Recent history

Recent New Zealand history

2010[]

September 2010[]

August 2010[]

July 2010[]

June 2010[]

May 2010[]

April 2010[]

2005[]

Summary[]

New Zealanders give time and 25 million dollars (money and goods) for relief in areas suffering from the "Boxing Day Tsunami"
Foreshore and seabed legislation comes into effect and is criticised by a UN committee
General Election, the first contested by the Māori Party and Destiny New Zealand

Incumbents[]

Regal and Vice Regal[]

Head of State - Queen Elizabeth II
Governor-General - Silvia Cartwright

Government[]

The 47th New Zealand Parliament continued. Government was a coalition between Labour and the Progressives, with United Future supporting supply votes. At the 17 September election, the government arrangements changed considerably. The Labour-Progressive government is now supported by New Zealand First and United Future, both of whom as their leader as a minister outside of Cabinet.

Speaker of the House - Jonathan Hunt (Labour) then Margaret Wilson (Labour)
Prime Minister - Helen Clark (Labour)
Deputy Prime Minister - Michael Cullen (Labour)
Minister of Finance - Michael Cullen (Labour)
Minister of Foreign Affairs during the 47th Parliament - Phil Goff (Labour)

Non-Labour Ministers

Jim Anderton (Progressives) (within Cabinet)
Winston Peters (New Zealand First) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Racing and Associate Minister of Senior Citizens during the 48th Parliament (outside of Cabinet)
Peter Dunne (United Future), Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health during the 48th Parliament (outside of Cabinet)

Opposition leaders[]

National - Don Brash (Leader of the Opposition)
Greens - Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald (until his death in November)
Act - Rodney Hide
New Zealand First - Winston Peters
United Future - Peter Dunne
Māori Party - Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples

Main centre leaders[]

Mayor of Auckland - Dick Hubbard
Mayor of Hamilton - Michael Redman
Mayor of Wellington - Kerry Prendergast
Mayor of Christchurch - Gary Moore
Mayor of Dunedin - Peter Chin

Events[]

January[]

16 January: National day of mourning for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, including one minute's silence at 2:59 pm, exactly three weeks after the event.
17 January: The Foreshore and seabed legislation comes into effect.
25 January: Opposition leader Don Brash pledges to cut the number of working-age beneficiaries by one third over ten years. He plans to particularly reduce the number of solo parents on the Domestic Purposes Benefit.

February[]

22 February: Social Development minister Steve Maharey announces that seven benefits will be merged into one, with supplements available for accommodation, disability, and childcare. The benefits replaced include unemployment, sickness, disability, and the domestic purposes benefit. The new benefit will apply from 2007 but trial areas will pilot the scheme from May 2005.

March[]

5 March – 10 March: Prince Charles tours New Zealand. The most controversial incident was two women baring their breasts to him, in protest against a misreported objection by the Prince to a topless Aborigine dance in Australia, and the temporary closure of a breast cancer screening caravan due to security concerns during the visit.
12 March: The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination states that the Foreshore and seabed legislation discriminates against Māori by extinguishing the possibility of establishing Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed, and by not providing a means of redress.
March: Easter road toll the highest for several years.

April[]

4 April: Government member of parliament John Tamihere is involved in a major scandal after speaking candidly and scathingly about his fellow Labour MPs to a reporter (an interview which Tamihere claims was off-the-record). Further details of comments made at the interview were released a week later.
12 April: John Tamihere is censured by the Labour Party caucus for his earlier comments, but was not asked to resign from the party.
12 April: Northland farmer Paul McIntyre is acquitted of charges of careless use of a firearm. He shot at the vehicle of three thieves who were fleeing after attempting to steal his farmbike in 2002, injuring one of them. An earlier jury found him not guilty of reckless behaviour but could not agree on this charge.
26 April: The Civil Unions and Relationships Acts come into force. These Acts allow same-sex and de facto couples to form legal unions similar to marriage.

May[]

May: Fierce storms lash the Bay of Plenty, forcing the evacuation of homes in Tauranga and Matata.
24 May The appeal of six Pitcairn men who were sentenced for sexual abuse of young girls fails. An Auckland court has continued their bail until their appeal to the Privy Council is heard, most likely in April 2006. (BBC)

June[]

2 June New Zealand electricity supplier Meridian Energy announces plans to build one of the world's largest wind farms at Makara, west of Wellington. The farm is planned to have 70 turbines, each over 100 metres high, and to generate 210 MW, which would be sufficient to power the whole of Wellington, Porirua, and Lower Hutt. (NZ Herald)
8 June The Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction) Bill, which seeks to raise the minimum alcohol drinking age to 20, passes its first reading in New Zealand. The minumum age was lowered to 18 in 1999, but teenage alcohol-related problems have increased since then. The next vote on the bill will be after the general election later this year. (NZ Herald)
10 June New Zealand MP Sue Bradford introduces a private member's bill to outlaw the smacking of children. The present law requires that physical discipline of a child use no more than "reasonable force". As a private member's bill, this will be a conscience vote. (NZ Herald)
14 June The New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, Graham Kelly, apologises to all New Zealanders for remarks he made to a Canadian Senate committee in April. Kelly insulted Māori, Pacific Islanders and Asian immigrants to New Zealand in an attempt at humour. (NZ Herald)
18 June Brian Tamaki, leader of the charismatic Destiny Church, was ordained as a bishop on the church's seventh birthday.
20 June Two fibre optic cables failed in the southern North Island of New Zealand, cutting Telecom New Zealand's cellular and internet services, disrupting EFTPOS transactions, and closing the New Zealand Stock Exchange for five hours.
22 June 500 residents of the town of Takaka in the northern South Island are evacuated after a major fire at the town's dairy factory.
24 June The New Zealand cricket team announces that it will tour Zimbabwe in August, despite calls for a boycott due to Operation Murambatsvina. The New Zealand government will not stop the tour going to Zimbabwe, but says a return tour by the Zimbabwe team will not be welcome.
26 June The Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, apologises to New Zealand for the actions of two Israeli citizens, believed to be Mossad agents, who attempted to gain New Zealand passports under false pretences in 2004. The apology allows diplomatic relations between the two countries to return to normal.
30 June Prince William arrives in New Zealand for a 11 day tour. This was his second trip to New Zealand; he was nine months old on his first visit. During the visit he follws the Lion's tour and has several official engagements (NZ Herald) (NZ Herald)
June and July: The British and Irish Lions rugby tour of New Zealand. The tourists lost all three test matches to the All Blacks, but won all their other games except the one against New Zealand Māori.

July[]

7 July The High Court of New Zealand rules that the delays in processing Unitec's application to become a university breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights and that the application should have been considered in 2000.
14 July: Graham Capill, former leader of Christian Heritage Party, is sentenced for nine years for sexual abuse of 3 young girls.
16 July: Bishops of the Catholic Church in New Zealand call for the boycott of the CanWest television channels C4TV and TV3 in protest against C4TV's showing of the irreverent cartoon Popetown.
17 July: Heavy rain causes flooding in the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand, leaving the holiday town of Pauanui cut off when part of the access road washes away.
18 July: Air New Zealand is forced to cancel about 30% of its international flights after flight attendants begin the first of a series of 48-hour strikes. The third strike was called off but flights will not return to normal until Tuesday July 26.
24 July: Former Prime Minister David Lange is in a serious but stable condition at Middlemore Hospital. Lange has suffered from amyloidosis for some years. (NZ Herald)
26 July: The New Zealand Parliament voted by a substantial margin to ask the New Zealand cricket team to abandon next month's tour of Zimbabwe. (NZ Herald)
30 July: Shelley Mather, the New Zealand woman killed in the 7 July 2005 London bombings, has her funeral at St Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland. Prime Minister Helen Clark attends. (NZ Herald)
31 July: The New Zealand First party launches its New Zealand general election 2005 campaign with a promise that no pre-election coalition deal will be made. Party leader Winston Peters says the campaign issues are immigration, law and order, senior citizens, trade, and Māori affairs. (TVNZ) (NZ Herald)

August[]

3 August: Staff at several universities continue to take strike action in support of their five per cent wage claim. Otago University is the only major university to have settled with their staff. (NZ Herald)
3 August: Radio New Zealand staff stopped work for two hours in support of their claim for a five percent wage increase and an extra week's annual holiday. (Stuff)
4 August: The Labour Party specifies 2008 as the deadline for claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, and settlement completion by 2020. The National Party requires claims to be filed by next year and all settlements completed by 2010. (Stuff) (Channel News Asia) (BBC)
11 August: Two minor parties succeed in forcing TV3 to include their leaders in an election debate for the New Zealand general election. United Future leader Peter Dunne gained much of his party's current standing at the previous election's equivalent debate. (NZ Herald)

September[]

17 September: General election: election night figures give Labour 50 seats, National 49, New Zealand First 7, Greens 6, Māori Party 4 (all electorate seats, an overhang of 2 because party vote earned them only 2), United Future 3, ACT 2, Progressives 1. National leader Don Brash refuses to concede defeat because there are over 200,000 special votes to be counted.

October[]

1 October: General election special votes are counted and announced: National drops to 48 seats, others unchanged (as the Māori Party vote share raised its quota to 3 thus only 1 overhang). Helen Clark confident she can form a government within 2 weeks [National Radio]

See also New Zealand general election 2005 and Current events in Australia and New Zealand

Arts and literature[]

Web sites[]

8 February: Te Ara, the National Encyclopedia of New Zealand, is launched in English and Māori.

Sport[]

March: New Zealand cricket team beaten in test and ODI series by Australia.
20 June (19 June in the USA) - Michael Campbell becomes only the second New Zealander to win a major championship in golf, winning the U.S. Open by two strokes over Tiger Woods.
9 July - The All Blacks complete a 3-0 whitewash of the touring British and Irish Lions.
27 November - The All Blacks defeat Scotland at Edinburgh to become only the second All Black touring team to complete the "Grand Slam" of rugby - beating Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland on one tour (the first being in 1978).
27 November - The Kiwis defeat the Australian Kanagroos 24-0 in the final of the Rugby league tri-nations championship. (The third team being Great Britain).
December: New Zealand cricket team beaten 2-1 in a ODI series for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, but New Zealand sets a world record by successfully chasing a target of 332 runs in the final game.

Births[]

Deaths[]

2 January: John Ziman, physicist and a humanist.
19 January: Bill Andersen, trade union leader.
21 January: Neville Scott, 1958 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist in 3 mile race.
9 March: Brian Turner (RNZN) OBE, DSO, Legion of Merit (US), Navy Commander.
23 April: Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Queensland politician.
11 May: Bob Stuart, All Black captain and later manager.
13 May: Owen Wilkes, peace activist.
29 May: Admiral Sir Gordon Tait KCB, DSC, Submariner. Later headed Royal Naval College and became Second Sea Lord.
12 June: Sonja Davies, trade unionist and MP.
17 June: Jonathan Elworthy, Minister of Lands 1981-84.
11 July: Sir John Kennedy-Good, KBE, QSO. Mayor of Lower Hutt 1970-86.
21 July: Nick Unkovich, Lawn bowls national title holder.
24 July: John Drawbridge MBE, artist and printmaker.
13 August: David Lange, former Prime Minister.
29 August: Jack Luxton, National MP 1966-87, deputy speaker 1978-84.
4 October: John Falloon, National MP and Cabinet Minister.
5 November: Rod Donald, Green Party co-leader.
20 November: Bob Rudd (aged 104). New Zealand's last resident World War I veteran.
1 December: Ray Hanna, Former Leader of The Red Arrows.
18 December: Doug Dye, microbiologist

2006[]

1 January: New Year's Day
2 January: New Year Holiday (but so is the next day because the 1st was a Sunday)
3 January: Wikipedia Maori gets its 113th registered member, one of the few so far with a good grasp of te Reo. (Another dozen users join by the end of the month.)
9 January:
- This wiki celebrated one month of existence.
- News media report: NZ is/was 2nd in the world for internet penetration, with 77.6% of NZ’s population using the internet, according to Internetworldstats.com. NZ is just behind Malta (78.3%) and ahead of Iceland (76.5%), Sweden (75.2%), and Hong Kong (70.7%). Australia is 9th (68.2%). This is counterbalanced by NZ’s poor ranking for broadband uptake. While 10.9% of Australia’s population uses broadband, only 6.9% of NZ’s does, making is last of the 24-nation OECD ranking for broadband uptake. ("Stuff", 9 Jan 2006.)
13 January The Green Party wants the Government to use international law to stop a Japanese whaling expedition in the Southern Ocean. Greens conservation spokeswoman Metiria Turei said the Government should use the Antarctic Treaty and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species to stop the whaling – which Japan claims is for scientific purposes but opponents say is a commercial venture. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Britain and the United States plan to formally protest to Japan next week.
16 January: Southland Anniversary.
23 January: Wellington Anniversary.
30 January: Auckland Anniversary (the whole "province", including Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty).
30 January: Nelson Anniversary.
6 February: Waitangi Day
7 February: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, and Composite schools return to start the 2006 school year.
9 February: This wiki celebrates two months of existence
20 March: Third series of Korero Mai starts on Maori Television
28 March: Maori Television's second birthday
1 April and 2 April: Hastings - Hawkes Bay Equestrian Park: Ford Explorer One Day Event
25 April: ANZAC Day - Maori Television's 17-hour coverage watched by a quarter of a million people in NZ and many overseas, and well received by newspaper reviewers
5 June: Queen's Birthday observance
10 June: All Blacks v Ireland at Hamilton
17 June: All Blacks v Ireland at Auckland
24 June: All Blacks v Argentina at Buenos Aires
8 July: (Tri Nations) - All Blacks v Australia at Christchurch
21 August: Coronation of new Maori monarch and funeral of Te Arikinui
10 September: Eventing Hawkes Bay NHB One Day Event at the Equestrian Park in Hastings.
17 September: Northland Area NZEF Practice Day at Barge Showgrounds, Maunu, Whangarei.
1 October: Te Rapa One Day Horse Trial at Waikato Equestrian Centre, Pukete Road, Hamilton - (07) 839 3318
23 October: Labour Day holiday.
30 October: Marlborough Anniversary.