New Zealand

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: New Zealand dollar (ISO code: NZD)
 * Central bank discount rate: 2.5% (31 December 2009)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 10.39% (31 December 2009 )
 * Stock of money (M1): $20.17 billion (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $81.01 billion (31 December 2008)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1893, 1987-1990

Links

 * New Zealand on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of New Zealand
 * BBC country profile
 * Rolling Back Government: Lessons from New Zealand (pdf), by Maurice P. McTigue, February 2004
 * It Can Happen Here (Government really can be cut: case studies from Canada, New Zealand, and the United States) by Maurice McTigue, November 2010
 * NZ dangerously in debt: top businessman by Scot Mackay, May 2011
 * The Incredible Shrinking State by William D. Eggers, May 1997
 * In New Zealand, Farmers Don't Want Subsidies by Mark Ross and Chris Edwards, July 2012