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New Zealand, New Zealand

The indigenous Mori named New Zealand Aotearoa , commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud . The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.

The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.

The first settlers were Eastern Polynesians who went to New Zealand, probably in a series of migrations, sometime between around 700 and 2000 years ago. Mein Smith (2005), pg 6.

At some point a group of Mori migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their own distinct Moriori culture. Clark (1994) pg 123–135 The first European known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642. Mein Smith (2005), pg 23.

The drafting was done hastily and confusion and disagreement continues to surround the translation. The Treaty is regarded as New Zealand's foundation as a nation and is revered by Mori as a guarantee of their rights. Hobson initially selected Okiato as the capital in 1840, before moving the seat of government to Auckland in 1841.

At first, Mori were eager to trade with the 'Pakeha', as they called them, and many iwi (tribes) became wealthy. As settler numbers increased, conflicts over land led to the New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, resulting in the loss of much Mori land. The detail of European settlement and the acquisition of land from Mori remain controversial.

The 1st New Zealand Parliament met for the first time in 1854. In 1856 the colony became effectively self-governing with the grant of responsible government over all domestic matters other than native policy. Power in this respect would be transferred to the colonial administration in the 1860s. In 1863 Premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution that the capital transfer to a locality in Cook Strait, apparently due to concern the South Island could form a separate colony. Commissioners from Australia (chosen for their neutral status) advised Wellington as suitable because of its harbour and central location, and parliament officially sat there for the first time in 1865. In 1893, the country became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote. In 1907, New Zealand became an independent Dominion and a fully independent nation in 1947 when the Statute of Westminster was ratified, although in practice Britain had ceased to play any real role in the government of New Zealand much earlier than this. As New Zealand became more politically independent it became more dependent economically; in the 1890s, refrigerated shipping allowed New Zealand to base its entire economy on the export of meat and dairy products to Britain., September 1916. New Zealand was an enthusiastic member of the British Empire, fighting in the Boer War, World War I and World War II, especially in the Battle of Britain, and supporting Britain in the Suez Crisis. The country was very much a part of the world economy and suffered as others did in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The depression led to the election of the first Labour government, which established a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy.

Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and is titled Queen of New Zealand under the Royal Titles Act 1974. She is represented by the Governor-General, whom she appoints on the exclusive advice of the Prime Minister. The current Governor-General is Anand Satyanand.

In addition, New Zealand First and United Future provided confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. An arrangement was also made with the Green Party, which gave a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. In 2007 Labour also had the proxy vote of Taito Phillip Field, a former Labour MP. These arrangements assured the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence votes.

The act abolished the option to appeal to the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also includes the Court of Appeal; the High Court, which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters at the trial level and with appeals from lower courts and tribunals; and subordinate courts.

New Zealand's largest listed company, Telecom New Zealand, had a woman - Theresa Gattung - as its CEO at the time.

New Zealand is party to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important are the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and Closer Economic Relations with Australia.

New Zealand also played a key part with Britain in the two famous battles, the naval Battle of the River Plate and the Battle of Britain fought in the air. During the Pacific part of World War II, the United States had more than 400,000 American military personnel stationed in New Zealand to prepare for crucial battles such as Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Saipan and Iwo Jima.

In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead. The American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disillusionment with the Vietnam War, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France (which Britain and the US failed to criticise), and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.

The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the United States' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand.

As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented subnational entities such as provinces, states or territories, apart from local government. However the spirit of the provinces lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events. Since 1876, local government has administered the various regions of New Zealand. In 1989, the government completely reorganised local government, implementing the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities constituted under the Local Government Act 2002. In 1991, the Resource Management Act 1991 replaced the Town and Country Planning Act as the main planning legislation for local government.

There are 18 peaks over 3000 metres (9843 ft) in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous but is marked by volcanism. The highest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2797 m, 9177 ft), is an active cone volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of television programmes and films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the The Last Samurai .thumb|right|upright| Tasman National Park in the South Island ] dominate the South Island, while the North Island's Northland Peninsula stretches towards the subtropics The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates. New Zealand is part of Zealandia, a continent nearly half the size of Australia that is otherwise almost completely submerged. About 25 million years ago, a shift in plate tectonic movements began to pull Zealandia apart forcefully, with this now being most evident along the Alpine Fault and in the highly active Taupo volcanic zone. The tectonic boundary continues as subduction zones east of the North Island along the Hikurangi Trench to continue north of New Zealand along the Kermadec Trench and the Tonga Trench which is mirrored in the south by the Puysegur Trench.

NZPCN (2006). New Zealand indigenous vascular plant checklist. ISBN 0-473-11306-6. Written by P.J. de Lange, J.W.D. Sawyer and J.R. Rolfe The two main types of forest are those dominated by podocarps and/or the giant kauri, and in cooler climates the southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grasslands of tussock and other grasses, usually in sub-alpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests. is a national icon Until the arrival of humans, 80% of the land was forested. Until 2006 it was thought that there were no non-marine native mammals, barring three species of bat (one now extinct). However in 2006 scientists discovered bones that belonged to a long-extinct unique, mouse-sized land animal in the Otago region of the South Island.

Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks, geckos and living fossil tuatara. There are four endemic species of primitive frogs. There are no snakes and there is only one venomous spider, the katipo, which is rare and restricted to coastal regions. There are many endemic species of insect, including the weta, one species of which may grow as large as a house mouse and is the heaviest insect in the world.

Five indigenous vascular plant species are now believed to be extinct, including Adam's mistletoe and a species of forget-me-not. NZPCN (2006). New Zealand indigenous vascular plant checklist. ISBN 0-473-11306-6. Written by P.J. de Lange, J.W.D. Sawyer and J.R. Rolfe New Zealand has led the world in island restoration projects, where offshore islands are cleared of introduced mammalian pests and native species are reintroduced. Several islands located near to the three main islands are wildlife reserves where common pests such as possums and rodents have been eradicated to allow the reintroduction of endangered species to the islands. A more recent development is the mainland ecological island.

New Zealand is one of the most free market capitalist economies according to economic freedom indices.

Exports account for around 24% of its output, which is a relatively high figure (it is around 50% for many smaller European countries). This makes New Zealand particularly vulnerable to international commodity prices and global economic slowdowns. Its principal export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry. These make up about half of the country's exports. Its major export partners are Australia 20.5%, US 13.1%, Japan 10.3%, China 5.4%, UK 4.9% (2006).

High demand for these products - such as the New Zealand wool boom of 1951 created sustained periods of economic prosperity. However, in 1973 the United Kingdom joined the European Community which effectively ended this particularly close economic relationship between the two countries. During the 1970s other factors such as the oil crises undermined the viability of the New Zealand economy; which for periods before 1973 had achieved levels of living standards exceeding both Australia and Western Europe.

A recession began after the 1987 share market crash and caused unemployment to reach 10% in the early 1990s. Subsequently the economy recovered and New Zealands unemployment rate reached a record low of 3.4% in the December 2007 quarter, ranking fifth from twenty-seven OECD nations with comparable data.

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.

There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with Pentecostal and Baptist churches and with the LDS church. The New Zealand-based Ratana church has adherents among Mori. According to census figures, other significant minority religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

It also includes significant influences from American, Australian and Mori cultures, along with those of other European cultures and – more recently – non-Mori Polynesian and Asian cultures. Large festivals in celebration of Diwali and Chinese New Year are held in several of the larger centres. The world's largest Polynesian festival, Pasifika, is an annual event in Auckland. Cultural links between New Zealand and the United Kingdom are maintained by a common language, sustained migration from the United Kingdom, and many young New Zealanders spending time in the United Kingdom on their "overseas experience" (OE). The music and cuisine of New Zealand are similar to that of Australia, Canada, UK, and the US, although both have distinct New Zealand and Pacific qualities.

Films such as Sleeping Dogs and Goodbye Pork Pie achieved local success and launched the careers of actors and directors including Sam Neill, Geoff Murphy and Roger Donaldson. In the early 1990s, New Zealand films such as Jane Campion's Academy Award-winning film The Piano , Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures began to garner international acclaim. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jackson filmed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in New Zealand, using mostly New Zealand crew and extras.

New Zealand features as a primary or additional location for many international productions, examples include The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , Bridge to Terabithia and Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.

New Zealand television broadcasts mostly American and British programming, along with a small number of Australian and New Zealand shows.

New Zealand receives high rankings in press freedom. Between 2003 and 2008, Reporters Without Borders has consistently ranked the country in the top twenty, placing it seventh in 2008.

The New Zealand Warriors compete in the Australian NRL competition, and in 2008 the national side, the Kiwis, won the Rugby League World Cup.

Source: Wikipedia > New Zealand