New Zealand

The entry of Britain into the European Community in the early 1970s, however, forced New Zealand to expand its trade relations with other countries. Economically the country was dependent on the export of agricultural products, especially to Great Britain. The ascent of Mount Everest by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 was one of the defining moments of the 20th century.
Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) were formed in 1992 from existing government-owned research organisations. As of 2017update, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union ranks New Zealand 13th in the development of information and communications infrastructure. A large-scale rollout of gigabit-capable fibre to the premises, branded as Ultra-Fast Broadband, began in 2009 with a target of being available to 87% of the population by 2022.
At the 2023 census, 51.6% of population said they had no religion, up from 48.2% in 2018 census. As recorded in the 2018 census, Samoan is the most widely spoken non-official language (2.2%), followed by “Northern Chinese” (including Mandarin, 2.0%), Hindi (1.5%), and French (1.2%). The number of fee-paying international students and international exchange students increased sharply in the late 1990s, with more than 20,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in 2002. The most popular countries of origin for overseas-born residents were England (14.6%), mainland China (10.2%), India (10.0%), the Philippines (7.0%), South Africa (6.7%), Australia (6.1%), Fiji (4.8%) and Samoa (4.3%). In 2009–10, an annual target of 45,000–50,000 permanent residence approvals was set by the New Zealand Immigration Service—more than one new migrant for every 100 New Zealand residents. Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland and Australia because of restrictive policies similar to the White Australia policy.

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In the First World War, New Zealand recorded the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, and conveniently located in the centre of the country Dubbed the ‘City of Sails’, Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and boasts a harbour and a coast just 40 mins apart Welcome to New Zealand – Tourism.org.nz is your gateway to discovering the stunning beauty and vibrant culture of Aotearoa, New Zealand. What makes New Zealand a unique country to travel to? The North Island also has mountain ranges, and four volcanic peaks, including Mt. Ruapehu, which has been active (but not dangerous) since September 1995.

• The relative proximity of New Zealand to Antarctica has made South Island a gateway of sorts for scientific expeditions and tourist excursions to the icebound continent.
• The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that structural discrimination is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue.
• The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, named the islands Staten Land, believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted off the southern end of South America.
• New Zealand was initially administered as a part of the colony of New South Wales.
• Dubbed the ‘City of Sails’, Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and boasts a harbour and a coast just 40 mins apart
• Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all receive a yearly average of more than 2,000 hours of sunshine.
• In 1947, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent.

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Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Cabinet, formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions. If no majority is formed, a minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured. The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives.

Ethnicity and immigration

It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Smaller islands include Stewart Island, which lies south of South Island; Waiheke and Great Barrier islands, near the north end of North Island; and the Chatham Islands, more than 800 km east of South Island. Despite New Zealand’s isolation, the country has been fully engaged in international affairs since the early 20th century, being an active member of a number of intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations.
The All Blacks perform a traditional Maori war dance, or haka, before the start of international matches. The country’s national sporting colors are black and white, and the silver fern is a national emblem. The national rugby team, the All Blacks, has the best winning record of any national team in the world, including being the inaugural winner of the 1987 Rugby Union World Cup. The British brought the Protestant work ethic—the industrious newcomers astonished Maori people.
New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement. Today, New Zealand enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies, as well as with Australia, with a “Trans-Tasman” identity between citizens of the latter being common. The country is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements.
Because of its far-flung outlying islands and long coastline, the country has extensive marine resources. Since 1937, the islands are uninhabited except for about six people at Raoul Island station. In 1830, mapmakers began to use “North” and “South” on their maps to distinguish the two largest islands, and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui (‘the fish of Māui’) for the North Island and Te Waipounamu (‘the waters of greenstone’) or Te Waka o Aoraki (‘the canoe of Aoraki’) for the South Island.

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Its exclusive economic zone is one of the world’s largest, covering more than 15 times its land area. The nearest continent is Australia to the west north west, with the shortest distance between the Australian and New Zealand mainlands being roughly 1,487 kilometers (924 miles) across the Tasman Sea, specifically between Tasmania and Fiordland. In 1947, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for the country without its consent. In 1886, New Zealand annexed the volcanic Kermadec Islands, about 1,000 km (620 mi) northeast of Auckland. Following these armed conflicts, large areas of Māori land were confiscated by the government to meet settler demands. Armed conflict began between the colonial government and Māori in 1843 with the Wairau Affray over land and disagreements over sovereignty.
The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces, which had a degree of autonomy. One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in the criminal justice system. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that structural discrimination is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue. But this is untrue of local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections, compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019. New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%. New Zealand’s judiciary, headed by the chief justice, includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts.
Māori developed a varied musical tradition around songs and chants, including ceremonial performances, laments, and love songs. Although still largely influenced by global trends (modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain, and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known. However, the local fashion industry has grown significantly since 2000, doubling exports and increasing from a handful to about 50 established labels, with some labels gaining international recognition. Standards have since relaxed and New Zealand fashion has received a reputation for being casual, practical and lacklustre.
The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations. The Ross Dependency is New Zealand’s territorial claim in Antarctica, where it operates the Scott Base research facility.

• The businesses the government retained, known as “state-owned enterprises,” are required to operate profitably as stand-alone businesses.
• In 1978 the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers, and many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement.
• Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing, and trading ships.
• No South Island trip would be complete without experiencing dramatic mountains rising straight out of the water in the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds.
• The plateau also hosts the country’s largest lake, Lake Taupō, nestled in the caldera of one of the world’s most active supervolcanoes.
• The flora and fauna of New Zealand were originally thought to have originated from New Zealand’s fragmentation off from Gondwana; however, more recent evidence postulates species resulted from dispersal.

New Zealand’s transport network comprises 94,000 kilometres (58,410 mi) of roads, including 199 kilometres (124 mi) of motorways, and 4,128 kilometres (2,565 mi) of railway lines. In contrast, dairy farming increased, with the number of dairy cows doubling between 1990 and 2007, to become New Zealand’s largest export earner. On 7 April 2008, New Zealand and China signed the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement China has signed with a developed country. Food products made up 55% of the value of all the country’s exports in 2014; wood was the second largest earner (7%). Exports account for 24% of its output, making New Zealand vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns.
New Zealand nationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so most people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency are New Zealand citizens.n 8 Because of financial pressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, and other policies, government was centralised and the provinces were abolished in 1876. According to the Ministry of Justice, Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned, while only being 16.5% of the population. As of 2023,update the country is ranked second in the strength of its democratic institutions, and third in government transparency and lack of corruption. The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand.
The country’s isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to develop their own distinctive style of regionalism. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand. As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised, and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders as rugged, industrious problem solvers. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples.
The first European visitor to New Zealand, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, named the islands Staten Land, believing they were part of the Staten Landt that Jacob Le Maire had sighted betista casino login off the southern end of South America. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture. The Maori language is used on sign posts, at Maori culture concerts, as secondary names of government departments, on the Maori-language television channel, and on a number of tribal radio stations. New Zealand’s landscape ranges from the fjord-like sounds of the southwest to the tropical beaches of the far north.

The country has the distinction of being the only one outside the U.S. to hold multiple America’s Cup races, but lost the cup in 2003 to a Swiss team (with a New Zealander skipper). New Zealand hosted the last two competitions for international yacht racing’s top prize, the America’s Cup (2000 and 2003), by virtue of being the home of the winning team in 1995 and 2000. British colonists brought a legal, political, and economic system that has flourished, along with the English system of agriculture that has transformed the landscape.

The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours. Oceania is a wider region encompassing the Australian continent, New Zealand, and various island countries in the Pacific Ocean that are not included in the seven-continent model. The plateau also hosts the country’s largest lake, Lake Taupō, nestled in the caldera of one of the world’s most active supervolcanoes. Fiordland’s steep mountains and deep fiords record the extensive ice age glaciation of this southwestern corner of the South Island.
The colony gained a representative government in 1852, and the first Parliament met in 1854. These conflicts, mainly in the North Island, saw thousands of imperial troops and the Royal Navy come to New Zealand and became known as the New Zealand Wars. New Zealand was administered as a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales until becoming a separate Crown colony, the Colony of New Zealand, on 3 May 1841. In 1835, following an announcement of impending French settlement by Charles de Thierry, the nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent a Declaration of Independence to King William IV of the United Kingdom asking for protection. The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing, and trading ships.