New Zealand

—New Zealander.

/zee"leuhnd/

a country in the S Pacific, SE of Australia, consisting of North Island, South Island, and adjacent small islands: a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 3,587,275; 103,416 sq. mi. (267,845 sq. km). Cap.: Wellington.

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New Zealand

Introduction New Zealand
Background: The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding native Maori grievances. Geography New Zealand -
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 S, 174 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 268,680 sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands water: NA sq km land: NA sq km
Area - comparative: about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 15,134 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m
Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone
Land use: arable land: 5.8% permanent crops: 6.44% other: 87.76% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,850 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside Environment - international party to: Antarctic-Environmental
agreements: Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world People New Zealand
Population: 3,908,037 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.2% (male 443,921; female 422,804) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,299,973; female 1,290,097) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 196,640; female 254,602) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.12% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 14.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/ female total population: 0.99 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.15 years female: 81.27 years (2002 est.) male: 75.17 years
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.06% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 1,200 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: New Zealander(s) adjective: New Zealand
Ethnic groups: New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%
Religions: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986)
Languages: English (official), Maori (official)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% Government New Zealand
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Wellington Administrative divisions: 93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce, Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke, Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin, Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*, Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie, Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames- Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo, Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville note: there may be a new administrative structure of 16 regions (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wanganui-Manawatu, Wellington, West Coast) that are subdivided into 57 districts and 16 cities* (Ashburton, Auckland*, Banks Peninsula, Buller, Carterton, Central Hawke's Bay, Central Otago, Christchurch*, Clutha, Dunedin*, Far North, Franklin, Gisborne, Gore, Grey, Hamilton*, Hastings, Hauraki, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt*, Invercargill*, Kaikoura, Kaipara, Kapiti Coast, Kawerau, Mackenzie, Manawatu, Manukau*, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata Piako, Napier*, Nelson*, New Plymouth, North Shore*, Opotiki, Otorohanga, Palmerston North*, Papakura*, Porirua*, Queenstown Lakes, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua, Ruapehu, Selwyn, Southland, South Taranaki, South Waikato, South Wairarapa, Stratford, Tararua, Tasman, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames Coromandel, Timaru, Upper Hutt*, Waikato, Waimakariri, Waimate, Waipa, Wairoa, Waitakere*, Waitaki, Waitomo, Wanganui, Wellington*, Western Bay of Plenty, Westland, Whakatane, Whangarei)
Dependent areas: Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
Independence: 26 September 1907 (from UK)
National holiday: Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)
Constitution: consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter
Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister James (Jim) ANDERTON (since 10 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 27 November 1999 (next must be called by November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NZLP 49, NP 39, Alliance 10, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 7, NZFP 5, UNZ 1 note: NZLP and Alliance formed the government coalition; the National Party is the opposition party
Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal Political parties and leaders: ACT, New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [William (Bill) English]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; United New Zealand or UNZ [Peter DUNNE] Political pressure groups and NA
leaders: International organization ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security
participation: obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Charles
US: J. SWINDELLS embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 478-1701 consulate(s) general: Auckland
Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation Economy New Zealand -
Economy - overview: Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3% growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the US cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may not hit until mid-2002.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $75.4 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8% industry: 23% services: 69% (1999) Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 0.3%
percentage share: highest 10%: 29.8% (1991 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.92 million (2001 est.) Labor force - by occupation: services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995)
Unemployment rate: 5.5% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $16.7 billion expenditures: $16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01)
Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2001 est.) Electricity - production: 35.823 billion kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 26.55% hydro: 66.45% other: 7% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 33.315 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish
Exports: $14.2 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery
Exports - partners: Australia 20.4%, US 14.5%, Japan 13.5%, UK 5.4%, South Korea, China (2000)
Imports: $12.5 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics
Imports - partners: Australia 22.5%, US 17.5%, Japan 11%, UK 4%, China, Germany (2000)
Debt - external: $31.1 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $99.7 million (FY00/01)
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Currency code: NZD
Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June Communications New Zealand Telephones - main lines in use: 1.92 million (2000) Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.2 million (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) Radio broadcast stations: AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 3.75 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 1.926 million (1997)
Internet country code: .nz Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 36 (2000)
Internet users: 1.78 million (2001) Transportation New Zealand
Railways: total: 3,908 km narrow gauge: 3,908 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2001)
Highways: total: 92,200 km paved: 53,568 km (including at least 144 km of expressways) unpaved: 38,632 km (1996)
Waterways: 1,609 km note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements
Pipelines: petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 150 km
Ports and harbors: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington
Merchant marine: total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 68,427 GRT/106,627 DWT note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1
Airports: 106 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 44 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 3 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 62 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 37 (2001)
Heliports: 1 (2001) Military New Zealand
Military branches: New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,010,316 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 850,185 (2002 est.)
service: Military manpower - reaching males: 26,480 (2002 est.)
military age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $515.6 million (2002 est.)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 1.2% (FY2001/02)
GDP: Transnational Issues New Zealand
Disputes - international: territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

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Island nation, South Pacific Ocean.

Area: 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 3,893,000. Capital: Wellington. Most of the people are of European origin; about one-tenth are Maori, and some are Pacific Islanders and Chinese. Languages: English and Maori (both official). Religion: Christianity. Currency: New Zealand dollar. New Zealand consists of the North Island and the South Island, which are separated by Cook Strait, and several smaller islands. Both main islands are bisected by mountains in the south and hills in the north. New Zealand has a developed market economy based largely on agriculture (dominated by sheep raising), small-scale industries, and services. It is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the British monarch represented by the governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. Polynesian occupation dates to с AD 1000. First sighted by Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642, the main islands were charted by Capt. James Cook in 1769. Named a British crown colony in 1840 at Wellington, the area was the scene of warfare between colonists and native Maori through the 1860s. The capital was moved from Auckland to Wellington in 1865, and in 1907 the colony became the Dominion of New Zealand. It administered Western Samoa from 1919 to 1962 and participated in both world wars. The literacy rate is nearly 100%, and the cultural milieu is predominantly European, although a revival of traditional Maori culture and art is under way. Christchurch is the major city on the South Island. When Britain joined the European Economic Community in the early 1970s, its influence led New Zealand to expand its export markets and diversify its economy. It has also become more independent in its foreign relations.

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▪ 2009

Area:

270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 4,268,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Helen Clark and, from November 19, John Key

After nine years in office, the Labour-led government of Prime Minister Helen Clark was defeated in New Zealand's triennial elections held on Nov. 8, 2008, losing control of the unicameral House of Representatives to an administration led by National Party leader John Key. (Key, John Phillip ) Polling 44.93% of votes under the MMP (mixed-member proportional) electoral system, National won 58 seats; Labour received 33.99% (43 seats), and the Green Party took 6.72% (9 seats). The Maori and ACT New Zealand parties each won five seats, and United Future took one. The latter three parties reached an accord, including ministerial posts, to support the Key administration, which assumed office on November 19. In conceding Labour's defeat, Clark and Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen also resigned their roles as party leader and deputy leader, respectively, and were replaced in a caucus ballot three days later by Phil Goff and Annette King—previously trade minister and justice minister, respectively.

On the new Parliament's commencement in early December, Key initiated a 100-day action plan that included tax cuts to begin in April 2009; a line-by-line review of departmental spending; enhancement of the country's infrastructure; tougher laws to combat violent youth crime, criminal gangs, and the drug trade; a transitional relief package for those individuals worst hit by job losses; and a reassessment of the effects of the global economic crisis. The Clark administration had earlier agreed to underwrite retail and wholesale deposits in New Zealand-registered banks.

New Zealand First party leader Winston Peters was censured by Parliament in a 62–56 vote on September 23 after the Privileges Committee ruled by majority that he had knowingly failed to declare a $NZ 100,000 (about U.S.$70,000) donation to his party in 2005. Clark dismissed Peters as foreign affairs minister, and his party subsequently lost all its seven seats in Parliament.

The May 22 budget projected expenditure for fiscal 2008–09 of $NZ 78.8 billion (about U.S.$62 billion), up 8.7%, and revenue of $NZ 80.1 billion (about U.S.$63.1 billion), up 4%; the 2007–08 surplus was forecast to shrink. The main budget allocations were for social security and welfare, health, education, economic and industrial services, law and order, and defense. A deal was signed on June 30 for the government to repurchase for $NZ 665 million (about U.S.$506 million) the rail network and interisland ferry service that was sold by the former National government to a private consortium in 1993 for $NZ 328.3 million (about U.S.$177.5 million).

In April New Zealand became the first Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member country to conclude a comprehensive free-trade agreement with China, in a deal calculated to boost New Zealand's annual exports to China, currently valued at some $NZ 2 billion (about U.S.$1.5 billion), by up to $NZ 400 million (about U.S.$300 million). New Zealand would ultimately concede tariff-free access to China for 96% of its products by 2019. In tandem with the deal were legally binding agreements on labour and the environment. New Zealand also agreed to a closer economic partnership agreement with Japan, made progress on free-trade negotiations with India, and commenced preparatory talks on a free-trade deal with South Korea.

New Zealand lost two historically significant figures early in the year. Explorer Sir Edmund Hillary, who first conquered Mt. Everest in 1953 with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, died on January 11. Maori poet Hone Tuwhare (Tuwhare, Hone ), who in 1999 became New Zealand's second poet laureate, died on January 16.

Neale McMillan

▪ 2008

Area:

270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 4,184,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Anand Satyanand

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Policies by the Labour-led government to make New Zealand the world's first “truly sustainable” country underpinned strategies announced in 2007 by Prime Minister Helen Clark. In her formal statement to the House of Representatives on February 13, Clark declared plans for a carbon-neutral public service from 2012, a single government procurement policy for sustainably produced goods and services, a low-emission state vehicle fleet, improved waste management, and a CarbonZero program that would enable businesses to label themselves as carbon neutral. Government officials also made progress during the year on a free-trade agreement with China, began talks for a similar agreement with South Korea, discussed an Asia-Pacific free-trade area, and pursued closer economic relations and free trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The leader of the opposition, John Key, announced that if his National Party was elected in 2008, he would abolish separate Maori representation in the House of Representatives (currently 7 of the 121 seats) from 2014. Prime Minister Clark abandoned the idea of introducing state funding of political parties, but she promoted legislation that would impose constraints on election campaign spending.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen's May 17 budget projected an operating surplus of $NZ 6,327,000,000 ($NZ 1 = about U.S.$0.74) for 2007–08, reduced company tax from 33% to 30% in 2008, and introduced a KiwiSaver savings scheme (supported by compulsory contributions from employers) to provide retirement funds for modest-income earners. The biggest items in the budget's $NZ 67,853,000,000 in financial allocations were $NZ 20,142,000,000 for social security and welfare, $NZ 10,658,000,000 for health services, $NZ 10,204,000,000 for education, and $NZ 4,994,000,000 for economic and industrial services.

A guaranteed minimum wage for disabled workers was enacted on March 21, along with sick pay and leave entitlements. Free preschool education of up to 20 hours a week for three- and four-year-olds was introduced on July 1, in addition to subsidized medical consultations and prescription medicines for those aged 25–44. A contentious law that allowed parents and caregivers to use “reasonable force” to correct a child's misbehaviour was repealed. A radical overhaul of conduct and disciplinary processes involving the police was announced after an independent inquiry found serious cases of misconduct in the past by officers, including sexual assault.

Permits authorizing oil and gas exploration in the Great South Basin of the Southern Ocean over the next five years were granted in July to two international consortia: one comprising U.S.-based ExxonMobil and Todd Exploration of New Zealand; the other a joint venture of Austria's OMV New Zealand, PTTEP Offshore Investment Co. of Thailand, and Mitsui Exploration of Japan. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton banned bottom trawling and dredging over 30% of the seabed in New Zealand's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

The Royal New Zealand Navy in July commissioned the 9,000-metric-ton, 131-m (1 m = 3.28 ft) multipurpose vessel HMNZS Canterbury, to be supplemented by two new 85-m offshore patrol vessels and four 55-m inshore patrol craft. The first Victoria Cross for gallantry to be awarded to a New Zealand soldier since 1946 was bestowed on Special Air Services Corp. Willy Apiata for valour in Afghanistan. Apiata, age 35, had carried a seriously wounded comrade over 70 m of rocky gravel under enemy fire and in the face of return fire from his own side. Originally a British honour instituted in 1860, the Victoria Cross was adopted by New Zealand in 1999 as its own supreme military award for valour.

Neale McMillan

▪ 2007

Area:

270,692 sq km (104,515 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 4,141,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Dame Silvia Cartwright and, from August 23, Anand Satyanand

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Trust in New Zealand politicians and political parties became a dominant issue in 2006, especially when Controller and Auditor-General Kevin Brady ruled in October that seven of the eight political parties in the 121-member House of Representatives had used public money unlawfully before the September 2005 general election. Citing “significant breaches” of parliamentary appropriations, Brady identified $NZ 1,173,598 ($NZ 1 = about U.S.$0.64) in unlawful expenditure in fiscal years 2004–05 and 2005–06, of which $NZ 825,000 pertained to Prime Minister Helen Clark's ruling Labour Party. Brady was most concerned over the misuse of parliamentary funds for party-generated election advertising, including a Labour pledge card that was universally distributed. Offending parties subsequently committed to reimbursing misappropriated sums, and the single-chamber Parliament enacted legislation in an urgent session to validate their actions. Clark undertook to promote new rules on election spending for the 2008 elections.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen's May 18 budget projected an operating surplus of $NZ 8.5 billion in 2005–06 and $NZ 5.6 billion in 2006–07. An extra $NZ 1.3 billion on new roads over five years included moves to ease Auckland's traffic gridlock and accelerate highway projects in Auckland and Christchurch. Cullen also earmarked $NZ 5.2 million to facilitate settlement of Maori grievances under the Treaty of Waitangi, aimed at having all historical claims lodged by 2008 and settled by 2020. After three years as head of the National Party and leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives, Don Brash resigned on November 27 and announced that he would quit active politics at year's end. He was succeeded in both posts by John Key, a former merchant banker.

New Zealand's deployment of 120 military personnel for reconstruction work in Afghanistan was extended to September 2007, bringing its total financial commitment for peacekeeping and development over five years to $NZ 160 million. An additional 55 troops and police were dispatched in April to the Solomon Islands to supplement 82 personnel involved in curbing civil unrest in the capital, Honiara, and another 120 defense personnel were committed to the international effort to avert civil war in East Timor. Clark's government approved the $NZ 771 million purchase of eight new European-made NH90 military helicopters to replace the RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force) fleet of Vietnam-era Iroquois, with the first delivery due in 2010.

Stab-resistant body armour was issued in February to 6,500 police in response to an increase in slashing and stabbing assaults on officers, from 2 such attacks in 1999 to 48 in 2003. In September frontline police were controversially issued with Taser stun guns for a 12-month trial. Authorities in May made two seizures of narcotics from shipping containers that had originated in southern China. The combined haul comprised crystal methamphetamine valued at $NZ 95 million and $NZ 40 million worth of pseudoephedrine.

In business news, entrepreneur Sam Morgan sold his Internet trading site Trade Me to Australian media group John Fairfax Holdings Ltd. for $NZ 700 million. Morgan's father, a Wellington economist, donated to charity the $NZ 47 million that accrued from his personal 6.7% stake in the business, saying that he did not need it. National Business Review weekly named business tycoon Graeme Hart as New Zealand's richest individual, with personal wealth calculated at $NZ 2.75 billion. The state-owned lottery on May 20 paid its largest Lotto prize of $NZ 17,992,975 to a couple from Auckland. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand introduced smaller, lighter 50-cent, 20-cent and 10-cent coins from July 31 and withdrew 5-cent coins from circulation on November 1.

Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on August 15 at age 75. (See Obituaries.) On August 23 former trial judge and Parliamentary Ombudsman Anand Satyanand—>, aged 62 and of Indo-Fijian parentage, became New Zealand's first governor-general of Asian descent.

Neale McMillan

▪ 2006

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 4,096,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

The New Zealand election on Sept. 17, 2005, broke new constitutional ground as mixed member proportional (MMP) voting returned 121 members of Parliament, an increase of one from the previously fixed 120-member House of Representatives. Prime Minister Helen Clark's government was elected to a third three-year term, but Clark was obliged to negotiate support from four minor parties to form an administration. Clark's Labour Party (with 50 seats) concluded a formal coalition with the Progressive Party (1 seat), agreed to various arrangements with New Zealand First (7) and United Future (3), and made policy concessions to the Greens (6) in return for a pledge from the Greens to abstain on financial issues and votes of confidence. The opposition comprised the National Party (48 seats), ACT New Zealand (2), and the Maori party (4). Former attorney general Margaret Wilson, who in 2003 had successfully legislated for a new Supreme Court to replace the Privy Council as the nation's final appellate court, became the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

In a move she called “constitutional evolution,” Clark appointed New Zealand First leader Winston Peters foreign minister and United Future leader Peter Dunne revenue minister. Both men remained outside the cabinet, however, and each had unprecedented dispensation to disagree with any government policies apart from his respective portfolio. Labour's preelection-year program had offered incentives to stimulate personal savings, boost productivity, and encourage more women into the workforce. Finance Minister Michael Cullen's 2005–06 budget projected an operating surplus of $NZ 6.6 billion ($NZ 1 = about U.S.$0.70), which prompted other parties to run election campaigns in which they promised tax cuts.

It was a busy legislative year for Clark's government. A law authorizing civil unions took effect on April 26, ending discrimination against both de facto heterosexual and same-sex relationships under more than 100 statutes. The qualifying period for New Zealand citizenship was increased from three years' residency to five years', and from Jan. 1, 2006, the automatic right to citizenship of a child born in New Zealand would be replaced by a requirement that one parent had to be a citizen or permanent resident. New passports were reduced from 10 years' validity to 5 years' and could be refused or withdrawn for reasons of national security. New Zealand's troop deployment for reconstruction work in Afghanistan was extended for an additional year to September 2006. The government announced $NZ 4.6 billion in extra spending over the next decade to modernize equipment and increase military personnel by 10,000 in the three armed services; this constituted a 51% increase in defense funding since 1999. Seventeen Skyhawk strike jets and 17 Aermacchi jet trainers, which had been mothballed in 2001 when the air force strike wing was scrapped, were sold to the U.S. Tactical Air Services for training purposes.

Graham Capill, a lawyer, moral crusader, and one-time police prosecutor, was convicted in Christchurch district court on July 14 and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for having sexually molested three girls (aged 5–11) over a span of years when he was leader of the Christian Heritage political party. In September former ACT party MP Donna Awatere Huata and her husband, Wi Huata, were jailed for 33 months and 24 months, respectively, for having fraudulently misused $NZ 82,409 in public funds that had been allocated to a trust to help underprivileged Maori children.

Former prime minister David Lange died in August from renal failure. He had been diagnosed in 2002 with amyloidosis. (See Obituaries.) Rod Donald, coleader of the Green Party from 1995 and a member of Parliament since 1996, died suddenly from viral myocarditis on November 5 at age 48. Donald had led the campaign to introduce MMP voting. In June New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell won the $1.17 million U.S. Open. (See Sports and Games: Golf. (Golf ))

Neale McMillan

▪ 2005

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 4,060,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

New Zealand was sustained in 2004 by a buoyant economy and strong domestic growth, which enabled Finance Minister Michael Cullen's May 27 budget to predict government surpluses exceeding $NZ 5 billion ($NZ 1 = about U.S.$0.65) annually to 2007–08 and to project economic growth of 2.8% to March 2005. New commitments included $NZ 221 million in targeted family assistance, plans to upgrade Auckland's infrastructure and rail networks over the next decade, and $NZ 500 million over four years for economic development and export incentives. To contain inflation, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand incrementally increased the official cash rate from 5% on January 1 to 6.5% on October 28. Wellington and Beijing agreed to begin negotiations in early 2005 for a New Zealand– China free-trade agreement. Prime Minister Helen Clark's administration also advanced talks for better trade access with Thailand, Mexico, Singapore, Chile, and Hong Kong and lobbied for a free-trade arrangement with the U.S.

Race relations dominated politics after opposition National Party leader Donald Brash alleged that Clark's Labour-led government was running policies with a pro- Maori bias. Responding to opinion polls supporting Brash's stance, Clark appointed Trevor Mallard coordinating minister on race relations to review policies with racial preferences. Having rejected Maori claims to title of the nation's foreshore and seabed and ignored a two-week protest march by thousands of Maori demonstrators that ended on May 5, Parliament enacted government-sponsored legislation in November confirming public ownership. In protest against the Foreshore and Seabed bill, junior cabinet minister Tariana Turia resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Representatives, forcing a by-election on July 10, which she won overwhelmingly on behalf of the new Maori Party. Veteran parliamentarian Richard Prebble quit as leader of the ACT political party, which held 8 seats in the 120-seat House, and was succeeded by Rodney Hide in June.

Destiny New Zealand, a new church-based political party, organized rallies on family and moral issues in Auckland and Wellington, where police estimated 7,500 attendees. The party also protested legalized prostitution, abortion, and government-sponsored legislation to solemnize and register relationships and civil unions between same-sex couples. (See Law, Crime, and Law Enforcement: Special Report (Legal Debate over Same-Sex Marriages ).)

Floods devastated farmland in the lower part of North Island in February and the Bay of Plenty region in July. Officials calculated that damage from the February storms exceeded $NZ 250 million. Farming leaders estimated that 500,000 newborn lambs perished in September snows in Otago and Southland. The government began negotiations with pastoral leaseholders in the South Island high country to create a network of up to 20 conservation parks and reserves over 200,000 ha (almost 500,000 ac) of tussock grasslands, designating $NZ 79 million for the purpose. A nine-year-old Merino wether nicknamed Shrek was accorded international celebrity status during the year. The renegade “hermit sheep,” which was believed to have evaded the annual muster for six years by hiding in a cave, had grown a 27.5-kg (60-lb) fleece with wool staples 380 mm (15 in) in length. Shrek's April 28 shearing on live television was broadcast worldwide, and most of the fleece was auctioned for charity.

Internationally acclaimed author Janet Frame (Frame, Janet Paterson ) died on January 29 at age 79. Just two months later Frame's biographer, eminent historian Michael King (King, Michael ), was killed in a road accident. (See Obituaries.)

Neale McMillan

▪ 2004

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 4,001,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Historic links with the U.K. and the British monarchy were loosened in 2003 by constitutional changes enacted by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark's reform-minded government. The House of Representatives controversially established a new Supreme Court to replace the London-based judicial committee of the Privy Council as New Zealand's court of final appeal and scrapped the prestigious designation of queen's counsel for senior barristers. This action followed the abolition of knighthoods and damehoods in the biannual honours list. Opposition National Party leader Bill English accused Clark of “Trojan horse” motives aimed at converting New Zealand to a republic.

Long-standing Maori grievances over land claims were revived when the government denied Maori title to the nation's foreshore and seabed and designated the area as public domain. Opposition parties announced policies to abolish separate Maori representation in Parliament. Clark not only endorsed retention of Maori seats—all seven of which were held by her ruling Labour Party—but also gave regional, district, and city councils the option of creating Maori-only constituencies. Local governments were empowered to engage freely in commercial trading activity.

In March Team New Zealand lost sailing's America's Cup to the Swiss challenger, Alinghi, led by former New Zealand skipper Russell Coutts. Alinghi won five consecutive races out of a possible nine. Ceremonies in May honoured the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt. Everest, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Wellington also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations agreement, which achieved total free trade in goods between both nations and harmonized trade in most service sectors.

Relations with the U.S. were strained as New Zealand refused to commit militarily in Iraq without UN sanction and retained the embargo on visits by nuclear-powered naval vessels. Charles Swindells, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, stated that Washington was not prepared to schedule bilateral free-trade negotiations “at this time” and suggested that a reexamination of New Zealand's antinuclear stance could be beneficial to both countries.

Michael Cullen, deputy prime minister and finance minister, announced a “careful Budget for uncertain times,” attributable to weaker commodity prices, a strong New Zealand dollar, and a sharp decline in farm incomes weighing upon business confidence and activity. He predicted 2003–04 revenue at $NZ 58,798,000,000 (about U.S.$33,290,000,000) and spending at $NZ 55,037,000,000 (about U.S.$32,830,000,000). Gross debt was projected to decline to about 23% of GDP by 2006-07. Australian interests bought New Zealand's national railways and the ancillary road-rail interisland ferries, with the state assuming ownership of the rail-track network and committing to its upgrade.

Strategies were defined to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in line with New Zealand's obligations as a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Hundreds of farmers converged on Wellington to protest a proposed levy on the flatulence emitted by their livestock, notably dairy cows and sheep; National Party MP Shane Ardern was prosecuted for driving a vintage tractor up the main steps of Parliament. A moratorium on the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms expired in October; the government overruled demands by the Green Party, lobby groups, and public-opinion polls to extend the GM ban another five years.

During the year New Zealand also decriminalized prostitution; established a new regime to control gambling; announced a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, casinos, and public transport; and set up a government-sponsored Families Commission (from mid-2004) to advocate family-friendly policies.

Neale McMillan

▪ 2003

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 3,893,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

In 2002, her first full year in office, Gov.-Gen. Dame Silvia Cartwright was able to add her touch to the prominence of women in New Zealand affairs. The speech from the throne she read on August 27 to open Parliament bore the touch of Prime Minister Helen Clark (see Biographies (Clark, Helen )), who had spent the last parliamentary term cementing her grip on power. Clark, as leader of the Labour Party, had seen her team come from behind in the general election in July. Neither Labour, which won 41.3% of the votes and a total of 52 seats in the 120-seat House, nor the once mighty National Party (NP), with 20.9% and 27 seats, won a clear majority. The real victor was mixed member proportional (MMP) voting, which distributed some seats on the basis of proportional representation. New Zealand First took 10.4% and 13 seats, 12 from its MMP list. Labour, however, had become skilled at negotiating with the smaller parties, notably the Greens (7% and 9 seats).

Under its swashbuckling new leader, Bill English, the NP, which had lost seats since the last election, found itself defending its right to be seated as the official parliamentary opposition. What might have been a coup for National, in better times, was that the Reserve Bank's governor, Don Brash, a widely respected curtailer of inflation, had resigned the bank post, had won a National Party seat, and would have been posted to the front benches if the NP had prevailed. Clark also lost her deputy prime minister, former Alliance leader Jim Anderton, who in June launched a new party, the Progressive Coalition (1.7% and 2 seats). She substituted Finance Minister Michael Cullen as deputy prime minister in August. Against this background, it was remarkable that the official speech from the throne indicated a continuing unruffled program of initiatives.

Some strain was evident between Australia and New Zealand when Canberra moved to limit the access of New Zealanders to Australian government benefits. New Zealanders too were critical of visitors to the larger country living like residents without joining in any payment for resettlement. New Zealanders were not far behind Australians, however, in deploying Special Air Service forces alongside American troops in Afghanistan. The old ANZAC spirit, a remnant of the World War I combined Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, was to be seen in combined peacekeeping forces in East Timor. For New Zealand air and navy forces, there was radical change in the balance of defense spending at home.

Leaky buildings became a concern in New Zealand when a pattern was uncovered involving poor design, construction, and materials used in new domestic housing that left buildings vulnerable to rot and, in wet weather, internal and structural leaks. The problems were seen to plague near-new apartment blocks and subdivisions built mainly with monolithic cladding and untreated timber. The situation rated a summit in September in Wellington, which was attended by local government representatives, building inspectors, and other industry leaders, to deal with a repair problem that was already estimated to cost from NZ$36 million to NZ$240 million (about U.S. $17.5 million to U.S. $117 million). Questions were raised about the lack of strict building standards and the responsibilities of the government-appointed Building Industry Authority. In November a parliamentary select committee began hearings on the issue.

John A. Kelleher

▪ 2002

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 3,861,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governors-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys, Dame Sian Elias (acting) from March 22, and, from April 4, Dame Silvia Cartwright

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

In 2001, the Labour Party's second full year in power, Prime Minister Helen Clark continued to have the support of her coalition deputy, Jim Anderton of the liberal Alliance, and the less-reliable support of various fragmentary groupings, which came and went on different issues. Anderton's personal ambition to convert the national post office to a People's Bank came closer with his appointment of former National Party (NP) prime minister Jim Bolger as that project's leader. The mildly conservative NP provided a dull parliamentary opposition, and it was no surprise to insiders when NP leader Jenny Shipley paid the price. On October 8 her colleagues produced the numbers to persuade her it was time to step down. Deputy party leader Bill English, who previously had served as minister of health and then of finance in NP governments, stepped up, but the “Nats” did not look likely to return to power in the general elections due in 2002.

In the wake of the attacks in the United States on September 11, New Zealand offered deployment of its elite Special Air Service (SAS) to an antiterrorism operation coordinated and led by the U.S. The SAS force specialized in undercover long-range reconnaissance and counterterrorism missions, and a New Zealand government spokesman acknowledged that it might serve in Afghanistan. Anderton's support for New Zealand's involvement triggered some dissent within the Alliance. The situation also provoked some New Zealanders to recall the country's post-World War II treaty with the U.S. and Australia, the ANZUS Pact, which New Zealand had effectively jettisoned when it barred nuclear-age U.S. warships from its ports in the 1980s. In May the government had announced plans to scrap all of New Zealand's combat aircraft. A legal challenge to the decision was rejected by a High Court judge in November, and the squadrons were disbanded in December.

In the second half of the year, the government passed initiatives to help Australia place Afghan and other refugees and also to save New Zealand's international airline. Beginning in late August Afghan “boat people” bearing down on northern and western Australia were refused permission to land. New Zealand agreed to accept a quota for settlement, and in late September more than 140 refugees were flown to Auckland from a transshipment centre on Nauru. At the same time, New Zealand Muslims announced plans to combat perceived harassment and met with a government-appointed race relations conciliator. Air New Zealand's (ANZ's) crisis was partly attributable to world reaction against flying, as well as to a failed attempt to digest fully the Australian airline Ansett in a many-sided takeover operation. For the New Zealand government it meant returning to the business of running an airline 12 years after privatization. In early October it assumed control of ANZ, with a cost of NZ$885 million (about U.S. $366.5 million), 83% ownership, and a less-than-buoyant market. ANZ chief executive Gary Toomey immediately resigned; John Palmer replaced him in late November.

The engineering of genetically modified (GM) organisms became a tentative new issue with the release at the end of July of a Royal Commission report backing commercial use of GM products in New Zealand. One reviewer said the commission had balanced the need for progress with the need for robust safety controls. In October the government allowed a moratorium on GM research, including experimental field trials, to lapse, but it announced a new two-year moratorium on the commercial release of GM organisms under development.

In November New Zealand yachtsman Sir Peter Blake was killed by bandits. (See Obituaries (Blake, Sir Peter James ).)

John A. Kelleher

▪ 2001

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 3,835,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys

Head of government:

Prime Minister Helen Clark

A bizarre coup engineered in Fiji by the islands' indigenous chiefs against mainly Indians who had gained political footholds dominated headlines in New Zealand from May 19, 2000. Also noteworthy for the nation were elections in the Indonesian territory of Timor that gave power to East Timor separatists. Together, these Pacific eruptions focused attention in New Zealand on the country's long-running debate on defense forces that it might need in the southern oceans. Its new Labour Party government, in a maze of shifting internal political alliances, probably found more voter support for its backing of army reequipment at the expense of the air force and navy spending than it did in any of the other issues. New Zealand soldiers in East Timor, upholding UN intervention alongside the Australians, were the year's main heroes.

The soldiers, however, could do little to dislodge the year's spotlight from a record fall of the New Zealand dollar accompanied by a Reserve Bank caution that the country could either export its way out of trouble or slow down consumption in order to take the pressure off inflation. (The exchange rate stabilized at about $NZ43.01 to the U.S. dollar by December 15.) Business confidence declined. In response, Helen Clark, in her first full year as prime minister, claimed that the Labour Party had delivered what it promised in regard to fairer labour laws, saving native forests, and scrapping F-16 fighter planes wanted only by the air force.

Clark kept her political alliances intact through a number of crises, the most controversial being the sacking of her minister of Maori affairs for offenses alleged to have occurred many years earlier. She retained the support of her deputy, Jim Anderton, leader of a party that was itself an alliance of small parties. Other key supporters included Finance Minister Michael Cullen, Foreign Minister Phil Goff, and State Services Minister Trevor Mallard.

Three years after National Party leader Jim Bolger and the balance of power holder at that time, Winston Peters (New Zealand First), took nine weeks to draft a 60-plus-page alliance agreement, Clark and Anderton took only nine days to produce a 1¹/₂-page document that would see their alliance through at least its first year. The agreement was based on creation of a standing coalition management committee comprising the two leaders, deputies, and whips. Intrigues were never in short supply during the year, but Clark's inner circle remained staunch.

Commenting on a budget that allocated NZ$55 million (about US$22 million) for research and development and also for economic trade and development and NZ$1.2 billion (about US$480 million) for social policies, the prime minister characterized it as “balanced and moderate,” as had been promised. She also reminded New Zealanders that they had voted for a “change of direction, not for a revolution.” By October prospects for alliances on legislative initiatives included one with the official opposition National Party on an issue that had been elusive for decades—a parliamentary joint approach to the treatment of retirees in a country top-heavy with the elderly.

Two other women, each of whom moved up from the bench of the High Court, gained prominence during the year. They were Justice Sian Elias, who was appointed chief justice of the court, and Justice Dame Silvia Cartwright, who in April 2001 would become governor-general.

John A. Kelleher

▪ 2000

Area:

270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 3,841,000

Capital:

Wellington

Chief of state:

Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Jennifer Shipley and, from December 10, Helen Clark

On Nov. 27, 1999, the centre-right government of New Zealand's National Party (NP), which had become an institution over the years, was voted out of office. In the past the NP had always shouldered its way back into power soon after its occasional setbacks. This time, however, an eager centre-left Labour Party (LP) was waiting to pounce, assisted by an assortment of smaller parties. By December 10, two weeks after the voting under mixed member proportional (MMP), Labour, combined with its preelection coalition partner Alliance (a breakaway grouping of smaller parties led by former LP president Jim Anderton), had 59 seats in the 120-place single-chamber Parliament, while the NP was able to hang on to only 39 seats. Other parties winning seats were the right-wing ACT New Zealand, which was expected to support National (9 seats); the Greens, which had opted out of Alliance and had since promised money to a Labour-Alliance administration (7); the enigmatic New Zealand First (5), which had battled the NP before the previous elections but had eventually joined in coalition with them and now promised money and a vote of confidence in support of the party that polled the most votes; and one former National MP whose splinter party had come down to himself alone (1). The Labour-Alliance minority government would be dependent on the Greens' support as well as on regular consultation with smaller allied parties.

For the first time, the leadership battle was contested by two women, with LP leader Helen Clark ultimately prevailing over NP Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley. Clark, a former health and labour minister and deputy prime minister in a previous, short-lived Labour administration, became New Zealand's first elected woman prime minister. Shipley had been appointed to the post in December 1997 after then prime minister Jim Bolger resigned. By election day Labour and the Alliance group had shed tension but not policy differences. However, Anderton, who was named deputy prime minister, radiated goodwill that gave the coalition a stronger chance of succeeding.

Of the 20 Cabinet posts apportioned, Clark put Anderton in charge of economic development, one of four jobs that went to the coalition's junior party. LP deputy leader Michael Cullen returned to the post of finance minister, which he had held in a previous administration; he was also made leader of the House. Foreign affairs, with Phil Goff enunciating policy, was fifth in the Cabinet, and the volatile situation in Indonesia was likely to be a key concern. The new administration signaled Labour's intention to extract an individual tax of $NZ 0.39 on the dollar (rather than $NZ 0.33) on earnings above $NZ 60,000 ($NZ 1 = about U.S.$0.52), rewrite legislation on management-labour relations, and further adjust national superannuation. More Maori members were given Cabinet responsibilities than in previous governments.

The elections gave New Zealanders their second experience of the MMP form of proportional voting. In a referendum on limiting the number of MPs to 99 rather than 120, 81.47% of the voters approved. One problem with MMP, which produced MPs without ties to electorates or party seniority, was that a number of past MPs had deserted the colours by which they were elected and defected to another party. All of those who had done that and stood again in 1999 were rejected. Because so many of these defectors were part Maori, journalists coined the collective term waka jumpers, a reference to the fabled or actual canoes, or wakas, in which the aboriginal Maori had first arrived on the islands. Another referendum supported tougher penalties for crimes of violence.

John A. Kelleher

▪ 1999

Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population (1998 est.): 3,801,000

Capital: Wellington

Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys

Head of government: Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley

Throughout 1998 New Zealand political alliances continued to react to the resignation in November 1997 of Prime Minister Jim Bolger at the urging of his National Party members of Parliament. Dissatisfied with the influence of coalition partner New Zealand First, the legislators installed Transport Minister Jennifer Shipley as prime minister. She was given the responsibility of cutting the coalition partner down to size while maintaining legislative voting strength that would enable her minority government to stay in power. In August 1998 she sacked as treasurer the junior party's leader Winston Peters, divided that party by retaining some of its ministers, installed a National Party colleague as her deputy in place of Peters, and saw the coalition collapse a few days later.

With fast-moving parliamentary leaders negotiating sporadic support for the minority government on various issues, Shipley aimed for credible control over legislation, which included relaxed criteria for immigration. Some of the New Zealand First team she had retained in the Cabinet provided a basis for support in Parliament; they were assisted when it suited them by the right-wing ACT New Zealand and various independent legislators who could be courted at certain times. The situation was precarious, but by mid-October the minority government managed to hold on.

Peters's sacking followed his walkout from a stalemated meeting of a coalition disputes committee; he was followed by the Cabinet ministers from his party. Subsequently, Peters's New Zealand First party fell apart, and he was left as leader of the remnants but with no government role. In a revamped Cabinet named at the end of August, Shipley promoted Education Minister Wyatt Creech as her deputy. Next in seniority were Bill Birch (finance), John Luxton (agriculture), Bill English (health), and Max Bradford (commerce), who rose from 19th to 6th.

As treasurer, Peters had left behind, with his mid-May budget, a "tough-love" welfare regime that would require some who were receiving unemployment benefits to prove an interest in working for their living or else have their benefits reduced. In budgeting for a healthy surplus, he began the process of abolishing tariffs on imported automobiles, increased spending on education by NZ $197 million and on health by 6%, and increased the tax on gasoline by 2.1 cents per litre. The budget confirmed that the impact of the Asian financial crisis would delay the proposed tax cuts until at least 2000-01. New Zealand was technically in recession from about mid-September. Gross domestic product had declined for two consecutive quarters, and the economy was growing at its slowest rate since 1993.

In other developments the government in October completed a $170 million land grievance settlement with the major tribe of the South Island, Ngai Tahu. During February and March, Auckland suffered a five-week electrical blackout caused by the failure of power cables.

JOHN A. KELLEHER

▪ 1998

Area: 270,534 sq km (104,454 sq mi)

Population (1997 est.): 3,653,000

Capital: Wellington

Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys

Head of government: Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and, from December 8, Jennifer Shipley

In 1997 the first full year of mixed-member proportional government, in which a party's representation in the legislature is a mixture of those elected by the public and those appointed by political parties according to the aggregate percentage of votes for those parties, was traumatic for New Zealand's politicians. Following the October 1996 general elections, neither the governing National Party (NP), with 44 seats, nor its rival for 60 years, the Labour Party (LP), with 37 seats, had the majority to form a government without calling on each other or on a newcomer party to form a coalition. The NP, led by Prime Minister Jim Bolger, was the more daring in negotiating an agonizingly detailed basis for a coalition with the New Zealand First Party (NZFP), which held the balance of power with 17 seats and included in its representation all Maori districts. While the LP remained aloof from new liaisons, Bolger was considered too accommodating by many observers in regard to the number of Cabinet positions he offered to so inexperienced a partner. The chief beneficiary was the NZFP's charismatic leader, Winston Peters, who took over as deputy prime minister and treasurer in the new coalition government.

During 1997 the electorate became so frustrated by a lack of clear direction for government policy, particularly in regard to privatization of health care, that by the year's end the NP's popularity was down from 34% at the elections to 28% and the NZFP was down from 13.1% to an insignificant 1%.

An outstanding reversal for the NZFP and for Peters personally was the size of the defeat of a referendum seeking approval of a national compulsory superannuation (retirement savings) scheme. More than 80% of the electorate voted, and of those, 91.8% said "no." As treasurer, Peters in the June budget attempted to balance social policy spending promises against the need for a tight grip on the purse strings. An expected budget surplus had been halved, the question of superannuation was still unresolved, and beneficiaries would be required to follow a code of social responsibility. For the unemployed this referred to seeking work; for parents it was looking after their children.

In early October, with calls for his resignation increasing, Bolger signaled a return to some of the NP's old privatization policies and assured party critics that the agreement with the NZFP would not work as a "strait-jacket." However, in November a majority of NP members of Parliament lobbied to replace Bolger with Minister of Transport Jennifer Shipley. Bolger resigned; the NP Caucus duly elected Shipley New Zealand's first woman prime minister; and the NZFP continued in the coalition.

In a positive step for race relations, the government finally addressed a long-held Maori grievance concerning land rights.) (Racial Integration in Australia and New Zealand ) One agreement, which had been worked on by the NP for some years, was a settlement with the leading Maori tribe of South Island in reparation for the colonial administration's laying aside, in the 1850s, of insufficient areas for native reserves. In September the government returned a 1,150-ha (2,842-ac) tract of forest to a Maori tribe on North Island.

JOHN A. KELLEHER

See also Dependent States, below.

* * *

Introduction

Maori Aotearoa

New Zealand, flag of an island nation in the South Pacific. New Zealand is a remote land. One of the last sizable territories suitable for habitation to be populated and settled, it lies more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Australia, its nearest neighbour. The country comprises two main islands—the North and South islands—and a number of small islands, some of them hundreds of miles from the main group. The capital city is Wellington and largest urban area Auckland, both located on the North Island. New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent. Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand.

New Zealand was the largest country in Polynesia when it was annexed by the British in 1840. Thereafter it was, successively, a crown colony, a self-governing colony (1856), and a dominion (1907). By the 1920s it controlled almost all of its internal and external policies, although it did not become fully independent until 1947, when it adopted the Statute of Westminster. It is a member of the Commonwealth of former British dependencies.

New Zealand is a land of great contrasts and diversity. Active volcanoes, spectacular caves, deep glacier lakes, verdant valleys, dazzling fjords, long sandy beaches, and the spectacular snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps—all contribute to New Zealand's scenic beauty. New Zealand also boasts a unique array of vegetation and animal life, much of it developing during the country's prolonged isolation. It is the sole home, for example, of the long-beaked, flightless kiwi, the ubiquitous nickname for New Zealanders.

Perhaps the most famous New Zealander is Sir Edmund Hillary (Hillary, Sir Edmund), whose ascent of Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 was one of the defining moments of the 20th century. “In some ways,” Hillary suggested, “I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed.”

Despite New Zealand's isolation, the country has been fully engaged in international affairs since the early 20th century, being an active member of both the League of Nations and the United Nations. It has also participated in several wars, including World Wars I and II. Economically, the country was dependent on the export of agricultural products, especially to Great Britain. The entry of Britain into the European Community in the early 1970s, however, forced New Zealand to expand its trade relations with other countries. It also has begun to develop a much more extensive and varied industrial sector. Tourism has played an increasingly important role in the economy, though this sector was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

The social and cultural gap between New Zealand's two main groups—the indigenous Maori of Polynesian heritage and colonizers and later immigrants from the British Isles and their descendants—has decreased since the 1970s, though educational and economic differences between the two groups remain. Immigration from other areas—Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe—has also left its mark, and New Zealand culture today reflects these many influences. Minority rights and race-related issues continue to play an important role in New Zealand politics.

Land (New Zealand)

New Zealand is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long (north-south) and about 280 miles (450 km) across at its widest point. The country is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Colorado and a little larger than the United Kingdom. About two-thirds of the land is economically useful, the remainder being mountainous. Because of its numerous harbours and fjords, the country has an extremely long coastline relative to its area.

Relief

Although New Zealand is small, its geological history is complex. Land has existed in the vicinity of New Zealand for most of the last 500 million years. The earliest known rocks originated as sedimentary deposits of late Precambrian or early Cambrian age (i.e., about 534 million years old); their source area was probably the continental forelands of Australia and Antarctica, then part of a nearby single supercontinent. Continental drift (the movement of large plates of the Earth's crust) created a distinct island arc and oceanic trench structure by Carboniferous time (354 million to 290 million years ago), when deposition began in the downwarps (trenches) of the sedimentary rocks that today make up some three-fourths of New Zealand. This environment lasted about 250 million years and is typified by both downwarped oceanic sedimentary rocks and by terrestrial volcanic rocks. This period was terminated in the west at the beginning of the Cretaceous Period (about 144 million years ago) by the Rangitata Orogeny (mountain-building episode), although downwarp deposition continued in the east. These mountains were slowly worn down by erosion, and the sea transgressed, eventually covering almost all of the land. At the end of Oligocene time (about 23.8 million years ago) the Kaikoura Orogeny began, raising land above the sea again, including the Southern Alps of the South Island. Many of the great earth movements associated with this final orogeny took place (and take place today) along faults, which divide the landscape into great blocks, chief of which is the Alpine Fault of the South Island. The erosion and continued movement of these faulted blocks, together with the continuing volcanism of the North Island, define to a large extent the landscape of the country.

Both the North and South (South Island) islands are roughly bisected by mountains. Swift, snow-fed rivers drain from the hills, although only in the east of the South Island have extensive alluvial plains been built up. The alluvial Canterbury Plains contrast sharply with the precipitous slopes and narrow coastal strip of the Westland region on the west coast of the South Island. The Southern Alps are a 300-mile- (480-km-) long chain of fold mountains containing New Zealand's highest mountain—Mount Cook (Cook, Mount) (in Maori, Aoraki, also spelled Aorangi, meaning “cloud piercer”) at 12,316 feet (3,754 metres)—and some 20 other peaks that rise above 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), as well as an extensive glacier system with associated lakes.

There are more than 360 glaciers in the Southern Alps. The Tasman Glacier, the largest in New Zealand, with a length of 18 miles (29 km) and a width of more than one-half mile (2.5 km), flows down the eastern slopes of Mount Cook. Other important glaciers on the eastern slopes of the Southern Alps are the Murchison, Mueller, and Godley; Fox and Franz Josef are the largest on the western slopes. The North Island has seven small glaciers on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu.

In the north of the South Island the Alps break up into steep upswelling ridges. On their western face there are mineral deposits, and to the east they continue into two parallel ranges, terminating in a series of sounds. To the south the Alps break up into rugged, dissected country of difficult access and magnificent scenery, particularly toward the western tip of the island (called Fiordland). On its eastern boundary this wilderness borders a high central plateau called Central Otago, which has an almost continental climate.

The terrain of the North Island is much less precipitous than that of the South and has a more benign climate and greater economic potential. In the centre of the island the Volcanic Plateau rises abruptly from the southern shores of New Zealand's largest natural lake, Taupo (Taupo, Lake), itself an ancient volcanic crater. To the east ranges form a backdrop to rolling country in which pockets of great fertility are associated with the river systems. To the south more ranges run to the sea. On the western and eastern slopes of these ranges the land is generally poor, although the western downland region is fertile until it fades into a coastal plain dominated by sand dunes. To the west of the Volcanic Plateau fairly mountainous country merges into the undulating farmlands of the Taranaki (Taranaki, Mount) region, where the mild climate favours dairy farming even on the slopes of Mount Taranaki (Taranaki, Mount) (Egmont), a volcano that has been dormant since the 17th century. North of Mount Taranaki are the spectacular Waitomo caves, where stalactites and stalagmites are illuminated by thousands of glowworms.

The northern shores of Lake Taupo bound a large area of high economic activity, including forestry. Even farther north there are river terraces sufficiently fertile for widespread dairy and mixed farming. The hub of this area is Auckland, which is situated astride an isthmus with a deep harbour on the east and a shallow harbour to the west. The region north of Auckland, called Northland, becomes gradually subtropical in character, marked generally by numerous deep-encroaching inlets of the sea bordered by mangrove swamps.

Drainage

The mountainous country of both islands is cut by many rivers, which are swift, unnavigable, and a barrier to communication. The longest is the Waikato (Waikato River), in the North Island, and the swiftest, the Clutha (Clutha River), in the South. Many of the rivers arise from or drain into one or other of the numerous lakes associated with the mountain chains. A number of these lakes have been used as reservoirs for hydroelectric projects, and artificial lakes, including Lake Benmore, New Zealand's largest, have been created for hydroelectric power generation.

Soils

New Zealand's soils are often deeply weathered, lacking in many nutrients, and, most of all, highly variable over short distances. Soils based on sedimentary rock formations are mostly clays and are found over about three-fourths of the country. Pockets of fertile alluvial soil in river basins or along river terraces form the orchard and market-gardening regions of the country.

In the South Island, variations in mean annual precipitation have had an important effect. The brown-gray soils of Central Otago are thin and coarse-textured and have subsoil accumulations of lime, whereas the yellow-gray earths of much of the Canterbury Plains, as well as areas of lower rainfall in the North Island, are partially podzolized (layered) with a gray upper horizon. The yellow-brown soils that characterize much of the North Island are often podzolized from acid leaching in humid forest environments. Their fertility varies with the species composition of their vegetation. Forests of false beech (Nothofagus), as well as of tawa and taraire, indicate soils of reasonably high fertility, while forests of kauri pine and rimu indicate podzolized soils.

Climate

New Zealand's climate is determined by its latitude, its isolation, and its physical characteristics. There are no extremes of temperature.

A procession of high-pressure systems (anticyclones) separated by middle-latitude cyclones and fronts crosses New Zealand from west to east. Characteristic is the sequence of a few days of fine weather and clear skies separated by days with unsettled weather and often heavy rain. In summer subtropical highs are dominant, bringing protracted spells of fine weather and intense sunshine. In winter middle-latitude lows and active fronts increase the blustery wet conditions, although short spells of clear skies also occur. Because of the high mountain chains that lie across the path of the prevailing winds, the contrast in climate from west to east is sharper than that from north to south. Mountain ranges are also responsible for the semicontinental climate of Central Otago.

Changes in elevation make for an intricate pattern of temperature variations, especially on South Island, but some generalizations for conditions at sea level can be made. The average seasonal and diurnal temperature range is about 18 °F (10 °C). Variation in mean monthly temperature from north to south is about 10 °F (6 °C). In most parts of the country daytime highs in summer are above 70 °F (21 °C), occasionally exceeding 81 °F (27 °C) in the north, while in winter daytime highs throughout the country are rarely below 50 °F (10 °C).

Precipitation is highest in areas dominated by mountains exposed to the prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds. Although mean annual rainfall ranges from an arid 12 inches (300 mm) in Central Otago to as much as 315 inches (800 cm) in the Southern Alps, for the whole country it is typical of temperate zone countries—25–60 inches (64–152 cm), usually spread reliably throughout the year. Snow is common only in mountainous regions, but frost is frequent in inland valleys in winter. Humidity ranges from 70 to 80 percent on the coast, generally being 10 percent lower inland. In the lee of the Southern Alps, where the effect of the foehn (a warm, dry wind of leeward mountain slopes) is marked, humidity can become very low.

Plant and animal life

The indigenous vegetation of New Zealand consisted of mixed evergreen forest covering perhaps two-thirds of the total land area. The islands' prolonged isolation has encouraged the development of species unknown to the rest of the world; almost 90 percent of the indigenous plants are peculiar to the country. Today, dense “bush” survives only in areas unsuitable for settlement and in parks and reserves. On the west coast of the South Island this mixed forest still yields most of the native timber used by industry. Along the mountain chain running the length of the country, the false beech is the predominant forest tree.

European settlement made such inroads on the natural forest that erosion in high-country areas became a serious problem. The State Forest Service was established to repair the damage and uses forest-management techniques and reforestation with exotic trees. Experimental areas on the Volcanic Plateau were planted with radiata pine, an introduction from California. This conifer has adapted to New Zealand conditions so well that it is now the staple plantation tree, growing to maturity in 25 years and having a high rate of natural regeneration. Large areas of the Volcanic Plateau, together with other marginal or subagricultural land north of Auckland and near Nelson, are now planted with this species.

European broad-leaved species are widely used ornamentally, and willows and poplars are frequently planted to help prevent erosion on hillsides. Gorse has acclimatized so readily that it has become a menace, spreading over good and bad land alike, its only virtue being as a nursery for regenerating bush.

Because of New Zealand's isolation, there were no higher animal life forms in the country when the Maori arrived in the late 13th or early 14th century AD. There were three kinds of reptiles—the skink, the gecko, and the tuatara, a “beak-headed” reptile extinct elsewhere for 100 million years—and also a few primitive species of frogs and two species of bats. These are all extant, although confined to outlying islands and isolated parts of the country.

In addition to their domestic animals, Europeans also brought other species with them. Red deer, introduced for sport, and the Australian opossums (for skins) have multiplied beyond imagination and have done untold damage to the vegetation of the high-country bush. The control of goats, deer, opossums, and rabbits—even in the national parks—is a continuing problem.

In the absence of predatory animals, New Zealand is a paradise for birds, the most interesting of which are flightless. The moa was a large bird, eventually exterminated by the Maori. The kiwi, another flightless species, is extant, though only in secluded bush areas. The weka and the notornis, or takahe (barely rescued from extinction), probably became flightless after arrival. The pukeko, a swamp hen relative of the weka, is even now in the process of losing the use of its wings. Some birds, such as saddlebacks and native thrushes (thought to be extinct), are peculiar to New Zealand, but many others (e.g., tuis, fantails, and bellbirds) are closely related to Australian birds. Birds that breed in or near New Zealand include the Australian (Australasian) gannets, skuas, penguins, shags, and royal albatrosses.

Because New Zealand lies at the meeting place of warm and cool ocean currents, a great variety of fish is found in its surrounding waters. Tropical species such as tuna, marlin, and some sharks are attracted by the warm currents, which are locally populated by snapper, trevally, and kahawai. The Antarctic cold currents, on the other hand, bring blue and red cod and hakes, while some fish—tarakihi, grouper, and bass—which can tolerate a considerable range of water temperatures, are found off the entire coastlines. Flounder and sole abound on tidal mudflats, and crayfish are prolific in rocky areas off the coastline.

James Wilmot Rowe Margaret Ann Rowe Warren Moran

People (New Zealand)

Ethnic groups

New Zealand was one of the last sizable land areas suitable for habitation to be populated by human beings. The first settlers were Polynesians (Polynesian culture) who came from somewhere in eastern Polynesia, possibly from what is now French Polynesia. They remained isolated in New Zealand until the arrival of European explorers, the first of whom was the Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman (Tasman, Abel Janszoon) in 1642. During that time they grew in numbers to between 100,000 and 200,000, living almost exclusively on North Island. They had no name for themselves but eventually adopted the name Maori (meaning “Normal”) to distinguish themselves from the Europeans, who, after the voyages of the Englishman Captain James Cook (Cook, James) (1769–77), began to come with greater frequency.

The Europeans brought with them an array of diseases to which the Maori had no resistance, and the Maori population declined rapidly. Their reduction in numbers was exacerbated by widespread intertribal warfare (once the Maori had acquired firearms) and by warfare with Europeans. By 1896 only about 42,000 Maori remained. Early in the 20th century, however, their numbers began to increase as they acquired resistance to such diseases as measles and influenza and as their birth rate subsequently recovered. In 2000 there were some 380,000 Maoris in New Zealand.

Europeans had begun to settle in New Zealand in the 1820s; they arrived in increasing numbers after the country was annexed by Great Britain following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Waitangi, Treaty of) in 1840. By the late 1850s settlers outnumbered Maori, and in 1900 there were some 772,000 Europeans, most of whom by then were New Zealand-born. Although the overwhelming majority of immigrants were of British extraction, other Europeans came as well, notably from Scandinavia, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the Balkans. Groups of central Europeans came between World Wars I and II, and a large body of Dutch immigrants arrived after World War II. Asians coming to New Zealand have included Chinese and Indians and more recently a growing community of Pacific Islanders from Samoa (formerly Western Samoa), the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau.

Contemporary New Zealand thus has a great majority of people of European origin, a significant minority of Maori, and smaller numbers of Pacific Islanders, Chinese, and Indians. This diverse society has produced some racial tensions, but they have been minor compared with those in other parts of the world. Although the Maori have legal equality with those of European descent (called pakeha by the Maori), many feel unable to take their full place in a European-type society without compromising their traditional values.

Languages

New Zealand is predominantly an English-speaking country, though both English and Maori are official languages. Virtually all Maori speak English, and about one-third of them also speak Maori. The Maori language is taught at a number of schools. The only other non-English language spoken by any significant number of people is Samoan.

Religion

New Zealand is nominally Christian, about half of the population adhering to the Anglican, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Methodist denominations; of these, Anglicans make up the largest religious group in New Zealand. Other Protestant sects, the Eastern Orthodox churches, Jewish congregations, and Maori adaptations of Christianity (the Ratana and Ringatu churches) account for nearly all of the rest, although nearly one-fourth of the population does not claim any religious affiliation. There is no established (official) religion, but Anglican cathedrals are generally used for state occasions.

Settlement patterns

Because New Zealand is small and the population is relatively homogeneous, there are no sharply differentiated social or political regions. The North, however, is popularly regarded as being more enterprising, while the South (South Island) is traditionally regarded as being conservative. While the west coast is romantically nostalgic for its rollicking gold-rush days, the east coast conjures up the picture of sheep barons on their extensive ranches (called stations).

The New Zealand countryside is thinly populated, but there are many small towns with populations of up to 10,000 and a number of provincial cities of more than 20,000. The smallest towns and villages are becoming deserted as people drift to the bigger towns and cities.

The main urban areas are Auckland, the centre of the North and the main industrial complex; Hamilton, in the middle of the North Island; Wellington, centrally located at the southern tip of North Island and the political and commercial capital; Christchurch, in the middle of the South Island and the second largest industrial area; and finally, still farther south, Dunedin. Although New Zealand is notable for the strength of its rural sector, the great majority of people live in cities, and urban concentration is proceeding apace. There is also a marked difference in the degree of population growth of the two main islands—the North having about three-fourths of the total population, in sharp contrast to the earlier years of systematic settlement. As in the past, the great majority of Maori live on the North Island; since World War II, however, most Maori have become urban dwellers, as have the Pacific Islanders.

Demographic trends

Life expectancy in New Zealand is high, with males living on average almost 76 years and females 81 years. The death rate is below the world average, and the major causes of death are diseases of the circulatory or respiratory system and cancer. Population growth has been slow: less than 1 percent per year. The natural rate of increase has been highest for the Pacific Islanders and for the Maori, both groups having a more youthful population.

Since World War II New Zealand has generally had an annual excess of arrivals over departures, a major contributor to overall population growth, and this has led to frequent debates about limiting immigration. Although in the past most immigrants came from Great Britain and The Netherlands, they have been surpassed by Pacific Islanders and Asians. Australia is the preferred destination of emigrators. Both immigration and emigration are sensitive to the rate of growth of the New Zealand economy and its employment opportunities, as well as to conditions overseas.

Sir Keith Sinclair Ed.

Economy

New Zealand has a small, developing economy in comparison with other Commonwealth countries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries New Zealand's standard of living was one of the highest in the world, but since World War II the rate of growth has been one of the slowest among the developed countries. The main causes of this retardation have been the slow growth of the economy of the United Kingdom (which formerly was the main destination of New Zealand's exports) and the high tariffs imposed by the major industrial nations against the country's agricultural products (e.g., butter and meat), though the latter has improved following the 1994 ratification of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. New Zealand's economic history since the mid 20th century has consisted largely of the attempt to evade these protectionist constraints by diversifying its farm economy and by expanding its manufacturing base. This has been achieved partly by large-scale government intervention and partly by the natural working of market forces.

New Zealand has had a long history of government intervention in the economy, ranging from state institutions competing in banking and insurance to an extensive social security system. Until the early 1980s most administrations strengthened and supported this paternalism or state socialism, but since then government policy has generally shifted away from intervention, although no move has been made to dismantle the basic elements of social security. Some of the subsidies and tax incentives to agricultural and manufacturing exporters have been abolished, and such government enterprises as the Post Office have become more commercially oriented and less dependent on government subsidies. In addition, the government has attempted to resolve the difficult issue of restrictive practices in the labour market, such as limits on the entry into some occupations.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

New Zealand's farming base required a relatively complex economy. Highly productive pastoral farming, embracing extensive sheep grazing and large-scale milk production, was made possible by a temperate climate, heavy investment in land improvement (including the introduction of European grasses and regular application of imported fertilizers), and highly skilled farm management by owner-occupiers, who used one of the highest ratios of capital to labour in farming anywhere in the world. The farms supported and required many specialized services: finance, trade, transport, building and construction, and especially the processing of butter, cheese, and frozen lamb carcasses and their by-products. This economy could be described as an offshore European farm, which exported wool and processed dairy products and imported a variety of finished manufactured consumer and capital goods, raw materials, and petroleum. Since the 1960s there has been a proportionate decline in pastoral farming in relation to growth in forestry (and the production of paper and other wood products), horticulture, fishing, and deer farming, as well as manufacturing. Winemaking has also flourished since the 1960s, and today many New Zealand wines rank among the world's best.

Apart from gold's brief heyday, biological resources have always been more significant than minerals. Domestic animals introduced from Europe have thrived in New Zealand. Forestry has always been important, but the emphasis has swung from felling the original forest for timber to afforestation with pine trees for both timber and pulp.

Resources and power

Most minerals, metallic and nonmetallic, occur in New Zealand, but few are found in sufficient quantities for commercial exploitation. The exceptions are gold, which in the early years of organized settlement was a major export; coal, which is still mined to a considerable extent; iron sands, which are exploited both for export and for domestic use; and, most recently, natural gas. In addition, construction materials, with which the country is well endowed, are quarried.

The country has exploited its great hydroelectric potential to such an extent that hydroelectricity supplies some two-thirds of the country's power. A notable feature of the New Zealand electricity grid is the direct-current cable linking the two main islands, enabling the South's surplus hydroelectric power to be used by the North's concentration of industry and people. Since the early 1970s geothermal and coal- and gas-fired stations have also been constructed. In addition, partnerships between government and private interests have developed natural-gas reserves and constructed the world's first plant producing gasoline from natural gas.

Manufacturing

Even in the 19th century New Zealand's relative geographic isolation made necessary a proportionately large industrial labour force engaged in the manufacture and repair of agricultural machinery and in shipbuilding, brewing, and timber processing. After the 1880s the factory processing of farm products swelled these numbers, while the temporary isolation of World Wars I and II stimulated the production of a wide range of manufactured goods that previously had been imported. Protectionist policies first espoused, although weakly, by governments in the late 19th century were strengthened after World War I. From the end of World War II until the early 1970s manufacturing industries were protected by import licensing fees in order to maintain full employment. Thus, there developed some labour-intensive, heavily protected, and uneconomic activities—such as automobile and consumer-electronics assembly (with the manufacture of some parts and components)—that have not been able to remain competitive.

Finance

Banking was established early in New Zealand. By the early 1970s an oligopolistic structure had emerged, consisting of several large trading banks (the largest being state-owned and the others foreign-owned), presided over by a central bank—the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (which issues the country's national currency, the New Zealand dollar)—and supplemented by other types of specialty institutions. Since the early 1980s the financial industry has been transformed, as the trading banks have lost their privileged position and the government has removed controls over financial institutions. The capital market has become highly competitive, with new, often foreign-owned specialty institutions emerging. In addition, in early 1985 transactions in foreign exchange were freed, and for the first time the exchange rate was floated in a competitive market.

Trade

There has been a related change in the composition of exports, although meat and dairy products have continued to predominate; wood and wood products are also significant. The major imports are machinery and transport equipment. Since the importance of trade with Great Britain has been reduced, that with Japan, the United States, and East Asian countries has grown. Trade with Australia has always been significant. A succession of trade agreements (1933, 1965, 1977) provided the basis of the Australia and New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (known as CER), signed in 1983. This agreement eventually eliminated duties and commodity quotas between the two countries and was seen by some as the first step toward integrating their economies. In 1995 the CER joined with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area (AFTA) to promote trade and investment between the two areas.

Services

Tourism has become an important part of the country's economy. Most of the country's visitors originate from Australia, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Following the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, New Zealand's tourism suffered a major decline, but it was recovering by the early 21st century.

Labour and taxation

The labour force has long been organized into strong trade unions. Like Australia, New Zealand evolved a system of compulsory arbitration in which the government played a major role. Beginning in the late 1960s, however, government policy generally alternated between periods of government-imposed freezes on wages and prices and periods of officially tolerated bargaining between unions and employers, although the strong link between the labour markets of New Zealand and Australia—especially in the skilled trades and professional vocations—was a major constraint on establishing a set policy. However, with the passage of the Employment Contracts Act (1991), which ended compulsory union membership, the number of union members has fallen dramatically—more than half in the first five years the act was in force.

Although taxation in New Zealand in relation to national income is not particularly high in comparison to other developed countries, direct taxation (taxation of personal income) has traditionally been relied upon to an unusual extent. The introduction in 1986 of a value-added tax on goods and services thus represented a fiscal revolution, because it was linked to a reduction in income tax rates and to an increase in government transfer payments to low-income families.

Transportation and telecommunications

In spite of the rugged nature of the country, most of the inhabited areas of New Zealand are readily accessible; the road system is good even in rural districts, and modern freeways have been built around the main cities. Though the difficult country makes for slow journeys, the distances involved are seldom great.

The railway network, owned and operated by Tranz Rail Limited, is independent of direct government control. It comprises a main trunk line spanning both islands via roll-on ferries and branch lines linking most towns. Narrow tunnels limit track gauges, which until the late 20th century precluded the introduction of express trains. Rail travel is notoriously slow, discouraging passenger travel, but service is efficient for large-scale movement of goods over considerable distances. Long-standing regulations protecting the railways against competition by road carriers were abolished in the early 1980s, and as a consequence long-distance road cartage has increased.

The difficult terrain has greatly encouraged air travel in New Zealand; most provincial towns have airports, and all major urban centres are linked by air service. The main internal airline, Air New Zealand (Air New Zealand Limited), is a public corporation; it faces increasing competition from private operators. Air New Zealand, along with several foreign airlines, handles the country's international service, with international air terminals at Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. Hamilton, Palmerston North, Queenstown, and Dunedin also offer limited international service.

New Zealand's telecommunications industry underwent numerous reforms in the late 20th century to transform the country into one of the leaders in the field. The country's Post Office originally had a monopoly on telecommunication services, but it was plagued by economic difficulties and poor service. The state-run Telecom Corporation of New Zealand was formed in 1987 (privatized in 1990), and industry deregulation began in 1989. The creation of numerous telecommunication companies and the influx of foreign investments resulted in great technological improvements and competitive prices. By the late 20th century nearly one-tenth of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was spent on telecommunications, a rate that was one of the highest in the world. Nearly half of the country's population has access to the Internet.

Conrad Alexander Blyth Ed.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

New Zealand has a parliamentary form of government based on the British model. Legislative power is vested in the single-chamber House of Representatives (Parliament), the members of which are elected for three-year terms. There are two dominant parties, National and Labour; the party that commands a majority in the House forms the government. The leader of the governing party becomes the prime minister, who, with ministers responsible for different aspects of government, forms a cabinet. The cabinet is the central organ of executive power. Most legislation is initiated in the House on the basis of decisions made by the cabinet; Parliament must then pass it by a majority vote before it can become law. The cabinet, however, has extensive regulatory powers that are subject to only limited parliamentary review. Because cabinet ministers sit in the House and because party discipline is invariably strong, legislative and executive authority are effectively fused.

The British monarch is the formal head of state and is represented technically by a governor-general appointed by the monarch (with the recommendation of the New Zealand government) to a five-year term. The governor-general has only limited authority, but the office retains some residual powers to protect the constitution and to act in a situation of constitutional crisis; for example, the governor-general can dissolve Parliament under certain circumstances.

The structure of the New Zealand government is relatively simple, but the country's constitutional provisions are more complex. Like that of Great Britain, New Zealand's constitution is a mixture of statute and convention. Where the two clash, convention has tended to prevail. The Constitution Act of 1986 simplified this by consolidating and augmenting constitutional legislation dating from 1852.

The business of government is carried out by some three dozen departments of varying size and importance. Most departments correspond to a ministerial portfolio, department heads being responsible to their respective ministers for administration of their departments. Recruiting and promoting of civil servants is under the control of the State Services Commission, which is independent of partisan politics. Heads of departments and their officials do not change with a change of government, thus ensuring a continuity of administration.

As a check on possible administrative injustices, an office of parliamentary commissioner for investigations (ombudsman) was established in 1962; the scope of the office's jurisdiction was enlarged in 1968 and again in 1975. In addition the Official Information Act of 1982 permits public access, with specific exceptions, to government documents.

There are also a certain number of non-civil service appointees within the government. These fill positions in government corporations—commercial ventures, such as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and the Bank of New Zealand, in which the government is the sole or major stockholder—and in a host of bodies with administrative or advisory functions. Political affiliations, as well as expertise and experience, often figure in appointment decisions for these institutions.

Local government

Local government, which has only limited power in all but peculiarly local matters, is directly empowered by parliamentary statute. Local authorities are thus relatively autonomous, although they do depend upon the central government for financial assistance. The definition of their function and powers is under constant revision as adjustments are made to changing conditions.

Local bodies perform general-purpose duties such as those of counties, boroughs, cities, and town districts, or they consist of ad hoc authorities with specialized functions such as harbour and electric-power boards. Every local authority activity is controlled by an elected council or board of local members, whose work is largely honorary. The platform for election is sometimes based on party affiliation, although this does not noticeably affect the working of the councils or boards.

Justice

New Zealand derives from the common law of Britain certain statutes passed before 1947 by the British Parliament. New Zealand law usually follows the precedents of English law. Nevertheless, the New Zealand courts have taken a more independent stance and have begun to play a more significant constitutional and political role with respect to public and administrative law. In addition some members of the legal community have challenged the traditional doctrine that future Parliaments are not bound by laws passed by the current Parliament, contending that certain common-law rights might override the will of Parliament.

The law is administered by the Ministry of Justice through its courts. A Supreme Court was established by legislation in 2003 (hearings began in 2004), replacing the British Privy Council. Below the Supreme Court, there is a hierarchy of courts dealing with civil and criminal cases, including District Courts, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal. There are also family, youth, and employment courts, as well as the Maori Land Court and the Waitangi Tribunal, which addresses Maori claims of breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the government.

Political process

There is universal suffrage for those 18 years of age and older. In 1993 the electorate voted to replace the country's long-standing simple plurality (“first past the post”) system with the mixed member proportional (MMP) method, in which a party's representation in the legislature is proportional to the number of votes its candidates receive. The new system also called for Parliament to be enlarged to 120 seats—69 elected (including 7 reserved for Maoris) and 51 appointed from party lists. The changes went into effect during the 1996 election.

While the MMP system has given a boost to smaller parties, National (New Zealand National Party) and Labour (New Zealand Labour Party) remain New Zealand's two major parties. They each have distinct foundations. National's base of support is in rural and affluent urban districts and among those involved in business and management. Labour draws support from trade unions and urban blue-collar workers. Over time, however, both parties have broadened their electoral bases. Labour has gained the support of some areas of the business sector and has succeeded in attracting more professionals, while the National Party has had some success among higher paid workers in key small-town and provincial districts. Increasingly, ideological differentiation between the two parties has become complex, and intraparty differences in such areas as economic policy have often been greater than they have been between parties.

Security

Participation in the military is voluntary, and individuals must be at least 17 years old to join. The country maintains a relatively small military force, and its defense expenditure as a percentage of the GDP is well below the world average; in 2001 the government eliminated the country's combat air force. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the New Zealand Police, a cabinet-level department largely independent (with respect to law enforcement) of executive authority.

Health and welfare

New Zealand has one of the oldest social security systems in the world. Noncontributory old-age pensions paid for from government revenues were introduced in 1898. Pensions for widows and miners followed soon after, and child allowances were introduced in the 1920s. In 1938 the New Zealand government introduced the most extensive system of pensions and welfare in the world, which included free hospital treatment, free pharmaceutical service, and heavily subsidized treatment by medical practitioners.

Since then the system has been eroded in some respects but greatly extended in others. Doctors' fees, though still subsidized by the state, have become relatively high. Many people invest in private medical insurance and seek treatment in private hospitals instead of in public hospitals. There is still a universal system called New Zealand Superannuation (NZS), in which all citizens over age 65 are granted an income of 65 percent of the average after-tax wage. In 2003, however, this system began to be phased out, replaced by the retirement savings scheme (RSS); the transition is expected to take more than 40 years.

There are numerous other pensions and welfare payments. These include an allowance for each child up to age 16 and additional “family care” payments for low-income families, as well as benefits for single parents, invalids, and the sick. Under the Accident Compensation Act of 1972, all persons suffering personal injury from any sort of accident, whether at work or not, can receive compensation for disability and loss of earnings, and they are covered by insurance for any medical or other treatment; in addition they waive the right to sue for damages. The act led to the establishment of the government-run Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), to which all New Zealanders must pay premiums and which handles claims. The government introduced competition in 1998, allowing businesses to contract private insurers to cover work-related injuries. Two years later, however, this change was reversed, and the ACC again became the sole provider of accident insurance.

Housing

State agencies provide limited financial assistance toward home purchases and renovation work, as well as subsidized rental accommodations for those on low incomes. The state also subsidizes pensioner accommodations through local authorities.

Education

Education in New Zealand is free and secular between the ages of 5 and 19; it is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. In practice almost all children enter primary school at age five, while many of them have already begun their education in preschools, all of which are subsidized by the state. Education is administered by the Ministry of Education. Elected education boards control all of the primary and secondary state schools. There are also more than 100 private primary and secondary schools, most of them Roman Catholic or run by other religious groups. They receive state subsidies and must meet certain standards of teaching and accommodation. State primary schools are coeducational, but there are still many single-sex secondary schools.

Technical institutes, community colleges, and teachers' colleges form the basis of higher education. There are several universities and an agricultural college. Entry to the universities requires a modest educational achievement, which is often waived for people 21 years of age or older.

Education has been strongly emphasized since the early years of the colony, and virtually the entire population is literate. There is a correspondence school that caters to children living in remote places, and various continuing education and adult education centres provide opportunities for lifelong education.

Jack Vowles Ed.

Cultural life

Cultural milieu

New Zealand's cultural influences are predominantly European, but also important are elements from many other peoples, particularly the Maori. Immigrant groups have generally tended to assimilate into the European lifestyle, although traditional customs are still followed by many Tongans, Samoans, and other Pacific Islanders. The Maori, however, have found themselves torn between the pressure to assimilate and the desire to preserve their own culture. The loss of much of their land in the 19th century undermined their political structures, and after most converted to Christianity they abandoned traditional religious observances; but there has been a determined effort since 1950 to preserve and revive artistic and social traditions.

The state has moved progressively since the 1940s to assist and encourage the arts. The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council gives annual grants in support of theatre, music, modern dance and ballet, and opera, and the New Zealand Literary Fund subsidizes publishers and writers. In addition, New Zealand was one of the first countries to establish a fund to compensate writers for the loss of royalties on books borrowed from libraries rather than purchased. The national orchestra and a weekly cultural publication, the New Zealand Listener, are supported by the government through the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand. The government also subsidizes a motion-picture industry that has received growing international recognition.

Daily life and social customs

Although European culture predominates in New Zealand, there are attempts to preserve traditional cultures, especially that of the Maori. A renaissance has occurred in Maori wood carving and weaving and in the construction of carved and decorated meeting houses (whare whakairo). Maori songs and dances have become increasingly popular, especially among the young. Maori meetings—whether hui (assemblies) or tangi (funeral gatherings)—are conducted in traditional fashion, with ancient greeting ceremonies strictly observed. The growing Maori movement has generated protests over the country's celebration of Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

New Zealand cuisine combines traditional British dishes with local delicacies. Fresh seafood is popular along the coasts; mutton, venison, and meat pies are common; and pavlova, a sweet meringue dish, is a popular dessert. As a result of increased tourism and immigration, New Zealand cuisine has begun to move away from simple and conservative British dishes toward more imaginative and cosmopolitan fare, and the number of restaurants, bistros, and cafés in the major cities has skyrocketed in recent years. A traditional Maori meal is hangi, a feast of meat, seafood, and vegetables steamed for hours in an earthen oven (umu).

The arts

European cultural life has progressed rapidly since the early 20th century. Numerous writers (New Zealand literature) were active in the late 19th century, the most successful of whom were historians, such as William Pember Reeves, and ethnologists, including S. Percy Smith and Elsdon Best. The work of the first genuinely original writers of fiction by New Zealanders, the short-story writer Katherine Mansfield (Mansfield, Katherine) and the poet R.A.K. Mason, did not appear until the 1920s. In the 1930s, during the harsh years of the Great Depression, a group of poets appeared and established a national tradition of writing. Although influenced by contemporary English literature—T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden were greatly respected—they wrote about their New Zealand experience. The most notable member of this group was Allen Curnow (Curnow, Allen). A.R.D. Fairburn, Denis Glover, and Charles Brasch were other major poets. At the same time Frank Sargeson (Sargeson, Frank) began writing the superb stories in New Zealand vernacular for which he became well known.

Since World War II the work of these pioneering writers has been followed by that of such widely published and acclaimed poets as James K. Baxter and Kendrick Smithyman. Other notable poets include Ian Wedde and Elizabeth Smither. A number of novelists have also earned international reputations, notably Janet Frame (Frame, Janet), Keri Hulme (Hulme, Keri), Sylvia Ashton-Warner (Ashton-Warner, Sylvia), and mystery writer Ngaio Marsh (Marsh, Ngaio). These and other New Zealand writers have been greatly aided by the growth of the publishing industry in New Zealand during this time.

Painters have also begun to rival writers in artistic accomplishment. The first to achieve international recognition, Frances Hodgkins, spent most of her life abroad. Starting in the 1960s, however, an unprecedented “art scene” emerged, created initially by a group of artists, including Colin McCahon and Don Binney, who were helped by the rise of private galleries in most large towns and cities. While often New Zealand in subject, the paintings clearly reflected international influences. This group paved the way for what has become a small legion of artists.

In the 1970s and '80s professional theatre companies rose to prominence in the major cities—including the Downstage in Wellington and the Mercury Theatre in Auckland—in contrast to earlier companies that folded for want of sufficient audiences. Several symphony orchestras have also had growing support. New Zealand singers who have garnered an international following include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri), Inia Te Wiata, and Donald McIntyre. The films of New Zealand directors Jane Campion and Peter Jackson have garnered particular notice, as has the work of actor Russell Crowe, who was born in New Zealand.

Beginning in the late 20th century, Maori art has experienced growing popularity and is prominently displayed in numerous galleries and museums. Author Witi Ihimaera has explored the intersection of Maori and pakeha culture. Poet Hone Tuwhare has achieved an international reputation.

Cultural institutions

New Zealand has numerous museums, including Te Papa Tongarewa, the country's national museum. The institution features a number of diverse exhibits, including a re-created island, complete with wildlife. New Zealand is also home to numerous galleries, especially in Auckland and Wellington, that highlight the work of local artists. Theatre is a vital part of the country's culture, and in 1970 the government founded a national drama school, the New Theatre Arts Council Interim Training School (now the New Zealand Drama School). The New Zealand Opera Company also performs.

Sports and recreation

Sports are the main leisure-time activity of most of the population. There is widespread participation in most major sports, particularly rugby football. The inaugural World Cup of rugby, which New Zealand cohosted in 1987, was won by the country's national team, the All Blacks. The opening of each All Black match is highlighted by the players performing the haka known as Ka Mate, a traditional Maori chant accompanied by rhythmic movements, stamping, and fierce gestures. Notable players include Colin Earl Meads (Meads, Colin Earl), who participated in 55 Test matches for the All Blacks.

The climate and the variety of terrain allow for year-round activity in many sports. Mountaineering and hiking are popular outdoor activities, and New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary (Hillary, Sir Edmund) is a national figure. The country has extensive skiing facilities, especially on South Island. Sailing is also much enjoyed, particularly around Auckland Harbour; New Zealand won its first America's Cup yachting race in 1996. Adventure sports have long been common on the islands, and in the late 20th century New Zealand helped popularize bungee jumping.

Media and publishing

Newspapers in New Zealand provide a high standard of reporting, with substantial coverage of world news provided largely by foreign agencies. No daily paper has a national circulation, but some from the large cities are distributed widely over their respective islands. Numerous local and regional dailies are also published. The government-run Broadcast Corporation of New Zealand controls Radio New Zealand and both channels of Television New Zealand.

Sir Keith Sinclair Ed.

History

Discovery

No precise archaeological records exist of when and from where the first human inhabitants of New Zealand came, but it is generally agreed that Polynesians from eastern Polynesia in the central Pacific reached New Zealand more than 1,000 years ago, possibly by AD 800 or even earlier. There has been much speculation on how these people made the long ocean voyage. Polynesians are known to have sometimes set sail in search of new lands, their canoes well-provisioned with food and plants for cultivation, and it is likely that the discoverers of New Zealand were on such a voyage. It is probable that few canoes made the dangerous journey, but the people from even one of these large, double-hulled craft could have produced the Maori population that the Europeans encountered in New Zealand in the 17th and 18th centuries. With them they brought the dog and the rat and several plants, including the kumara (a variety of sweet potato), taro, and yam.

The Polynesian period has been divided roughly into an early “Archaic” and a later “Classic Maori” phase. The transition between these two phases is uncertain, but it is thought to be linked to improvements in the raising and storage in a cooler climate of what had been tropical vegetables. In the South Island, if not elsewhere, the first Polynesians found moas (flightless birds) in immense numbers on tussock grasslands, and these became their major food supply. The agriculturalist Classic Maori encountered later by Europeans had only faint memories of the moa. The 18th-century Maori population was densest in the warmer northern parts of the country, where the Maori variant of Polynesian culture had reached its high point, particularly in the arts of war, canoe construction, building, weaving, and agriculture.

The first European to arrive in New Zealand was a Dutch sailor, Abel Janszoon Tasman (Tasman, Abel Janszoon), who sighted the coast of Westland in December 1642. His sole attempt to land brought only a clash with a South Island tribe in which several of his men were killed. After his voyage the western coast of New Zealand became a line upon European charts and was thought of as the possible western edge of a great southern continent.

In 1769–70 the British naval officer and explorer James Cook (Cook, James) completed Tasman's work by circumnavigating the two major islands and charting them with a remarkable degree of accuracy. His initial contact with the Maori was violent, but harmonious relations were established later. On this and on subsequent voyages, Cook, with the explorer and naturalist Joseph Banks, made the first systematic observations of Maori life and culture. Cook's journal, published as A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World (1777), brought the knowledge of a new land to Europeans. He stressed the intelligence of the natives and the suitability of the country for colonization, and soon colonists as well as other discoverers followed Cook to the islands he had made known.

Early European settlement

Apart from convicts escaping from Australia and shipwrecked or deserting sailors seeking asylum with Maori tribes, the first European New Zealanders sought profits—from sealskins, timber, New Zealand flax (genus Phormium), and whaling. Australian firms set up tiny settlements of land-based bay whalers, and Kororareka (now called Russell), in the far north of New Zealand, became a stopping place for American, British, and French deep-sea whalers. Traders supplying whalers drew Maori into their economic activity, buying provisions and supplying trade goods, implements, muskets, and rum. Initially the Maori welcomed the newcomers; while the tribes were secure, the European was a useful dependent.

Maori went overseas, some as far as England. A northern chief, Hongi Hika, amassed presents in England, which he exchanged in Australia for muskets; back in New Zealand he waged devastating war on hereditary enemies. The use of firearms spread southward; a series of tribal wars, spreading from north to south, displaced populations and disturbed landholdings, especially in the Waikato, Taranaki, and Cook Strait areas. Europeans soon founded colonies in these unsettled regions. Missionaries (mission) quickly followed the traders. Between 1814 and 1838 Anglicans, Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics set up stations. Conversion was initially slow, but by the mid 19th century most Maori adhered, for varying reasons, to some form of Christianity.

All of these newcomers had a profound effect upon Maori life. Warfare and disease reduced numbers, while new values, pursuits, and beliefs modified tribal structure. Christianity cut across the sanctions and prohibitions that had supplied Maori social cohesion. A capitalist economy, to which Maori were introduced both by traders offering new inducements (for instance, the brief demand for New Zealand flax) and by missionaries bringing new agricultural techniques, affected the whole material basis of life. At first in the north and later over the whole country a process of adjustment began, which has continued to the present day. By the late 1830s, chiefly through the Australian link, New Zealand had been joined to Europe. Settlers numbered at least some hundreds, and there were certain to be more. Colonization schemes were afoot in Great Britain, and Australian graziers were buying land from the Maori. These circumstances determined British (British Empire) policy.

Annexation and further settlement

In 1838 the British government decided upon at least partial annexation. In 1839 it commissioned William Hobson, a naval officer, as lieutenant governor and consul to the Maori chiefs, and he annexed the whole country, the North Island by the right of cession from the Maori chiefs and the South Island by the right of discovery. At first New Zealand was legally part of New South Wales; but in 1841 it became a separate crown colony, and Hobson was named governor. Before declaring the annexation of New Zealand, Hobson went through a process of discussion with the northern chiefs from which emerged the Treaty of Waitangi (Waitangi, Treaty of) (February 1840). Under this instrument the Maori ceded sovereignty to the crown in return for protection and guaranteed possession of their lands; they also agreed to sell land only to the crown. Hobson promised an investigation into past “sales” of land to private individuals to ensure fair dealing. This treaty imposed a strong moral obligation upon the British government to act as guardian to the Maori.

Even before annexation had been proclaimed, the first organized planting of an English colony was under way. The New Zealand Association, founded in 1837 to colonize on the principles laid down by Edward Gibbon Wakefield (Wakefield, Edward Gibbon), sent a survey ship, the Tory, in 1839. The agents on board were to buy land in both islands around Cook Strait. The company moved hastily because its founders were aware that British annexation was likely and would entail a crown monopoly of land sales and a consequent increase in price. Purchases were effected in great haste before Hobson could bring to an end such private transactions. Little effort was made to seek out the true Maori owners; this would have been difficult anyway, as Maori ownership was communal and titles had been disturbed by the warfare of the preceding quarter century. The company, combining skillful propaganda with outright trickery and brutality, enforced its claim to the land upon which New Plymouth, Wanganui, and Wellington in the North Island and Nelson in the South Island were founded in the 1840s. Later, through the crown, it secured other areas in the South Island where Otago (1848) and Canterbury (1850) were planted by separate associations. Meanwhile, Hobson moved the seat of government south from the Bay of Islands, bringing Auckland into existence (1840).

In the early 1840s settlement and government began to alarm the Maori. In the Cook Strait area a formidable chief, Te Rauparaha, obstructed settlement. Near the Bay of Islands there was open warfare, and Kororareka was repeatedly raided. Neither Hobson (died 1842) nor his successor, Robert FitzRoy (Fitzroy, Robert), was able to overcome the Maori. George (afterward Sir George) Grey (Grey, Sir George), who became governor in 1845, had money and troops and the will to use them. His victories brought a peace that lasted from 1847 until 1860. Hone Heke, the principal leader in the north, was thoroughly defeated (1846), and in the south a likely uprising was prevented. Racial strife had been accompanied by economic distress. In the mid 1840s the nascent economy was depressed until the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s offered a market for foodstuffs to the New Zealand farmer, settler and Maori alike.

By the end of the 1840s racial and economic trouble gave way to political agitation. The leading settlements, apart from Auckland, began to campaign for representative government in place of Grey's personal rule. He, while refusing to give way, helped to draft the New Zealand Constitution Act of 1852, which was designed to meet all demands of the settlers. Grey sought not to prevent the introduction of self-government but to delay it until he had determined both native and land policy. He wished to begin the rapid assimilation of the Maori (with whom his relations were excellent) to the British pattern. He also wished to bring in a land policy that would safeguard the small farmer against the great owner. He believed he had secured these goals by the time of his departure at the end of 1853.

Responsible government

After the Constitution Act came into operation, New Zealand was divided into six provinces—Auckland, New Plymouth (Taranaki), Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago—each with a superintendent and a provincial council. The central government consisted of a governor and a two-chamber legislature (General Assembly): a Legislative Council nominated by the crown, and a House of Representatives elected upon a low property franchise for a five-year term. This General Assembly did not meet until 1854; it then embarked upon a quarrel with the acting governor, Colonel Robert Henry Wynyard, that was not ended until the achievement of full responsible government—i.e., a system under which the governor could act in domestic matters only upon the advice of ministers enjoying the confidence of the elected chamber. Henry Sewell (Sewell, Henry) and James FitzGerald, of Canterbury, led the representatives in this struggle, against the opposition of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who, having first moved the resolution for responsible government, then secretly opposed it while serving as extra-official adviser to the acting governor. The Colonial Office conceded responsible government in 1856. The next governor, Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Gore Browne, reserved Maori affairs to the control of the governor alone.

For most purposes, during the 1850s New Zealand was administered not by central but by provincial institutions. These authorities (10 in number by the time of their abolition in 1876) directly affected the settler through their administration of land and control of immigration and public works. The native department, directly under the governor, bought land from the Maori; the provincial governments settled it, regulated immigration, and built roads and bridges. Until the wars of the 1860s the central legislature was less important, though its ultimate authority remained.

Each province disposed of a revenue arising from land sales, and upon this revenue depended its strength. Canterbury and Otago, with hardly any Maori, grew wealthy spending their money upon communications, immigration, and education. Other provinces were either less fortunate or less wise and enjoyed smaller success. In the North Island numerous and anxious Maori held onto desirable land. Here most of the land available for settlement had been taken up by the end of the 1850s, a good deal of it by speculators, and some of it was given away to attract immigrants. The island remained largely without roads until the 1870s, so impecunious were its governments. But by that time the major obstacle to settlement had been removed—the continuing power of the tribes. This was the result of a decade of war.

Ethnic conflict

In the 1850s relations between settlers and Maori deteriorated. The settler population and the demand for land, especially pastoral land, increased. Many Maori, fearing for their future, became reluctant to sell more land. In the Taranaki province, where the land shortage was acute, both settlers and those Maori willing to sell were opposed by Wiremu Kingi (Kingi, Wiremu) (Te Rangitake), chief of Te Atiawa. In the Waikato, where good land was coveted by settlers and speculators, an elderly chief, Te Wherowhero, became “king” in 1858, largely through the support of the Waikato and Maniopoto tribes, and reigned as King Potatau I. The Maori King Movement and also the unrest in the Taranaki headed by Wiremu Kingi (the two movements remained distinct though related) were opposed to further land sales.

The likelihood of conflict was not reduced by any particular wisdom in government policy. Gore Browne was guided in native policy by the head of the Native Land Purchase Department, Donald (later Sir Donald) McLean, who, responsive to settler demands, increased pressure upon potential sellers. Grey's caution and his recognition that a chief could veto sales proposed by any section of his tribe were forgotten. McLean sowed a rich harvest of distrust. Christopher Richmond, the member of the Cabinet in charge of native affairs, was also a Taranaki representative, fully responsive to the needs of his settler neighbours. The central ministry, theoretically unconcerned with native policy, could not, despite the promise of protection made to the Maori in the Treaty of Waitangi, neglect a matter so vital to the colony's future. In 1859 the representative of the crown unwittingly supplied the occasion for the outbreak of civil strife.

Gore Browne accepted an offer to sell from a Taranaki subchief, Te Teira, and ignored the veto imposed by the paramount chief, Wiremu Kingi. Early in 1860 troops were used to dislodge Kingi from the land in question, the Waitara block. A decade of fighting began. In 1861 Grey was sent back for a second term as governor in the hope that he would again prove to be a peacemaker. In fact he accelerated the extension of conflict. Fearing that Auckland was menaced by the followers of the Maori king, he took defensive measures that could easily be interpreted as acts of aggression, and the fighting subsequently spread from Taranaki to the Waikato. Imperial troops, colonial militia, and Maori allies (for not all the tribes supported the Maori nationalist movement) had no easy task, but their victory could not be postponed for long. By the mid 1860s Maori resistance in the Taranaki and Waikato was ended. But the “king” tribes were by no means crushed, and the fear that they would embark upon war again haunted the colony for many years.

In the later 1860s the fighting was of a different character, in which religion acted as a last, desperate stiffener of Maori resistance. Pai Marire (Hauhauism (Hauhau)), an amalgam of Jewish, Christian, and native beliefs, was the first of many movements in which the Maori, rejecting the religion of settler and missionary, put their own imprint upon Christianity. Toward the end of the decade Te Kooti Rikirangi (Te Kooti) organized resistance on the east coast of North Island. He was the founder of another religious movement as well as a guerrilla of some note; his adaptation of Christianity, Ringatu, still has thousands of followers. Te Kooti was never finally defeated, but by the early 1870s he was forced to retreat into the “King Country” (the centre of the island), where he devoted the rest of his life to religious leadership.

An uneasy peace settled upon the colony in 1870. Casualties had not been high, but the loss of life was serious for the tribes concerned. Especially in those areas in which the Maori king retained some authority, defeat led to a period of withdrawal from settler society. Resentment was deepened by a punitive policy of land confiscation adopted by the victors, a policy improper in its nature and made worse in some places by undiscriminating application to “guilty” and “innocent” tribes alike. The Maori future looked bleak. By the Native Land Act of 1862, private land transactions between settler and Maori had been legalized, and during the next 40 years the Maori lost most of their best land. Many years were to elapse before Maori numbers, morale, and confidence could revive over the whole country.

Development of the colony

Fluctuation of the economy

Economic growth in the North Island had been considerably retarded by the wars. Meanwhile, the South Island, especially Canterbury and Otago, had grown increasingly prosperous. Pastoral farming expanded steadily, and the discovery of gold, first in Otago and then on the west coast, led to a sudden boom in production and trade. Population rose when diggers poured in; economic life quickened as gold brought prosperity, less to the diggers than to bankers, merchants, land sellers, and farmers supplying provisions. The South Island share of the European population jumped from about 40 percent to 60 percent during the 1860s. The North Island did not recover its previous lead until the 20th century.

Attempts by other provinces to emulate the development of Canterbury and Otago normally ended in embarrassment (in one case in bankruptcy) as money was recklessly borrowed and spent. To preserve the colony's reputation, the central government in 1867 banned further provincial overseas borrowing. About this time depression struck the greater part of the country, especially the South Island, where the first alluvial gold had by then been worked out. The South Island was thus looking for a stimulus, while the ending of the wars now made further development possible in the North Island. It was widely agreed that only the central government could adequately revitalize the economy.

In 1870 a development policy was provided by Julius (later Sir Julius) Vogel (Vogel, Sir Julius), who at the time was colonial treasurer and who later served two terms (1873–75; 1876) as prime minister. He was convinced (not altogether accurately) that New Zealand was bursting with potential resources needing no more than the stimulus of capital and labour for their exploitation. He borrowed overseas capital for public works on an unprecedented scale and swelled the labour force with assisted immigrants.

Not all of Vogel's schemes were wisely conceived; the prosperity of the mid 1870s was more an investment boom than a solid growth of productivity. But the colony ended the decade with a doubled population (about 500,000) and the beginnings of efficient internal and external communications. Roads, bridges, railways, and telegraph systems had been built, and overseas shipping services improved. Private lending agencies contributed to the boom; in a heady atmosphere land values and interest rates climbed alarmingly. The public debt greatly increased, and many of the men who had acquired land were in desperate financial straits. Falling overseas prices for farm products (chiefly wool and wheat), a declining gold output, a cautious note in government finance, and widespread unemployment marked the 1880s. Emigrant ships discharged their passengers at ports where unemployment was already rife. There had been growth in the 1870s, but it was succeeded by a depression that lasted until 1895.

Vogel abolished the provincial governments in 1876. They had earned his enmity by refusing to allow their lands to be used as security for public works and by blocking a forest conservation scheme. Essentially, they became outmoded when in the early 1870s the initiative in development passed to the central government. Provincial governments had been set up to colonize their districts; when the centre assumed this function they lost their raison d'être. Abolition came fairly painlessly; it was an affront more to local pride than to local prosperity. Only in Otago was there a strong attempt to resist change. Thereafter, provincial interests were long pursued by the respective delegates in the General Assembly, whose achievements were in no way diminished by the lack of particularist (provincial) institutions.

The governments of the 1880s, though led by men of some ability and imagination, such as Sir Robert Stout (Stout, Sir Robert) and Sir Harry Atkinson (Atkinson, Sir Harry), did not deal effectively with the depression. The time-honoured remedy, spending loan money on development, was not fully given up until 1887. The basic problem was to find productive work for the country's labour force; closer land settlement was the remedy suggested in the 1880s and applied in the 1890s. Great areas, especially in the South Island, had fallen to large owners; these “monopolists” were attacked by the radicals, though probably the pastoral industry could not have been established under any other system. William Rolleston, minister of lands in the early 1880s, first proposed that the state should help men to become small farmers as state tenants (tenant farming); John (later Sir John) McKenzie (McKenzie, Sir John) and the Liberal government applied this remedy with vigour in the 1890s. But closer settlement and intensive farming did not of themselves create economic benefits, which in fact could not accrue until small farmers had a product to export and gained a good price for that product. Refrigeration and rising world prices provided the answer. It became possible in the 1880s to send to Great Britain refrigerated cargoes of butter, cheese, and meat; this encouraged the spread of small-scale intensive farming.

The Liberal era (1891–1912)

The energetic Liberal government led by John Ballance (Ballance, John), which took office in 1891, accelerated the process of change. It opened more land (much of it bought from the Maori), established farmers on perpetual state leaseholds, provided credit for land purchase and improvements, and built roads. So came into existence great dairying and meat-producing areas, especially in the North Island. Dairy, meat, and also wool prices rose in about 1895 and stayed generally high until about 1920.

This economic stimulus was not limited to farmers. Urban distress had been serious in the 1880s, for many recent immigrants had been townsmen who had stayed in New Zealand towns on arrival. The ultimate cure for their distress was for the towns to share in the farmers' high prices. Urban New Zealand depended upon the prosperity of the country. But other remedies were considered, and some of them were applied. In the 1880s there was serious discussion of insurance against sickness, poverty, and old age; the Old Age Pensions Act of 1898 was the first measure of social security. Tariff protection to foster industrial employment was halfheartedly applied in the late 1880s. Revelations of oppression in industry led in the 1890s to a labour code to protect workers.

But the chief Liberal industrial policy, formulated by William Pember Reeves (Reeves, William Pember), minister of labour from 1892 to 1896, was to encourage trade unions (organized labour) and to introduce, in the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1894, a conciliation and compulsory arbitration system intended to end industrial unrest and give the unions the means of protecting their members. The growth of unions was stimulated by the fact that only through them could the workers use the system. Reeves's act, amended and occasionally suspended but still essentially his own handiwork, remained in effect until the late 1960s. It enabled the worker in good times to resist wage cuts and to press for increases, but it did not manage to prevent cuts and unemployment when falling overseas prices brought depression to New Zealand. It was not strikingly radical in effect; employers and governments used it to break strikes, such as that of miners at Waihi in 1912. It built up the power of those majority elements in the unions that preferred coming to terms with capitalism to any effort to destroy it. Some occupations, such as transport, cargo handling, meat processing, and mining, fostered unions keen to relinquish arbitration for direct action, but they were in a minority and seldom, in the long run, successful. Farmers and governments have usually acted with severity in disputes affecting the movement of exports.

The Liberal era, from 1891 to 1912, transformed political life. Previously politics had not been marked by neat party divisions. Local advantage had determined political behaviour in the development period during and after the 1870s; men had argued over the scope and details of policies and had advanced the claims of locality and province for a proper share of largess. Acute depression ended development and with it the politics of local advantage. In 1890 the Liberals began to act as a more or less unified party. Their 20 years in office, the success of their land and labour policies, and the formidable qualities of leadership discovered in Richard John Seddon (Seddon, Richard John), premier from 1893 to his death in 1906, welded the Liberals into a fairly coherent parliamentary and popular party.

Seddon was a portent of a new age. In 1893 this energetic goldfields trader turned politician provided a sharp contrast to the gentlemanly premiers who had preceded him. But his crudeness assisted rather than hindered the attainment of a degree of popularity none of them had known. He was devoted to political success and skilled in the manipulation of the means of success—parliamentary procedure, patronage, and party organization. By the time of his death he had established a kind of elective despotism over the country.

New Zealand since 1900

Seddon's successors, in his own and in other parties, were of the same stamp—men of the people devoted to a political career. Politics ceased to be a duty of the well-to-do amateur. The Liberal government, under Sir Joseph Ward (Ward, Sir Joseph), survived Seddon by six years. In 1912 it fell before a new party, Reform (New Zealand Political Reform League), led by a dairy farmer, William Ferguson Massey (Massey, William Ferguson), prime minister until 1925. Based on prospering farmers and townsmen, especially of the North Island, and closely connected with their professional organizations, it was more narrowly sectional than the Liberals had been. Except for views borrowed from the Liberals, it had little positive policy. Reform made much of a promise to enable the state leaseholder to buy the freehold of his farm at original valuation; this promise was an emotional rallying cry for conservatives fearing land nationalization and complete socialism. Only a small minority of farmers were state tenants, and not all bought the freehold when the Reform government gave them the chance.

While the Liberals lost support in rural areas, they were further weakened by urban left-wing defections, which eventually led to a separate Labour Party (New Zealand National Party). The initiative, on the right and on the left, was passing to other parties, and the Liberals were gradually eclipsed. The period before World War I was one of discontent and anxiety. Prosperity, though still considerable, had somewhat declined. The farmers were disturbed by what they took to be the threat of socialism, detected in the radicalism of a Liberal minority but chiefly in the rebirth of direct action in some trade unions. This change in temper arose from labour's dissatisfaction with wage levels achieved under arbitration and from the growth of syndicalist and socialist ideas. After 1906 the Arbitration Court refused to grant further increases of real wages. Discontent flared up in the strikes of 1912–13, the biggest occurring on the waterfront when the farmers' government, headed by Massey, repressed a movement that had overtones of revolution.

nationalism and war

By the late 19th century many New Zealanders were coming to regard themselves as a new nation. Most of them had been born in New Zealand and had no memories of or nostalgia for Britain, often called “home.” In the 1890s New Zealand Natives Associations were established by native-born European New Zealanders. Their success in sports, especially rugby, spurred national pride. An even greater influence was war. New Zealanders served on the British side during the South African War (1899–1902), during which time they earned a reputation as being superior to the British at fighting a guerrilla war. World War I greatly stimulated national sentiment. During the warfare at Gallipoli and later in France, New Zealanders proved to be excellent soldiers. But while the war boosted nationalist sentiment among both troops and civilians, the price was terrible: nearly one of every three men between the ages of 20 and 40 was killed or wounded. The loss in leadership in the following years was considerable.

At home the war brought prosperity, as export markets were assured and prices good. Domestic unity was hardly shaken by the antiwar feeling of a handful of left-wingers. Massey remained prime minister, but in the wartime coalition government (1915–19) Ward and the Liberals carried great weight. Reform stayed in office until 1928, led after Massey's death in 1925 by Joseph Gordon Coates (Coates, Joseph Gordon). The party survived the first postwar depression but not that of the mid 1920s. Led by Ward, the Liberals, under the new name of United Party, were victorious in 1928; they thus had to face the deepening depression of 1929–30. After Ward's death (1930) and at the height of the depression, Reform and United formed a new coalition (1931) under the premiership of George Forbes (Forbes, George William), which lasted until the election of 1935 brought in a Labour government.

Some postwar developments were of great importance. In external affairs Massey led a delegation to the peace conference, signed the Treaty of Versailles, and so committed New Zealand to membership in the League of Nations. New Zealand thus began to acquire the status of a sovereign state, though Massey denied this consequence. The Liberals, especially Seddon, had already taken steps toward autonomy within the empire. At the series of colonial and imperial conferences from 1887 onward, New Zealand had followed Canada and Australia in asserting its right to a voice in certain foreign policy issues. Seddon argued vehemently against British reluctance to acquire more Pacific islands while permitting German influence to grow in Samoa.

New Zealand legislation to restrict Asian immigration was sharply and obstinately at variance with British policy. Western Samoa (Samoa) (now Samoa), which New Zealand had captured from the Germans in 1914 and over which it was granted a mandate in 1920, also provided occasions for British and New Zealand differences.

Reform leaders professed little love for the principle of Commonwealth autonomy. New Zealand took a passive part in the conferences leading to the Statute of Westminster (Westminster, Statute of) in 1931 and did not adopt it until 1947. But the substance of autonomy had been enjoyed before.

The major domestic achievement of the Reform administration was a system of export marketing agencies in which authority was shared by producer and state. These laid the foundations of a collectivist marketing structure. J.G. Coates (Coates, Joseph Gordon) was the most energetic minister in Forbes' coalition government. His attempts to counter depression concentrated upon the farmer in order to revive the country. To increase export receipts, he devalued the New Zealand pound; he protected the farmer against foreclosure and set up a credit agency.

When overseas prices began to recover in 1934, the country was financially strong, but little had been done for the unemployed. Conditions in towns and relief camps led to rioting, violence, and widespread discontent, all of which were favourable to the Labour Party. The Labour Party had been formed by socialist and radical groups in 1916. During the 1920s it was predominant only in working-class electorates. In its quest for votes, however, Labour increasingly abandoned its socialist theories and adopted welfare and credit-reform proposals, which had wider appeal. In the election of 1935 Labour won a considerable victory; successful in the towns, the party also won in many rural areas. Prices for dairy exports were slowest to recover, and many dairy farmers were drawn by Labour promises of a guaranteed price. The victory was particularly notable in terms of seats, for a right-wing third party (the Democrat Party) split the conservative vote to Labour's advantage. The National Party, successor to the coalition, was rendered temporarily ineffective.

The new ministers, among whom the most notable were Peter Fraser (Fraser, Peter) and Walter Nash (Nash, Sir Walter), showed great energy; led by Michael Joseph Savage, they had the good fortune to govern a country to which prosperity was returning. The farmer enjoyed increased earnings; the worker, increased wages and shorter hours. Jobs were multiplied by a public works and housing program. The education system was revitalized. In 1938 the Social Security Act provided a state medical service, extended the pension system, and increased benefits. The expansion of secondary industry was accelerated after the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

World War II and after

The alacrity with which New Zealand went to war in 1939 showed that dominion autonomy had not weakened the country's ties with Great Britain. At first the war resembled that of 1914; troops were sent to Egypt to train for the European conflict. There they were directly involved by the enemy advance and saw action in Greece, Crete, North Africa, and Italy. After 1941 New Zealand was directly threatened by Japan, which meant New Zealand had to concentrate forces in the Pacific. Well before the end of the war, the strain upon the country's manpower, together with the demands of home production, forced a reduction of commitments in the Pacific.

The Pacific theatre was dominated by the United States, the forces of which provided New Zealand's sole defense. The fact that disaster was averted by American and not by British forces required a change in New Zealand's attitudes; security was conferred by a foreign, though friendly, power. External relations in the postwar period reflected this new situation, chiefly through the ANZUS Pact (1951), a defensive alliance between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

At home the entire economy was mobilized in the war effort and subject to controls. Conscription and direction (directed allocation of the labour force to strategic industries) sent manpower into the military forces and essential occupations; heavy taxation, war loans, bulk purchase, and controlled marketing kept the economy in a firm grip. They also kept inflation in check; with price control and wage restraint, they amounted to a complete policy of economic stabilization, applied by a Labour government that remained in power until 1949. Savage died early in the war. Fraser, his successor, and Nash were chiefly responsible for the tasks of administration during the war and of reconstruction after peace returned.

Sidney Holland (Holland, Sir Sidney) led the revival of the National Party, which culminated in victory in 1949. Discontent with controls and with the rising cost of living helped to swing support away from Labour. The National government benefited from its vigorous handling of a serious waterfront dispute in 1951, but in later elections its majority narrowed until Labour returned in 1957. In 1960 the National Party, led by Keith Holyoake (Holyoake, Sir Keith Jacka), was returned to power, which it retained until 1972. In that year Labour won a huge victory under Norman Kirk (Kirk, Norman Eric); his death in office in 1974 was the prelude to as great a National victory in 1975, under a new leader, Robert Muldoon (Muldoon, Robert).

After World War II New Zealand began to play a relatively independent role in world affairs. This development, in fact, began before the war, when the Labour government's attitude to the League of Nations was coloured by an idealism that clashed with British policy. During the war Fraser (Fraser, Peter) had insisted on an independent voice in the councils of the Allied Powers. At the formation of the United Nations in 1945 he became a notable spokesman for the small powers and made a large impression on the Trusteeship Council. None of these developments weakened New Zealand's close affinity with Great Britain, its loyalty to the Commonwealth, or its dependence upon the United States.

Geography and insecurity shaped postwar foreign policy. With Australia, New Zealand claimed a voice in settlement in the South Pacific Commission and in the transfer of authority in Western Samoa (now Samoa), successfully completed in 1962. New Zealand became deeply involved in Southeast Asia. From 1951 it provided assistance through the Colombo Plan. New Zealanders fought in Malaya, Korea, and Vietnam; further, New Zealand became a member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954 and supported the United States by sending troops to Vietnam. This reflected fear at the growth of communist power in Asia. The independent spirit of the postwar years was modified to a greater dependence on Western powers during the 1950s and '60s. In the later 1960s involvement in the Vietnam War led to a vigorous and continuing public debate on foreign affairs. After Vietnam, debate turned largely on the problem of South African apartheid, especially in the context of sports relations with South Africa and with African countries at Commonwealth and Olympic games.

The 1970s and '80s were difficult economically for New Zealand. The combination in the early 1970s of high energy prices and Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC; now the European Community) brought about a severe economic recession. Inflation and unemployment skyrocketed and thousands emigrated to Australia. The response of Muldoon's National government was interventionism on an unparalleled scale: the government borrowed funds from overseas and ran up huge budgetary deficits, in part to finance large industrial developments; in the early 1980s it placed a freeze on wages and prices; and it attempted to regulate interest rates. Dissatisfaction with this program led in 1984 to the election of a Labour government, headed by David Lange (Lange, David).

William Hosking Oliver Sir Keith Sinclair

The late 20th and early 21st centuries

The new government initiated one of the most sweeping policy reversals in the country's history as, one after another, restrictions on free enterprise that had been imposed progressively over some 50 years were lifted. Among the reforms were eliminating agricultural subsidies, reducing income tax rates, and lifting controls on wages, prices, interest rates, and foreign exchange. The government also took a strong stand against the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region, and its decision to ban nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed vessels from New Zealand's ports strained relations with the United States. Popular support for the Labour program was reflected by the party's 1987 general election victory.

In the late 1980s, inflation had finally been brought under control, but unemployment continued to rise. Prime Minister Lange began to face substantial opposition within his own party, especially as a result of the privatization of state-owned enterprises, which was initiated in 1987, and over his conflict with finance minister Roger Douglas. Douglas was pushing for economic measures, such as a flat-scale tax system and deregulating the labour unions, that the prime minister considered extreme. Lange dismissed Douglas in December 1988, but in August 1989, with the aim of shoring up Labour's poor standing in the polls, Labour MPs voted to return Douglas to the cabinet. Lange resigned a few days later and was replaced by his nominee, justice minister Geoffrey Palmer (Palmer, Sir Geoffrey). In just 13 months, however, Palmer was himself replaced by Mike Moore (Moore, Mike), a former minister of foreign affairs, who held on to the position of prime minister for only eight weeks before the National Party's landslide victory in the October 1990 general election. Jim Bolger (Bolger, James Brendan), the National leader, became prime minister. The National Party had campaigned for reduced government spending on social programs and the elimination of such labour practices as compulsory unionism but pledged to maintain New Zealand's antinuclear stand.

The 1993 elections proved to be the closest in recent years, with the National Party managing a narrow win over Labour. Though initially facing political uncertainty, Bolger saw his popularity rise with strong economic growth and his condemnation in 1995 of France's nuclear testing in the South Pacific. In 1996 the country held its first elections under the mixed-member proportional system, which voters had approved by referendum three years earlier. The new method was based on interparty consultation, and in the months preceding the election, many splinter parties formed. Though no one party managed a majority in the elections, the Nationals were able to form a coalition government with the New Zealand First Party after much negotiation. The new administration, however, was plagued by inexperience and factionalism. In addition, inability to allay concerns regarding social welfare issues, particularly the country's superannuation (retirement savings) scheme, resulted in unrest.

In November 1997 Bolger resigned, and the National Party appointed Jennifer Shipley (Shipley, Jennifer), the country's first female prime minister. The new government, however, also struggled. After Shipley dismissed Winston Peters, of New Zealand First, as deputy prime minister and treasurer in 1998, the coalition between the two parties dissolved. Shipley was left with a minority government; later that year the country suffered a recession. At the 1999 elections the National Party was voted out of office. Labour formed a coalition with Alliance (a breakaway group of smaller parties), and Labour leader Helen Clark (Clark, Helen) became prime minister. Economic issues, including labour relations, taxation, and the superannuation scheme, were a top priority of the government. In the midst of a global economic crisis in 2008, the National Party, under John Key, was elected back into power. Winning the most votes, but falling short of an absolute majority, the National Party sought support from smaller parties, including the Maori Party.

For much of the late 20th century, race relations were a major issue in New Zealand. In the late 1980s, Maori activism for social and economic rights intensified; demands included the use of the Maori language in education, broadcasting, and official settings and the preservation of Maori arts and culture. The Maori also were seeking the return of and compensation for natural resources under the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi (Waitangi, Treaty of) of 1840. The validity of the treaty was in question, however, owing both to the circumstances of its signing, wherein the chiefs who did sign had but a loose translation of the document in their language, and to the fact that the treaty had never been formally written into New Zealand's constitution.

In 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act was passed, establishing a tribunal to examine and make recommendations on Maori claims. Land claims by Maori in the early 1990s involved a large proportion of New Zealand's territory, but the government faced political and economic pressure to turn land and water resources, fisheries in particular, over to profitable private enterprise. Beginning in 1993, however, the government began approving money and later land awards to the Maori. Among the more notable awards were a 1997 settlement of $170 million (New Zealand) with the South Island's Ngai Tahu tribe, at the time the largest and oldest land claim in the country's history, and a 2008 land exchange worth more than $420 million (New Zealand) with a group of seven North Island tribes. The government also apologized for the suffering and injustices inflicted on the Maori.

Other social, political, and economic developments also continued to occasion public concern and agitation. Family life was evolving as divorce and single parenthood were on the increase, and there was fierce debate over abortion and moral education. In addition, topics such as women's rights, environmental protection, academic freedom and funding for education, nuclear power, unemployment, and the dismantling of the welfare state were of great interest.

Ed.

Prime ministers of New Zealand

Prime ministers of New Zealand Prime ministers of New ZealandThe table provides a chronological list of the prime ministers of New Zealand.

Additional Reading

Geography

General works

Basic descriptive information is available in Gordon McLauchlan (ed.), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated ed. (1989). The New Zealand Official Yearbook (annual) contains descriptive text and statistics on all aspects of New Zealand life; each chapter also has an extended bibliography.

Land

New Zealand's physiographic features are discussed in D.J. Hooton (ed.), New Zealand: The Physical Environment (1970); D.W. Mckenzie (ed.), Heinemann New Zealand Atlas (1987); A. Grant Anderson (ed.), New Zealand in Maps (1977); and Russell Kirkpatrick, Bateman Contemporary Atlas New Zealand: The Shapes of Our Nation (1999). Works on geology and climate include Maxwell Gage, Legends in the Rocks: An Outline of New Zealand Geology (1980); Jacobus T. Kingma, The Geological Structure of New Zealand (1974); J.M. Soons and M.J. Selby, Landforms of New Zealand (1982); H.S. Gibbs, New Zealand Soils (1980); G. Kuschel (ed.), Biogeography and Ecology in New Zealand (1975); and A.P. Sturman and N.J. Tapper, The Weather and Climate of Australia and New Zealand (1996). Conon Fraser, Beyond the Roaring Forties (1986), describes the geology, ecology, and natural history of New Zealand's subantarctic islands. Information on animal and plant forms in New Zealand can be found in Harriet Fleet, The Concise Natural History of New Zealand (1986); Gordon R. Williams (ed.), The Natural History of New Zealand: An Ecological Survey (1973); Barrie D. Heather and Hugh A. Robertson, The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, rev. ed. (2000); Penguin Books, The Penguin Guide to New Zealand Wildlife (2002); H.H. Allan, Flora of New Zealand, vol. 1, Indigenous Tracheophyta (1961, reprinted 1982); Peter Wardle, Vegetation of New Zealand (1991); E. Bruce Levy, Grasslands of New Zealand, 3rd ed. (1970); and John T. Salmon, The Native Trees of New Zealand, rev. ed. (1996). Craig Potton, National Parks of New Zealand (1998); and P.D. Gaze, Rare and Endangered New Zealand Birds (1994), are also useful.

People

Overviews are provided in R.J. Warwick Neville and C. James O'Neill (eds.), The Population of New Zealand: Interdisciplinary Studies (1979); and Paul Spoonley, David Pearson, and Ian Shirley (eds.), New Zealand Society: A Sociological Introduction, 2nd ed. (1990, reissued 1994). Histories of the Maori people before and after the arrival of Europeans and discussions of modern interaction may be found in Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter Buck), The Coming of the Maori, 2nd ed. (1950, reissued 1966); Michael King (ed.), Te Ao Hurihuri: The World Moves On: Aspects of Maoritangi (1975), essays by Maori authors; Joan Metge, The Maoris of New Zealand, rev. ed. (1976); David Lewis, The Maori: Heirs of Tane (1982); Michael King, Maori: A Photographic and Social History (1983); and Jean E. Rosenfeld, The Island Broken in Two Halves: Land and Renewal Movements Among the Maori of New Zealand (1999). I.H. Kawharu (ed.), Waitangi: Māori and Pākehā Perspectives of the Treaty of Waitangi (1989); Andrew Sharp, Justice and the Māori: Māori Claims in New Zealand Political Argument in the 1980s (1990); and Augie Fleras and Paul Spoonley, Recalling Aotearoa: Indigenous Politics and Ethnic Relations in New Zealand (1999), discuss the recent history of intergroup relations. Regional and demographic trends are discussed in Brian Colless and Peter Donovan (eds.), Religion in New Zealand Society (1980); and R.J. Johnston (ed.), Urbanisation in New Zealand: Geographical Essays (1973), and Society and Environment in New Zealand (1974). Two works from the New Zealand Planning Council, Population Monitoring Group, The New Zealand Population: Contemporary Trends and Issues (1985), and The New Zealand Population: Patterns of Change (1984), are also useful.

Economy

Economic history and contemporary conditions are documented by G.R. Hawke, The Making of New Zealand: An Economic History (1985); John Gould, The Rake's Progress? The New Zealand Economy Since 1945 (1982); Patrick Massey, New Zealand: Market Liberalization in a Developed Economy (1995); Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Financial Policy Reform (1986); Frank Holmes (ed.), Economic Adjustment: Policies and Problems (1987), a collection of seminar papers; and Stuart Birks and Srikanta Chatterjee (eds.), The New Zealand Economy: Issues and Policies, 4th ed. (1988, reissued 2001).

Government and society

New Zealand's government is discussed in Graham W.A. Bush, Local Government and Politics in New Zealand (1980); Stephen Levine (ed.), Politics in New Zealand: A Reader (1978), and the complementary volume by the same author, The New Zealand Political System: Politics in a Small Society (1979); Hyam Gold (ed.), New Zealand Politics in Perspective (1985), and New Directions in New Zealand Foreign Policy (1985); Jonathan Boston, New Zealand Under MMP: A New Politics? (1996); and Raymond Miller (ed.), New Zealand Politics in Transition (2001). Public administration and social policy are examined by R.C. Mascarenhas (ed.), Public and Private Enterprise in New Zealand (1984); R.C. Mascarenhas, Public Enterprise in New Zealand (1982); Angeline Barretta-Herman, Welfare State to Welfare Society: Restructuring New Zealand's Social Services (1994); Jonathan Boston, Paul Dalziel, and Susan St. John (eds.), Redesigning the Welfare State in New Zealand: Problems, Policies, Prospects (1999); and Margaret Clark (ed.), The Politics of Education in New Zealand (1981).

Cultural life

Information on art in New Zealand is available in Terence Barrow, Maori Art of New Zealand (1978); Gordon H. Brown and Hamish Keith, An Introduction to New Zealand Painting: 1839–1980, rev. and enlarged ed. (1982); and Sidney Moko Mead (ed.), Te Maori: Maori Art from New Zealand Collections (1984). Also useful are the relevant sections in Brian Brake, James M. McNeish, and David Simmons, Art of the Pacific (1979). Introductory works on New Zealand literature include C.K. Stead, In the Glass Case: Essays on New Zealand Literature (1981); and Terry Sturm (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand Literature in English, 2nd ed. (1991, reissued 1998). Further information on New Zealand art and literature can be found in the bibliographies for the articles Oceanic arts (art and architecture, Oceanic) and New Zealand literature.

History

General works

Overviews are provided by Keith Sinclair, A History of New Zealand, rev. and enlarged ed. (1980), and A Destiny Apart: New Zealand's Search for National Identity (1986); W.H. Oliver and B.R. Williams (eds.), The Oxford History of New Zealand, 2nd ed. (1981, reissued 1992); and Keith Sinclair and Wendy Harrex, Looking Back: A Photographic History of New Zealand (1978).

Early history

Works on various aspects include, on the pre-European Maori, John Wilson (ed.), From the Beginning: The Archaeology of the Maori (1987); Raymond Firth, Economics of the New Zealand Maori (1959, reprinted 1973); D.R. Simmons, The Great New Zealand Myth: A Study of the Discovery and Origin Traditions of the Maori (1976); and George Grey, Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race, as Furnished by Their Priests and Chiefs (1885, reissued 1970 as Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the Maori as Told by Their Priests and Chiefs); and, on early European contact, John Cawte Beaglehole, The Discovery of New Zealand, 2nd ed. (1961); Harrison M. Wright, New Zealand, 1769–1840: Early Years of Western Contact (1959, reprinted 1967); and Anne Salmond, Two Worlds: First Meetings Between Maori and Europeans, 1642–1722 (1992). Annexation and early government are treated by Ian M. Wards, The Shadow of the Land: A Study of British Policy and Racial Conflict in New Zealand 1832–1852 (1968); and Peter Adams, Fatal Necessity: British Intervention in New Zealand, 1830–1847 (1977). Early settlement is covered by John Owen Miller, Early Victorian New Zealand: A Study of Racial Tension and Social Attitudes, 1839–1852 (1958); and Stevan Eldred-Grigg, A Southern Gentry: New Zealanders Who Inherited the Earth (1980).

Later 19th century

The period to about 1870 is covered by Keith Sinclair, The Origins of the Maori Wars, 2nd ed. (1961, reprinted 1976); James Belich, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict (1986), a reinterpretation; Alan Ward, A Show of Justice: Racial “Amalgamation” in Nineteenth Century New Zealand (1974); and W.P. Morrell, The Provincial System in New Zealand, 1852–76, 2nd rev. ed. (1964). Subsequent development, especially in politics and economics, is chronicled in R.M. Dalziel, The Origins of New Zealand Diplomacy: The Agent-General in London, 1870–1905 (1975); Angus Ross, New Zealand Aspirations in the Pacific in the Nineteenth Century (1964); Patricia Grimshaw, Women's Suffrage in New Zealand (1972); and C.G.F. Simkin, The Instability of a Dependent Economy: Economic Fluctuations in New Zealand, 1840–1914 (1951).

New Zealand since 1900

Modern developments are broadly presented in Robert Chapman and Keith Sinclair (eds.), Studies of a Small Democracy (1963, reissued 1965); and J.B. Condliffe, New Zealand in the Making: A Study of Economic and Social Development, 2nd rev. ed. (1959, reprinted 1963). Specific themes are discussed in H. Roth, Trade Unions in New Zealand Past and Present (1973); F.L.W. Wood, New Zealand in the World (1940), and The New Zealand People at War: Political and External Affairs (1958, reprinted 1971); Bruce M. Brown, The Rise of New Zealand Labour: A History of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1916 to 1940 (1962); Barry Gustafson, Labour's Path to Political Independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19 (1980); Richard Kennaway, New Zealand Foreign Policy, 1951–1971 (1972); Alan Burnett, The A-NZ-US Triangle (1988); Colin James, New Territory: The Transformation of New Zealand, 1984–92 (1992); and Andrew Sharp, Leap into the Dark: The Changing Role of the State in New Zealand Since 1984 (1994).James Wilmot Rowe Margaret Ann Rowe Sir Keith Sinclair Warren Moran Conrad Alexander Blyth Jack Vowles William Hosking Oliver Ed.

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