About our New Zealand news
Latest news on New Zealand, including NZ politics, the economy, Parliament, Maori affairs, crime, housing, the environment and relations with Australia and the Pacific.
New Zealand, or Aotearoa, is an island country in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It has two main landmasses, the North Island (Te Ika-a-Maui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu), plus hundreds of smaller islands. Wellington is the capital and Auckland is the largest city, followed by Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The population is about 5 million.
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with the King as head of state and a single-chamber House of Representatives in Wellington. Voters elect Parliament under the MMP system, which usually leads to coalition or minority governments led by a Prime Minister. Coverage often centres on the Reserve Bank, the cost of living, housing, health, immigration, farming and exports, climate policy and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Maori culture, language and te reo are central to national identity, alongside Pacific, European and Asian communities. The country is known for its mountains, fiords, volcanic plateau and beaches, and for dairy, tourism and wine. Earthquakes, floods and cyclones are a recurring part of life.
Maori settled Aotearoa from eastern Polynesia centuries before European contact. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, made New Zealand a British colony, and it became a self-governing dominion in 1907. It later developed an independent foreign policy, including its nuclear-free stance and close ties with Australia, the Pacific Islands, the UK and Asia.
Our NewsNow New Zealand feed gathers the latest NZ news on politics, the economy, social issues, crime, the environment and international relations, from Wellington and Auckland to the South Island.