the 2006 census, Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, held by 56% of the population.{{cite web] denominations are
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Roman Catholic Church in New Zealand,
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and
Methodist Church of New Zealand. There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with
Pentecostal and
Baptist Union of New Zealand churches and with the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church. The New Zealand-based
Ratana church has adherents among
{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = New Zealand
Aotearoa|conventional_long_name =|common_name = New Zealand|image_flag = Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of New Zealand.png|image_map = LocationNewZealand.png|national_anthem = "
God Defend New Zealand" "
God Save the Queen"]|latd=41 |latm=17 |latNS=S |longd=174 |longm=27 |longEW=E|largest_city =
Auckland (98%) [Māori language (4.2%)New Zealand Sign Language (0.6%)|sovereignty_type =
Independence of New Zealand|sovereignty_note = from the United Kingdom [1907|leader_name1 = [Elizabeth II of New Zealand|leader_title2 =
Governor-General of New Zealand|leader_name2 =
Anand Satyanand|leader_name3 = [Helen Clark-->|percent_water = 2.1|population_estimate = 4,228,000|population_estimate_rank = 122nd (2005)|population_estimate_year = June 2007|population_census = 4,143,279|population_census_year = 2006|population_density_km2 = 15|population_density_sq_mi = 39 |GDP_PPP_rank = 58th|GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $26,470|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 28th|GDP_nominal = $103.873 1000000000 (number) |GDP_nominal_rank = 53th|GDP_nominal_year = 2006|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $25,272|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 29th|HDI = 0.936|HDI_rank = 20th|HDI_year = 2006|HDI_category = high|Gini = 36.2 |Gini_year = 1997|Gini_category = medium|currency =
New Zealand dollar|utc_offset = +12|time_zone_DST = [Time in New Zealand|DST_note = (Sep to Apr)|utc_offset_DST = +13|cctld = .nz is the largest urban area; [Auckland City is the largest incorporated city.³ beehive.govt.nz - Sign Language to be third official language next to English and Mâori. See also
Māori Language Act.4 There is a multitude of dates that could be considered to mark independence (see Independence of New Zealand).5 Estimated resident population of New Zealand on
30 June 2007 National Population Estimates June 2007 quarter 6 New Zealand census 2006 final figures, including overseas visitors. 72006 GDP data converted to PPP using World Bank Data; Gross Domestic Product: March 2007 quarter - Statistics New Zealand 8 Word Bank GDP per capita data.9 The Chatham Islands have a separate time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand.
10 The territories of
Niue, the
Cook Islands and
Tokelau have their own cctlds, .nu, .ck and
.tk respectively.
11 Percentages do not add to 100% because some people speak more than one language. They exclude unusable responses and those who spoke no language (e.g. too young to talk). Language spoken (total responses) for the census usually resident population count, 2006 (revised 21 December 2006).-->
New Zealand is a country in the south-western
Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the
North Island and the South Island) and numerous
Islands of New Zealand, most notably
Stewart Island/Rakiura and the
Chatham Islands. In
Māori language, New Zealand has come to be known as
Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as
The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the
Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in Associated state;
Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's Antarctic territorial claims).
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the
Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are
New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
The population is mostly of New Zealand European, with the indigenous peoples of Oceania
Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and
Asian people are also significant minorities, especially in the
List of cities in New Zealand.
Elizabeth II of New Zealand, as the
Monarchy in New Zealand, is the
Head of State and, in her absence, is represented by a non-partisan
Governor-General of New Zealand. The Queen 'reigns but does not rule'; she has no real political influence. Her position is largely symbolic.{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk//output/Page4913.asp|title=Over the course of her reign The Queen has been a regular visitor to New Zealand, paying 10 visits|publisher=The Monarchy Today|accessdate=2007-09-28--> Political power is held by the democratically-elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the
Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is the
Head of Government.
Etymology
There is no known pre-contact Māori name for New Zealand, although Māori referred to the
North Island as Te Ika-a-Māui (the fish of
Māui (Māori mythology)) and the South Island as
Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of jade) or Te Waka-a-Māui (the canoe of Māui). Until the early twentieth century, the North Island was also referred to as Aotearoa (often glossed as 'land of the long white cloud'); in modern Māori usage, this is the name for the whole country.
The first European name for New Zealand was
Staten Landt, the name given to it by Abel Tasman upon his discovery of the islands in 1642. Tasman assumed it was part of a southern continent connected with land discovered in 1615 off the southern tip of South America by Isaac Le Maire. The name
New Zealand originated with
Netherlands cartographers, who called the islands
Nova Zeelandia, after the Seventeen Provinces of Zeeland. No-one is certain exactly who first coined the term, but it first appeared in 1645 and may have been the choice of cartographer Johan BlaeuMackay, D., 1986. 'The Search For The Southern Land'. In Fraser, B. (Ed.) (1986),
The New Zealand Book Of Events. Auckland: Reed Methuen, pp. 52 – 54.. British explorer
James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand.
History
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. The first settlers of New Zealand were Eastern
Polynesians who came to New Zealand, probably in a series of migrations, sometime between around AD 800 and 1300. Over the next few centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into hapu (subtribes) which would co-operate, compete and sometimes fight with each other. At some point a group of Māori migrated to the
Chatham Islands where they developed their own distinct Moriori culture.Clark, R, 1994. 'Moriori and Māori: The Linguistic Evidence'. In Sutton, Douglas G. (Ed.) (1994),
The Origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press, pp. 123 – -135. Moriori - The impact of new arrivals - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
The first European ethnic groupss known to have reached New Zealand were Netherlands explorer Abel Tasman and his crew in 1642. Several of the crew were killed by Māori and no Europeans returned to New Zealand until British explorer James Cook's voyage of 1768-71. Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost all of the coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American History of whaling, sealing and trading ships. They traded European food and goods, especially metal tools and weapons, for Māori timber, food, artifacts and water. On occasion, Europeans traded goods for sex. Māori agriculture and warfare were transformed by the potato and the
musket, although the resulting
Musket Wars died out once the tribal imbalance of arms had been rectified. From the early nineteenth century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population, who had become disillusioned with their indigenous faith by the introduction of Western culture.
Becoming aware of the lawless nature of European settlement and increasing interest in the territory by the French, the British government sent
William Hobson to New Zealand to claim
sovereignty and negotiate a treaty with Māori.From 1788 until 1840 the islands of New Zealand were formally part of
New South Wales; see History of New Zealand and this
:Image:Australia history.gif. The
Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the
Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. The drafting was done hastily and confusion and disagreement continue to surround the translation. The Treaty is regarded as New Zealand's foundation as a nation and is revered by Māori as a guarantee of their rights.
From 1840, increasing numbers of European
Immigration to New Zealand landed in New Zealand. At first, Māori were eager to trade with the '
Pakeha,' as they called them, and many
iwi (tribes) became wealthy. As settler numbers increased, conflicts over land led to the
New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, resulting in the loss of much Māori land. The detail and correct interpretation of European settlement and the acquisition of land from Māori remains controversial.
is shot during the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand was granted limited
self-government in the 1850s and by the late nineteenth century was a fully self governing country in most senses. In 1893, it became the first nation in the world to grant Women's suffrage in New Zealand. In 1907, New Zealand became an independent
Dominion and a fully independent nation in 1947 when the Statute of Westminster (1931) was ratified, although in practice Britain had ceased to play any real role in the government of New Zealand much earlier than this. As New Zealand became more politically independent it became more dependent economically; in the 1890s,
Dunedin (ship) allowed New Zealand to base its entire economy on the export of meat and dairy products to Britain.
New Zealand was an enthusiastic member of the British Empire, fighting in the Second Boer War,
New Zealand in World War I and
World War II and supporting Britain in the
Suez Crisis. The country was very much a part of the world economy and suffered as others did in the
Great Depression of the 1930s. The depression led to the election of the First Labour Government of New Zealand, which established a comprehensive welfare state and a
protectionist economy.
New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following World War II. However, some social problems were developing; Māori had begun to move to the cities in search of work and excitement rather than the traditional rural way of life. A Māori protest movement would eventually form, criticising
Eurocentrism and seeking more recognition of
Māori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi, which they felt had not been fully honoured. In 1975 a
Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty and in 1985 it was enabled to investigate historic grievances. In common with all other developed countries, social developments accelerated in the 1970s and social and political mores changed. By the 1970s, the traditional trade with Britain was threatened because of Britain's membership of the
European Economic Community. Great economic and social changes took place in the 1980s under the
Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand largely led by Finance Minister Roger Douglas, and commonly referred to as "
Rogernomics."
Politics
Government
{| align="right"| | ,
Prime Minister of New Zealand|}
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Under the Royal Titles Act (1953),
Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand is Monarchy in New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General of New Zealand, currently Anand Satyanand.
New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land have been occupied simultaneously by women: Elizabeth II of New Zealand,
Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark,
Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives of the New Zealand House of Representatives Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias were all in office between March 2005 and August 2006.
The
New Zealand Parliament has only
Unicameral parliament, the New Zealand House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament.
Elections in New Zealand are held every three years under a form of
proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional. The New Zealand general election, 2005 created an '
Overhang seat' of one extra seat, occupied by the
Māori Party, due to that party winning more seats in electorates than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it.,
New Zealand Parliament BuildingsThere is no written
New Zealand constitution; the New Zealand Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be Members of Parliament, and most are also in New Zealand Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the
Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is also, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.
The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark, the leader of the
New Zealand Labour Party. Since
October 17,
2005, Labour has been in formal coalition with Jim Anderton, the
New Zealand Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties in formal coalition, New Zealand First and United Future provide confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on
motion of confidence and Loss of Supply. Since early 2007, Labour has also had the Absentee ballot#Proxy voting vote of
Taito Phillip Field, a former Labour MP. These arrangements assure the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence votes.
The Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand) is
New Zealand National Party leader John Key. The ACT New Zealand and the
Māori Party are both also in opposition. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand First and United Future New Zealand all vote against the government on some legislation.
The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. This was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act 2003, which also abolished the option to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also includes the
High Court of New Zealand, which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters; the
New Zealand Court of Appeal; and subordinate courts.
Foreign relations and the military
New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmentalism, human rights and free trade, particularly in agriculture.
New Zealand is a member of the following geopolitical organisations: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD and the United Nations. It has signed up to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important is Closer Economic Relations with Australia.
For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister
Michael Joseph Savage proclaimed, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand". After the war, however, the United States exerted an increased influence on culture and the New Zealand people gained a clearer sense of national identity. New Zealand joined with Australia and the United States in the
ANZUS security treaty in 1951, and later fought alongside the New Zealand-United States relations in both the Korean War and, to a lesser extent, the
Vietnam Wars. In contrast, the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests following the
Suez Crisis, and New Zealand was forced to develop new markets after the UK joined the European Community in 1973.
New Zealand has traditionally worked closely with Australia, whose foreign policy followed a similar historical trend. In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead. The American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the Vietnam War, the
sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France, and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.
While the ANZUS treaty was once fully mutual between Australia, New Zealand-United States relations and the
New Zealand-United States relations, this is no longer the case. In February 1985, New Zealand refused Nuclear power or Nuclear weapon ships access to its ports. New Zealand became a
Nuclear-free zone in June 1987, the first Western-allied state to do so.Nuclear Free: The New Zealand Way, The Right Honourable David Lange, Penguin Books, New Zealand,1990 {{cite web] announced that it was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the New Zealand-United States relations' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand.
In addition to the various wars between
iwi, and between the British settlers and iwi, New Zealand has fought in the
Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the
Korean War, the
Malayan Emergency (and committed troops, fighters and bombers to the subsequent confrontation with Indonesia), the Vietnam War, the
Gulf War and the
War in Afghanistan (2001–present); it has also sent a unit of army engineers to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure for one year during the Iraq War. As of 2007, New Zealand forces are still active in Afghanistan.
The New Zealand Defence Force has three branches: the
New Zealand Army, the
Royal New Zealand Navy, and the
Royal New Zealand Air Force. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest; it dismantled its air combat capability in 2001. New Zealand has contributed forces to recent regional and global peacekeeping missions, including those in
Cyprus,
Somalia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sinai Peninsula, Angola,
Cambodia, the Iran/Iraq border, Bougainville Province, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands.
Local government and external territories
The early European settlers divided New Zealand into Provinces of New Zealand. These were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised, for financial reasons. As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented subnational entity such as provinces, states or territories, apart from its local government. The spirit of the provinces, however, still lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events. Since 1876,
local government has administered the various regions of New Zealand. In 1989, the government completely reorganised local government, implementing the current two-tier structure of Regions of New Zealand and Territorial Authorities of New Zealand. In 1991, the
Resource Management Act 1991 replaced the Town and Country Planning Act as the main planning legislation for local government.
Today, New Zealand has twelve regional councils for the administration of environmental and transport matters and seventy-three territorial authorities that administer roading, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters. The territorial authorities are sixteen city councils, fifty-seven district councils, and the Chatham Islands County Council. Four of the territorial councils (one city and three districts) and the Chatham Islands County Council also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as Unitary authority. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regional council districts, and a few of them straddle regional council boundaries.The Regions of New Zealand are (asterisks denote unitary authorities):
Northland (region), New Zealand, Auckland (region),
Waikato,
Bay of Plenty,
Gisborne*, Hawke's Bay (region), Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington Region,
Marlborough, New Zealand*,
Nelson, New Zealand*,
Tasman, New Zealand*, West Coast, New Zealand,
Canterbury, New Zealand,
Otago,
Southland, New Zealand, Chatham Islands*.
As a major
Pacific Ocean nation, New Zealand has a close working relationship with many
Pacific Island nations, and continues a political association with the
Cook Islands,
Niue and Tokelau. New Zealand operates Scott Base in its Antarctica territory, the Ross Dependency. Other countries also use Christchurch to support their Antarctic bases and the city is sometimes known as the "Gateway to Antarctica".
Geography
and Mount Ruapehu are visible in the centre of the North Island. The snow-capped
Southern Alps and the rain shadow they create are clearly visible in the South Island
New Zealand comprises two main islands (called the North and South Islands in English,
Te-Ika-a-Maui and
Te Wai Pounamu in
Māori language) and a number of Islands of New Zealand located near the center of the water hemisphere. The total land area, 268,680 square kilometres (103,738
Square mile), is a little less than that of Italy and
Japan, and a little more than the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) along its main, north-north-east axis, with approximately of coastline. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands include Stewart Island/Rakiura; Waiheke Island, in Auckland's
Hauraki Gulf; Great Barrier Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf; and the Chatham Islands, named
Rēkohu by
Moriori. The country has extensive marine resources, with the seventh-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering over four million square kilometres (1.5 million sq mi), more than 15 times its land area.Ministry for the Environment. 2005. Offshore Options: Managing Environmental Effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone. Introduction
The South Island is the largest land mass of New Zealand, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3754 metres (12,320 ft). There are eighteen peaks over 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The highest North Island mountain,
Mount Ruapehu 9,177 ft), is an active cone volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of
television programmes and
films, including the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the
The Last Samurai. is the tallest mountain in New Zealand
The
climate throughout the country is mild and temperate, mainly oceanic climate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0 °
Celsius (32 °Fahrenheit) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F) in populated areas. Temperature maxima and minima throughout the historical record are 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) in
Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand and -21.6 °C (-6.9 °F) in
Ophir, New Zealand,
Otago respectively. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research. Summary of New Zealand climate extremes Conditions vary sharply across regions from extremely wet on the
West Coast, New Zealand of the
South Island to
semi-arid (Köppen BSh) in the
Mackenzie Basin of inland
Canterbury, New Zealand and
subtropical in
North Auckland Peninsula. Of the main cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving only some 640 mm (25
Inch) of rain per year. Auckland, the wettest, receives almost twice that amount.
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive on average in excess of 2000 hours of sunshine per annum.
New Zealand is part of Zealandia (continent), a continent that is 93% submerged. Zealandia is almost half the size of
Australia and is unusually long and narrow. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to pull Zealandia apart forcefully. The submerged parts of Zealandia include the Lord Howe Rise,
Challenger Plateau,
Campbell Plateau,
Norfolk Ridge and the
Chatham Rise.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, a hill in the
Hawke's Bay region of the North Island, is credited by
The Guinness Book of World Records with having the longest place name in the world.
Biodiversity
Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world and its island biogeography, New Zealand has extraordinary
flora and
fauna. About 80% of the flora in New Zealand occurs only in New Zealand, including more than 40 endemic (ecology) genus.Allan, H.H. 1982.
Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons, Flora of New Zealand Volume I. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research The two main types of forest are those dominated by podocarps and/or the giant
Agathis australis, and in cooler climates the southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grasslands of
tussock grass and other grasses, usually in sub-alpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests.
Until the arrival of humans, 80% of the land was forested. Until 2006, it was thought, barring three species of
bat (one now extinct), there were no non-marine native mammals. However, in 2006, scientists discovered bones that belonged to a long-extinct, unique, mouse-sized land animal in the
Otago region of the South Island. Tiny Bones Rewrite Textbooks, first New Zealand land mammal fossil New Zealand's forests were inhabited by a diverse range of
megafauna, including the flightless birds Moa (bird) (now extinct), and the
kiwi, kakapo and
takahē, all endangered by human actions. Unique birds capable of flight include the
Haast's eagle, which was the world's largest bird of prey (now extinct), and the large kākā and kea
parrots. Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks, geckos and
living fossil tuatara. There are four endemic species of
New Zealand primitive frog. There are no snakes and there is only one
venomous spider, the
katipo, which is rare and restricted to coastal regions. However, there are many endemic species of insects, including the
weta, one species of which may grow as large as a house mouse and is the heaviest insect in the world.
New Zealand has led the world in
island restoration projects where offshore islands are cleared of introduced mammalian pests and native species are reintroduced. Several islands located near to the three main islands are wildlife reserves where common pests such as possums and rodents have been eradicated to allow the reintroduction of endangered species to the islands. A more recent development is the mainland
ecological island.
Economy
, the economic capital of the country, with the Sky Tower in the background
New Zealand has a modern, prosperous, developed economy with an estimated
GDP of US$106 billion (as of 2006). The country has a high standard of living with a GDP per capita of US$24,943 in 2006 (United States US$44,190; Spain US$27,767). Report for Selected Countries and Subjects, IMF.
Since 2000 New Zealand has made substantial gains in
Median household income in Australia and New Zealand . New Zealand, along with Australia, were not affected by the the
early 2000s recession that impacted upon most other advanced countries. The combination of high growth in New Zealand, along with negative growth in United States, has allowed New Zealand to close the income gap. As of 2006, New Zealand's median household income (
PPP) was only 17% less than in the United states.
{] US$)! Average household size! Real growth (%)|-|
USA], 2006| 2000-2007| $39,937| 2.7 people{{Citation|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/census-outputs/quickstats/snapShotNZ.htm?type=region?tab=Households&id=9999999|title=Statistics New Zealand.|date=[21 October, 2007| 2001-2006| $38,420| 2.6 people{{Citation|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?subaction=-1&producttype=QuickStats&areacode=0&action=401&collection=Census&textversion=false&breadcrumb=PL&period=2006&javascript=true&navmapdisplayed=true&|title=2006 Census QuickStats|date=[27 June, 2007 and 15th in
[The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index.. In addition the 2007
Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Auckland on its 5th place and Wellington on the 12th place in the world. Highlights from the 2007 Quality of Living Survey
The Tertiary sector of industry is the largest sector in the economy (67.6% of GDP), followed by the Secondary sector of industry (27.8% of GDP) and the Primary sector of industry (4.7% of GDP). CIA: NZ
New Zealand is a country heavily dependent on trade, particularly in agricultural products. Exports account for almost 28% of its
Output (economics), which is a relatively high figure (it is around 50% for many smaller European countries See e.g. Finland.. This makes New Zealand particularly vulnerable to international commodity prices and global Recession. Its principal export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry. These make up about half of the country's exports. Its major export partners are Australia 21.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 10.6%, China 5.1%, UK 4.7% (2005).
Tourism plays a significant role in New Zealand's economy. Tourism contributes $12.8 billion (or 8.9%) to New Zealand’s total GDP and supports nearly 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs (9.9% of the total workforce in New Zealand).{{cite web|url=http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6A3DA5F7-2CAD-4618-B610-EFC861876A8F/23069/KeyTourismStatisticsAug2007.pdf Tourists to New Zealand are expected to increase at a rate of 4% annually over the next 6 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6A3DA5F7-2CAD-4618-B610-EFC861876A8F/23070/SummaryForecasts.pdf|title=Topline Forecaste — National and regional|month=August|year=2007|publisher=Ministry of Tourism|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-09-28-->
Recent economic history
Historically New Zealand enjoyed a high standard of living which relied on its strong relationship with the United Kingdom, and the resulting stable market for its commodity exports. New Zealand's economy was also built upon on a narrow range of primary products, such as wool, meat and dairy products. High demand for these products - such as the
New Zealand wool boom of 1951 created sustained periods of economic prosperity. However, in 1973 the United Kingdom joined the European Community which effectively ended this particularly close economic relationship between the two countries. During the 1970's other factors such as the
oil shock undermined the viability of the New Zealand economy; which for periods before 1973 had achieved levels of living standards exceeding both Australia and Western Europe. 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand - standard of living comparison tableBut these events led to a protracted and very severe
economic crisis, during which living standards in New Zealand fell behind those of Australia and Western Europe, and by 1982 New Zealand was the lowest in per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank. Up from down under; National Review article
Since 1984, successive governments have engaged in major
macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised
free-trade economy. These changes are commonly known as
Rogernomics and Ruthanasia after
Finance Minister (New Zealand) Roger Douglas and
Ruth Richardson. A recession began after the Black Monday (1987) and this and the reforms caused unemployment to reach 10% in the early 1990s. However the economy recovered and New Zealand’s unemployment rate is now the second lowest of the twenty-seven OECD nations with comparable data (3.7%) 20 most requested statistics.
The current government's economic objectives are centred on pursuing free-trade agreements and building a "knowledge economy". In 2004, the government began discussing a free trade agreement with the
People's Republic of China, one of the first countries to do so. Ongoing economic challenges for New Zealand include a current account deficit of 8.5% of GDP Annual Current Account Deficit Narrows, slow development of non-commodity exports and tepid growth of labour productivity. New Zealand has experienced a series of "brain drains" since the 1970sDavenport, Sally. " Panic and panacea: brain drain and science and technology human capital policy"
Research Policy 33 (2004) 617 – 630. Accessed
2007-04-24. as well educated youth left permanently for Australia, Britain or the United States. "Kiwi lifestyle" and family/whanau factors motivates some of the expatriates to return, while career, culture, and economic factors tend to be predominantly 'push' components, keeping these people overseas.Duncan J.R. Jackson et al. "Exploring the Dynamics of New Zealand's Talent Flow"
New Zealand Journal of Psychology Vol. 34, 2005; Inkson, K. et al, "The New Zealand Brain Drain: Expatriate views."
University of Auckland Business Review (2004). 6(2), 29-39. In recent years, however, a reverse brain drain brought in educated professionals from poor countries, as well as Europe, as permanent settlers. R. Winkelmann, "The labour market performance of European immigrants in New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s"
The International Migration Review (2000). 34:33-58; Bain (2006) p. 44.
Agriculture
ewe with her two lambsAgriculture has been and continues to be the main export industry in New Zealand.
In the year to June 2007, dairy products accounted for 21 percent ( $7.5 billion ) of total merchandise exports. Meat 13.2% , Wood 6.3%, fruit (3.5 percent) and fishing (3.3 percent).
Livestock are rarely housed, but feeding of small quantities of supplements such as hay and silage can occur, particularly in winter. Grass growth is seasonal, largely dependent on location and climatic fluctuations but normally occurs for between 8-12 months of the year. Stock are grazed in paddocks, often with moveable electric fencing around the farm. Lambing and calving are carefully managed to take full advantage of spring grass growth.
Demographics
New Zealand has a population of about 4.1 million, of which approximately 78% identify with European ethnic groups. New Zealanders of European descent are collectively known as
Pākehā; this term generally refers to New Zealanders of European descent but some Māori use it to refer to all non-Māori New Zealanders. Most
New Zealand European are of
United Kingdom and
Irish people ancestry, although there has been significant
Dutch people,
Romanians, Bulgarians,
Albanians Central and South-eastern Europeans (from
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand),
Italian people, and Germans immigration together with indirect European
immigration through Australia,
South Africa and
North America. New Zealand Peoples (from
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand) According to the 2001 census projections, by 2021 European children will make up 63% of all New Zealand children, compared with 74% in 2001. Projections Overview - Statistics New Zealand
Indigenous
Māori people are the largest non-European ethnic group, accounting for 14.6% of the population in the 2006 census. While people could select more than one
List of ethnic groups, slightly more than half (53%) of all Māori residents identified solely as Māori. People identifying with Asian people ethnic groups account for 9.2% of the population, increasing from 6.6% in the 2001 census, while 6.9% of people are of
Pacific Island origin.
New Zealand has relatively open Immigration to New Zealand; its government is committed to increasing its population by about 1% annually. Twenty three percent of the population was born overseas, one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. In 2004-2005, a target of 45,000 was set by the New Zealand immigration Service and represented 1.5% of the total population. At present,
immigrants from the
United Kingdom constitute the largest single group (28%) but immigrants are drawn from many nations, and increasingly from
Northeast Asia (mostly China, but with substantial numbers also from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and
Hong Kong).
According to the 2006 census, Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, held by 56% of the population.{{cite web] denominations are Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia,
Roman Catholic Church in New Zealand,
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Methodist Church of New Zealand. There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with
Pentecostal and Baptist Union of New Zealand churches and with the
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church. The New Zealand-based Ratana church has adherents among
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