The following lists events that happened during 2006 in New Zealand.
Quick Facts Decades:, See also: ...
Close
- Estimated population as of 31 December: 4,209,100[1]
- Increase since 31 December 2005: 48,200 (1.16%)[1]
- Males per 100 Females: 95.8[1]
Regal and viceregal
Elizabeth II
Dame Silva Cartwright
Anand Satyanand
Main centre leaders
Dick Hubbard
Stuart Crosby
Kerry Prendergast
Garry Moore
Peter Chin
February
- 1 February: Don Brash, the leader of the New Zealand National Party gave his third state of the nation speech to the Orewa Rotary Club where he focused on the economy. Wikinews
- 4 February: Two Fairfax-owned newspapers, The Dominion Post and The Christchurch Press, controversially published all 12 cartoons in the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, which have triggered international outrage.
- 5 February: Hundreds of NZ Muslims march in downtown Auckland in protest to the publication of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. Wikinews
- 5 February: NZ film director Lee Tamahori is arrested and formally charged with soliciting and unlawfully loitering on Hollywood's Santa Monica Boulevard, while dressed in drag.
- 6 February: The 166th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, in 1840. This year the celebrations were peaceful, in contrast to other years where the day was the focus of protest by Māori activists. Wikinews
- 11 February: Tokelau began voting in a referendum to determine whether it remains a New Zealand territory, or becomes a state in free association with New Zealand.[citation needed]
- 12 February: The Royal New Zealand Navy's new 9000-tonne Multi-Role Vessel was launched in Rotterdam. The MRV is the largest of seven new ships ordered as part of "Project Protector".[7]
- 14 February: Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton announced that a draft agreement had been reached with fishing companies to ban bottom trawling in 30 percent of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone. Anderton promised to support a global ban on bottom trawling if that appeared a practical option.[citation needed]
- 16 February: New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, ONZM played his final international cricket match against the West Indies in a Twenty20 at Auckland's Eden Park.[8]
- 16 February: Tokelau decides to remain a New Zealand territory after a referendum on independence. A 60 percent majority voted in favor of independence, but a two-thirds majority was required for the referendum to succeed.[9]
- 20 February: Air New Zealand is set to lay off another 507 workers as it outsources its wide-body aircraft maintenance. A union proposal to save some of the jobs failed to win a worker vote.[10]
- 22 February: C4 aired the controversial South Park episode "Bloody Mary", which portrays a statue of the Virgin Mary menstruating, despite protests from religious groups.[citation needed]
- 23 February: Air New Zealand workers accepted a new employment package in a new vote. About 300 wide-body aircraft maintenance jobs will be saved in Auckland, although 200 will still be made redundant.[citation needed]
- 24 February:Air New Zealand announced that 470 corporate jobs, mostly in Auckland are to be axed over the next year.[11]
May
- 1 May: Troubles continue at TVNZ, with leaked emails from Craig Boyce to Ian Fraser, referring to the Parliamentary select committee as "the bastards are our enemy".[15]
- 3 May: The New Zealand Government announces that it will require Telecom to unbundle the local loop to provide "access to fast, competitively priced broadband internet".
- 13 May: The trawler Kotuku sinks in Foveaux Strait on the way back from muttonbirding. Of the nine people on board, including three generations of one family, only three survive. It is New Zealand's worst maritime disaster since the sinking of TEV Wahine.[16]
- 15 May: After 40 days of climbing, New Zealander Mark Inglis became the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.
- 16 May: Michael Ryan, a messenger for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is named as the government employee who leaked the information to Telecom that the government is planning to "unbundle the local loop".
- 17 May: An attempt by the Green Party to repeal part of a controversial dog microchipping law was voted down 61–60.
- 18 May: Finance Minister Michael Cullen delivers the 2006 Budget.
- 24 May: The week-long festivities celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Māori Queen's coronation have ended.
- 25 May: The three men acquitted of rape in the Louise Nicholas trial now face a new trial for alleged sexual offences against another woman in the mid-1980s.[citation needed]
- 27 May: The Write4gold international graffiti art competition is held in New Zealand.[17]
June
- 3 June: The Green Party elects Russel Norman as its co-leader to replace Rod Donald.
- 6 June: The trial of Tim Selwyn for sedition begins in Auckland. Selwyn is the first New Zealander in over 80 years to be charged with sedition.
- 7 June: The Privy Council agrees to hear David Bain's appeal against his conviction for the murder of his family.
- 8 June: Tim Selwyn is found guilty of sedition.
- 8 June: New Zealand has won hosting rights for the 2010 World Rowing Championships, which will be held at Lake Karapiro.
- 10 June: The family of Richard Seddon remember his death 100 years ago.
- 10 June: A Yemeni man, linked to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, has been deported from New Zealand. It is only the second time that section 72 of the Immigration Act has been used to deport someone. Its use requires the consent of the Governor-General, and there is no right of appeal.
- 12 June: A blackout hits Auckland, lasting for several hours and affecting an estimated 700,000 people. The cause was found to be an earth wire which snapped off in high winds and fell across high-voltage transmission lines at a substation.
- A severe storm lashed the country, bringing heavy snow to Otago and Canterbury Some isolated communities lose power for up to three weeks after the storm. Up to three feet of snow was recorded in inland Canterbury.
- 15 June: A free-to-air digital television service called Freeview will be launched in 2007. All viewers will require a set-top box, and some will need a satellite dish.
- 15 June: Junior doctors begin a five-day strike over working hours and conditions. Hospitals defer non-urgent surgery and outpatient treatments.
- 16 June: The Varroa bee mite has been found near Stoke. The mite arrived in New Zealand in 2000 and has been confined to the North Island until now.
- 18 June: The deaths of three-month-old twins Chris and Cru Kahui as a result of abuse injuries shocks the nation and dominates headlines for months.
- 21 June: Working dogs have been exempted from the dog microchipping legislation currently before Parliament.
- 27 June: Telecom announces it will voluntarily separate its business into two operating entities – Wholesale and Retail.[citation needed]
- 29 June: Development of the Kupe gas and oil field off the Taranaki coast will go ahead, with production beginning in 2009.[citation needed]
- 30 June: Tame Iti is sentenced to pay $300 and court costs for shooting the New Zealand Flag.
December
- 4 December: The Copyright (New Technologies and Performers' Rights) Amendment Bill, is introduced to update copyright laws due to the development and adoption of new technologies.
- 16 December: Three children are killed when a cliff collapses on them at a riverside picnic ground in the Manawatu region.
- 16 December: Nine experienced New Zealand fire-fighters are injured, one seriously, as they fought bushfires in Victoria, Australia.[29]
- 22 December: The Government announces changes to the regulations governing the sale of consumer fireworks. Sales will now be restricted to 3 (previously 10) days of the year – 3–5 November and the age limit for purchase has been raised from 16 to 18.[citation needed]
- 28 December – The contentious Wellington Inner city bypass opens[30]
- 31 December: The 2006 road toll provisionally stands at 387, the lowest figure since 1963[31]
- See also Current events in Oceania
February
- 1 February
- 19 February – Wi Kuki Kaa, actor (born 1938)
- 22 February – Bob McDonald, lawn bowls player (born 1933)
- 28 February – Peter Snow, doctor who discovered "Tapanui flu" (born 1935)
May
- 11 May – Bob Duff, rugby union player, local-body politician (born 1925)
- 16 May – Anthony Murray, rugby league player and coach (born c.1958)
- 26 May – Anne Delamere, public servant (born 1921)
- 30 May – David Lloyd, botanist (born 1937)
June
- 2 June – Kitione Lave, boxer (born 1934)
- 4 June – Vic Belsham, rugby league player and referee (born c.1925)
- 11 June – Neroli Fairhall, archer, first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games (born 1944)
- 12 June – Nicky Barr, rugby union player and World War II flying ace (born 1915)
- 13 June – Barry Thompson, rugby union player (born 1947)
- 15 June – Herb Pearson, cricketer (born 1910)
- 26 June – Bubbles Mihinui, tourist guide, community leader (born 1919)
July
- 5 July – Kevin Herlihy, softball player (born 1947)
- 7 July – John Money, psychologist and sexologist (born 1921)
- 17 July – Roy Cowan, potter, illustrator, printmaker (born 1918)
- 21 July – Tony George, weightlifter (born 1919)
- 22 July
- 25 July – Cis Winstanley, lawn bowls player (born 1908)
- 28 July – Nigel Cox, author and museum director (born 1951)
- 29 July – Harry Hawthorn, anthropology academic and museum curator (born 1910)
"(TVNZ)". Tvnz.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
"(TVNZ)". Tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
"(TVNZ)". Tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
"Home". Tv3.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
Media related to 2006 in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons