Portal:New Zealand

THE NEW ZEALAND PORTAL

New Zealand (Aotearoa in te reo Māori) is a country of two large islands and many much smaller islands in the south-western Pacific Ocean. Among South Pacific nations, New Zealand has the largest and most industrialised economy and is second only to Papua New Guinea in population. New Zealand is notable for its isolation, being separated from Australia on the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2,000 km wide. The closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand is the Queen of New Zealand and is represented in the country by the non-partisan Governor-General. De facto political power is held by Prime Minister Helen Clark who, as Head of the Government, requires the confidence of the democratically elected New Zealand House of Representatives. The Realm of New Zealand includes the self-governing Cook Islands and Niue, as well as Tokelau and New Zealand's claims in Antarctica.

Selected article

Split Enz was a successful New Zealand band during the late 1970s and the early 1980s featuring brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved success with the music charts in New Zealand, Australia and Canada during the early 1980s and built a cult following elsewhere. Their musical style was eclectic and original, incorporating influences from art rock, vaudeville, swing, punk, rock, New Wave and pop

Selected picture

The Beehive is the common name for the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings in Wellington. Credit for the design is usually given to British architect Sir Basil Spence, who made a rough sketch on the back of a dinner napkin in 1964 while dining with Keith Holyoake. The building was subsequently drafted and constructed by government departments and completed in 1981.

Did you know...

...that there was once an estuarine valley with a rich abundance of New Zealand flounders near Waipatiki Beach, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, but it became a stream system after an earthquake in 1931?

...that Frank Rennie joined the New Zealand Army at age 16, to prove to himself 20 months in hospital hadn't crippled him, and went on to become Colonel?

In the news

• 22 September: The Privileges Committee of the Parliament of New Zealand releases its report on donations to Winston Peters and New Zealand First, calling for Peters' censure. Parliament passes a motion of censure the following day.
• 22 September: The United States agrees to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement which includes New Zealand.
• 13 September: Legendary swimming coach Duncan Laing dies in Dunedin, aged 77.
• 12 September: Fonterra's subsidiary Sanlu Group recalls milk powder in China due to contamination by melamine.
• 12 September: The New Zealand general election is set for 8 November, 2008.
• 29 August: Winston Peters stands down from his portfolios as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Racing while the Serious Fraud Office investigation proceeds.
• 28 August: The Serious Fraud Office announces an investigation into the finances of New Zealand First.
  More current events...
  New Zealand on Wikinews

Categories

New Zealand • Antarctic • Companies • Culture • Education • Elections • Environment • Foreign relations • Geography • Government agencies • History • Law • Law enforcement • Māori • Military • Natural history • People • Politics • Science • Tourism • Transport

Cities • Regions

WikiProjects

New Zealand: New Zealand Wikipedians' Notice Board • New Zealand Wikipedians • New articles related to New Zealand

New Zealand WikiProjects: WikiProject New Zealand • WikiProject New Zealand places and WikiProject Auckland

Things you can do

Featured articles

The following articles are examples of the best articles and lists in Wikipedia:

New Zealand topics

Other NZ-connected WikiMedia