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 John Key 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.

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The building is ten storeys (72 m) high. The top floor is occupied by the Cabinet offices, with the Prime Minister's offices on the ninth floor (and part of the eighth). Other floors contain the offices of individual cabinet ministers.

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Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand It is near the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. Inter-island ferries to and from Wellington arrive and depart here by way of the Marlborough Sounds.

Did you know...

...that the coal-mine railway at Denniston, New Zealand fell a precipitous 510 metres over a track length of only 1.7 kilometres?

...that New Zealand was the first modern nation to give its women the right to vote.

...that Sir Edmund Hillary, a Kiwi (New Zealander), was a beekeeper in Auckland before he became the first man to reach the summit of Nepal's Mt. Everest; the highest peak on earth.

...that Tim Shadbolt, mayor of Waitakere and then Invercargill, said 'I don't care where, as long as I'm mayor' for a television advertisement.

In the news

• 3 October: Fight of the Century results in David Tua defeating Shane Cameron with a devastating knockout 7 seconds into the 2nd round.
• 24 September: Death of entertainer Sir Howard Morrison, 74
• 6 March: The retrial of David Bain for the 1994 murder of the five members of his family begins in the Christchurch High Court. It lasted about three months. Subsequently found Not Guilty.
• 23 February: Salient Magazine launches revamped website, 'salient.org.nz'.
• 12 January: Telecom New Zealand announces the closure of its online retail store, Ferrit.
• 26 December: A Mount Cook Airlines ATR 72-500 en route from Wellington to Christchurch lost power in its right engine one minute after takeoff and had to make an emergency landing. No one was hurt.
• 20 December: A fire in a Penrose coolstore is described as Auckland's largest fire for decades.
• 16 December: Accident Compensation Corporation levies are to increase by 21% for the average worker.
• 15 December: The Special Investigation Group of the New Zealand Police, which focusses on terrorism threats, is reported to pay informants to spy on Greenpeace, animal rights groups, climate change protesters and anti-Iraq war groups.
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  New Zealand on Wikinews

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