1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
2.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
3.
Wellington Region
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The Wellington Region is a local government region of New Zealand that occupies the southern end of the North Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres, the region is named after Wellington, New Zealands capital city and regions seat. The region is administered by the Wellington Regional Council, which uses the promotional name Greater Wellington Regional Council, the Wellington Regional Council was first formed in 1980 from a merger of the Wellington Regional Planning Authority and the Wellington Regional Water Board. A proposal made in 2013 that nine territorial authorities amalgamate to form a single supercity met substantial opposition and was abandoned in June 2015. In its more restrictive sense the region refers to the cluster of built-up areas west of the Tararua ranges, the much more sparsely populated area to the east has its own name, Wairarapa, and a centre in Masterton. To a lesser extent, the Kapiti Coast is sometimes excluded from the region, Otaki in particular has strong connections to the Horowhenua District to the north. The Māori who originally settled the region knew it as Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui, legend recounts that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the tenth century. The region was settled by Europeans in 1839 by the New Zealand Company, Wellington became the capital of Wellington Province upon the creation of the province in 1853, until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 Nov 1876. Wellington became capital of New Zealand in 1865, the capital after Russell. The region occupies the tip of the North Island, bounded to the west, south. The region covers 7,860 square kilometres, and extends north to Otaki, physically and topologically the region has four areas running roughly parallel along a northeast–southwest axis, The Kapiti Coast, a narrow strip of coastal plain running north from Paekakariki. It contains numerous small towns, many of which gain at least a proportion of their wealth from tourism, rough hill country inland from the Kapiti Coast, formed along the same major geologic fault responsible for the Southern Alps in the South Island. Rough hill country, lower than the Tararua Range but far less economic than the land around the Ruamahanga River and this and the other hilly striation are still largely forested. Other main centres of population are on the Kapiti Coast and in the farming areas close to the upper Ruamahanga River in the Wairarapa. Along the Kapiti Coast, numerous small towns sit close together, from the north, these include Otaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, the twin settlements of Raumati Beach and Raumati South, Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay, the latter being a northern suburb of Porirua. Each of these settlements has a population of between 2,000 and 10,000, making this moderately heavily populated, in the Wairarapa the largest community by a considerable margin is Masterton, with a population of almost 20,000. Other towns include Featherston, Martinborough, Carterton and Greytown, the region is by a large margin the wealthiest in the country. The most up-to-date estimates for regional GDP prepared by the Ministry for Economic Development put it at $17, at the 2006 census the region had the largest percentages of people in the four highest income groupings and the lowest percentage of residents in the loss group
4.
Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)
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The Environment Act 1986 is the foundation law establishing the Ministry. According to their website, the Ministry for the Environment is the New Zealand governments principal adviser on the environment, since 1988, the Ministry of the Environment has coordinated New Zealands interdepartmental policy response to climate change. The Environmental Protection Authority was set up in 2011 to carry out some of the regulatory functions of the MfE as well as other government departments. In 1997 the Ministry released New Zealands first State of the Environment report and this was followed up in 2008 by a second report titled Environment New Zealand 2007. Chapter 13 of this report was removed before final publication but was leaked to the Green Party, after the media reported the existence of the omitted chapter the Ministry placed the contents on its website. The Ministry serves 2 portfolios and 2 ministers
5.
Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand)
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Inland Revenue is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on tax policy, collecting and disbursing payments for social support programmes, and collecting tax. The Departments Māori name, Te Tari Taake, is a spelling of Te Tari Tāke. Inland Revenue started out as the Land Tax Department in 1878, the Department was renamed the Land and Income Tax Department in 1892 with the central office set up in Wellington. Only in 1952, when the organisation joined with the Stamp Duties Department, was the known as the Inland Revenue Department. The panel was disestablished in 2014 at the completion of the tax reform, in 2015–16, Inland Revenue collected $63. Other services included law and order, housing and community development, environmental protection, defence, transport, since December 2016, the position has been held by Judith Collins. Taxation in New Zealand KiwiSaver Working for Families Official website Policy Advice Division of Inland Revenue Whats Tax, - New Zealand government website on tax
6.
Department of Conservation (New Zealand)
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The Department of Conservation is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealands natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Authority is provided to advise DOC, in addition there are 13 conservation boards for different areas around the country that provide for interaction between DOC and the public. This Act also set out the majority of the Departments responsibilities and roles, as a consequence of Conservation Act all Crown land in New Zealand designated for conservation and protection became managed by the Department of Conservation. All of the land under its control is protected for conservation, ecological, scenic, scientific, historic or cultural reasons. DOC also administers the Nature Heritage Fund, and is responsible for fire control. In addition to its work managing land and providing for recreation in New Zealand and this is particularly a concern amongst some farmers and other industries that are major users of neighbouring land, many of whom have been affected by decisions of the department. After a number of years of falling budgets, in 2013 the department announced it would be slashing 140 jobs, the Department of Conservation moved into a new headquarters, Conservation House, on Manners Street, Wellington in 2006. It is the first green building in New Zealand to be given a 5-star rating, having won numerous environmental awards, including a top 10 placing by Grist Magazine. The site was originally a cinema operated by the Hoyts Group from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. The Department serves 1 portfolio and 3 ministers, New Zealand has 13 national parks, and a wide number of other conservation lands with varying levels of environmental protection, called the conservation estate in total. About one third of this estate, generally the land considered most valuable, has been protected from mining since 1997 via being listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, in 1995,14 people died when a viewing platform maintained by the Department of Conservation collapsed. Immediately following the tragedy, all of the departments 106 viewing platforms throughout New Zealand were checked, fifteen platforms were closed for repairs. A Commission of Inquiry that followed the tragedy revealed that the department had acted illegally and negligently in constructing the viewing platform. Many people in New Zealand criticised the government for the situation, and Denis Marshall. In March 2006, an eruption at the Green Lake of Raoul Island. At the exact time of the eruption, Mr Kearney is thought to have been taking measurements of the lake as part of a programme for monitoring volcanic activity. Five other DOC workers, who were living on the island, were forced to evacuate back to New Zealand shortly after the eruption. Searches for Mr Kearney, which have been inhibited by the remote location
7.
Defence House
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The former Defence House is historic office building in Wellington, New Zealand. The building is classified as a Category 2 historic building by Heritage New Zealand, in 2007, the New Zealand Defence Force moved out of the building after tenanting the building since its construction in the 1940s. The building was no longer fit-for-purpose, and according to the Defence Force, Despite refurbishments the décor remained dull and dated, the Defence Force flags were taken down on 23 February 2007 in a ceremony to close of the building. In December 2012, it was announced that the building would be bought by Argosy Property Management for $33.2 million, a 12-year tenancy agreement was signed between Argosy and the New Zealand Government in January 2013. In late 2014, about 2,000 Ministry of Business, Innovation, the relocation had a capital budget of over $18 million, but ultimately $16 million was spent. Operational expenditure on the move was $688,000, the costs involved with the refurbishment were controversial, including the almost $70,000 cost of the MBIE sign outside the building, and the $360,000 cost of office furniture. Profile of the building, Architecture Now
8.
Megan Woods
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Megan Cherie Woods is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Wigram electorate of the New Zealand Parliament. Woods was born and grew up in Wigram, Christchurch and she attended high school at Catholic Cathedral College and has a PhD in history obtained at the University of Canterbury. Woods was a manager for Crop & Food Research and its successor organisation Plant and Food Research. Woods was a member of the Progressive Party from 1999 to 2007 and was involved in several of Jim Andertons re-election campaigns and she contested the Christchurch Central electorate in the 2005 general election and came fourth, receiving 1077 votes. She was placed fourth on the Progressive party list, as the party obtained only 1. 2% of the party vote, she did not enter Parliament that year. She was a member of the Spreydon–Heathcote community board in Christchurch in 2004–2007, Woods joined the Labour Party in 2007. She did not contest the 2008 general election or the 2010 mayoral election, Woods was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the 2011 election in the Wigram electorate. She succeeded Jim Anderton, who had announced that he would retire either after winning the Christchurch mayoralty or at the end of the term of the 49th Parliament in November 2011. Until the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, Anderton was leading in the opinion polls, the earthquake resulted in a mood swing in Christchurch, and Anderton lost against Bob Parker. Anderton remained an MP until the end of the term of the 49th Parliament, Woods candidacy, which began in late 2010, was centred on job creation in her electorate. She stated in her Labour selection speech that Growing up here in the 1980s, I saw workplaces like the Addington Workshops shut their doors forever. Now I am 36 years old and am watching jobs disappear from our communities again, Woods also cited the rising cost of living for everyday people as a major concern. At the election, Woods won the seat with 45. 11% of the vote, Woods won re-election in the 2014 election with an increased majority
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